>[I've been having problems sending this... think I've got things figured
> out now... sorry if you get duplicates!]
>
>Folks...
>
>I'm not much of a DIY'r... But I'm resolving to become more
>of one... 2850 is a daily driver for me, but wouldn't start
>last week... After going through JTB's articles on the
>electrical system, I've narrowed things down to the starter
>motor...
Chris,
Are you sure that it is the starter? It might be that, the solenoid, the
battery, dirty battery connections, bad ignition switch, or bad neutral
safety switch (this is the switch that prevents an automatic transmission
car from starting when it is not in park or neutral -- to put it another way
this prevents the car from starting in gear).
Here is what I would do. Turn on the key and see if you have an oil pressure
light. Open one of the headlights (gently pull it open) and pull on the
headlight switch and see if it lights up brightly. If so, at least you
likely have a decent battery but you might have a dirty battery post.
However, a bad battery can mimic a dirty battery cable so where ever I talk
about dirty battery post it might also be a bad battery.
Get a friend and find the solenoid -- it has the battery cable on one side
of it and the starter cable on the other and is about the size of a
baseball. Have the friend try to start car and listen to whether the
solenoid clicks. If it clicks then the neutral switch and the ignition
switch are both working but either the solenoid or the starter is broken or
the battery has a dirty post.
Make sure that the car is in park (this is important because the car might
start with my next suggestion) and clamp one end of a jumper cable on the
large solenoid post that goes to the starter. Take the other end of the
jumper cable and touch the solenoid post that comes from the battery -- if
the starter engages then the problem is with the solenoid, the ignition
switch, or the neutral safety switch. Just touch the post -- don't clamp
the jumper on it. It is not real easy to get the cables down to the
solenoid posts but it can be done. If the starter does not engage, it is
either the starter that is bad or a dirty battery post.
Now take a small jumper wire, be careful, and clamp one end on one of the
small posts on the solenoid. touch the other end to the large battery post
on the solenoid and if nothing happens clamp the one end on the other small
post and touch the other end to the battery post on the solenoid. If the
starter engages then the problem is either the ignition switch (this switch
is way down the steering column by your feet and does fail every once in a
while) or the neutral safety switch. If nothing happens then the problem is
with the solenoid. If the solenoid just clicks the problem is with a dirty
battery post or the starter.
Clean off the battery posts -- you will have to remove the battery first and
using steel wool or something get all the crud off. I think they are 5/16
headed bolts that hold the cables on -- I have not had a problem with dirty
posts on a Bricklin.
Now it is down to the ignition switch or the neutral safety switch. I don't
know how to troubleshoot those without a meter but the ignition switch is
cheap, maybe 15.00, so you might just replace it. I hope this was clear
enough -- if not ask me any questions. By the way this applies to most any
car that has a separate solenoid, not just Bricklins.
To remove the starter, unhook the negative side of the battery. There should
be a couple of bolts by the #3 in your picture and undo the large wire that
likely is near #2 in the picture. Kim
>After spending a half hour looking through the engine, I finally
>figured out where the starter solenoid is, and where the
>starter motor is :) [I hope]
>
>I'd like to pull the starter motor out now... however I'm not
>sure exactly what is holding it in place... I've put a picture
>of it up at http://216.187.107.35/bricklin/ ... Which part(s)
>should I be undoing to get this out? [I've numbered the areas 1-3
>on my picture...]
>
>Any help and/or tips would be appreciated...
>
>Thanks,
>Chris
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