Starter/Generator Test Bench
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
Starters wouldn't be hard, you could use a 4" or 5" vise to hold the starter, a battery to power it, a solenoid and push button to switch the current, and a DC ammeter to check it's draw. Of course, you'd have to know the dividing point amperage.
I usually just take my questionable electrical parts to Schucks or Autobone, if it's bad, I go over to Westbay and get a good replacement.
I usually just take my questionable electrical parts to Schucks or Autobone, if it's bad, I go over to Westbay and get a good replacement.
FTE Legend
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 53,997
Likes: 2,399
From: NY and VA
Just jumper cables hooked to a starter will work, just do the finall conection on the starter ground to avoid any sparks around the battery. On generators it will run as a motor when you hook up the ground and the A terminal. Ground the F terminal and the speed should drop. Disclaimer: This statement is from knowledge obtained years ago and does not reflect any senior moment at th time of statement. Don't run starter or gen too long at high speed.
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 941
Likes: 4
Originally Posted by GLR
Just jumper cables hooked to a starter will work, just do the finall conection on the starter ground to avoid any sparks around the battery. On generators it will run as a motor when you hook up the ground and the A terminal. Ground the F terminal and the speed should drop. Disclaimer: This statement is from knowledge obtained years ago and does not reflect any senior moment at th time of statement. Don't run starter or gen too long at high speed.
Cheap (light guage) jumper cables will NOT reliably spin older Ford starters -- the kind with the moveble "shoe" that activates the Bendix. In my college days (30 years ago), I condemned someone's starter as "bad" after trying the jumper cable test. The rebuilt starter he bought didn't spin any better than the "bad" starter. (The starters draw a LOT of current at initial startup, and the voltage drop across 10AWG jumper cables and clamps tends to be so much that the Bendix contacs won't close to engage the main coils of the starter.)
I had to talk my way out of that one. It turned out the real problem was a bad battery ground.
The actual problem was a bad engine ground...
If you want to test a starter with jumper cables, make sure they are heavy duty cables, 6AWG or heavier.
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