Not that it means anything for sure.. but I had a new battery go dead in 3 months time.

__________________
1980 300TD-T (82 Turbo and Trans) 159,000 Miles "Jackie-O"
1983 300SD 272,000 Miles "Aristotle"
1987 Jeep Wagoneer Limited - keeps the MB's off the ice and out of the snow
1994 BMW 530it

I charged this one up and tried to jump the car with the V70 but the starter just clicked. The battery was reading 13V when I was doing this, so it should have been OK. I'll see for sure when I get the new starter in. Either way, the solenoid's behavior warranted a new one, so I won't be too sad if it turns out to be a charging problem after all.

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

Did you check the items in post #14 of this thread? One of the best way to check a battery is with a hydrometer. I hate to see anyone pull the starter if they don't have to.

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I saw your first post- the ground strap is definitely attached and tight, and I tried bypassing the ignition switch by jumping the starter across the 2 screws in the black box, but I got the same clicking noise.

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

What did you use to jump the 2 screws? A small wire won't do. Use a short piece of at least 10 gauge wire. Another easy check is to hook up a DVM to the starter solenoid and gound at the starter motor (no where else) and see what voltage you are getting while you crank the starter. It should be greater than 11 V. If not, either your battery is NG or you have electrical connection problems.

edit: Make the connection to the stud of the solenoid and not the wire lug. Have you tightened the connections at the starter motor?

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Well, I finally got outside a week or so ago (it's freezing, BTW) to get this thing out. I broke my U-joint socket extension on the first pull with a 6 foot breaker bar extension (iron pipe). Went to Sears, got a new one. Got the first bolt out. Broke the U-joint getting the second one out. Now on my third U-joint extension, I finally have the starter out!! And I guess it's time to venture back to Sears.

Back out to put the new one in!

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

did you ever try just shorting the starter solenoid to 12V on the battery? I had the same problem last week. I reran a wire straight from the solenoid to the ignition (purple/white wire i believe at the ignition), now no problems at all. Is there a starter solenoid relay on these cars?

I bench tested my old one with my battery pulled- absolutely nothing happened.

Anyways, the new one is in, but it needs the electrical hook ups now, and I can't remember which wire goes to which terminal on the solenoid (probably comes with old age...). One wire has a ring type connector and the other has a weird trapezoid one with a rubber cover. Which one goes on the top post and which one on the bottom?

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

bump.... x3

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

EDIT: don't use this as a reference until I get the car started... then I'll update

So I went ahead and guessed. Wrong. Bah, 4 hours of work wasted- and that J-tube is a total PITA to get on correctly. Took about an hour. FYI: The odd shaped connector goes on the top solenoid bolt. If you don't do it that way, the starter runs continuously when the battery is connected. Well, lesson learned- mark wires. Oh, yes- the new starter works...

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

Since we are on the topic of starters, my 87 300D started acting up this week. I have the block heater on a timer so that it is on for 3 hours before I come out in the morning. When I tried to start it last Thursday the car made a loud clunk. I turned the key off and back on, and let the glow go for 30 seconds again. When I turned to start I go the same loud clunk. I came back and tried it again 10 minutes later and got the clunk followed by a 1 second slow crank then it sped up to normal cranking speed and started right up. It has happened a couple of more time since then.

I have about 235K miles on the car and can't find anything in the documentation about replacing the starter. AFAIK it is original. The battery is 6 months old. The connections look good. I have not checked the connections on the starter itself.

Sound like a worn out starter to you?

-Jim

Solinoid internal contact or worn brushes perhaps. Maybe a thick old grease in there as it is cold.
I think because the starter came up to speed the fundemental windings etc are probably ok.
Or you have a cable that slowly makes a better connection when it starts to pass more current as it warms up at the poor connection point. I would include the ground loop as well in any check.
Easiest way might be to look for any large voltage drop across any connections in the circuit with a meter while slow cranking or only clicking. Another option might be the free checks some places do.

I just reversed the wires on the poles, and I now have zero power to any part of the car. This makes me think I must have done something incorrectly- before there was clearly power to the starter because it spun without stopping when I hooked up the battery. I used my voltmeter to check the battery- it has a full charge (used the good old trickle charger a week ago). What did I do wrong?

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

I put the wires back the way I had them originally, round on top, trapezoidal on bottom. When I do this and connect the battery to a jumper cable to the engine block I get a good spark and the starter motor runs continuously. No key necessary. It does not engage with the flywheel- just runs freely.

Any ideas? I'd like to stop driving the 740 everywhere...

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

It is running again! Turns out both wires (round and trapezoidal connectors) go to the top pole on the solenoid. Took it on a spin earlier this evening and it is still as bad in the snow as usual, but it was still very comforting to hear the usual diesel chatter. New starter cranks at probably 4x the speed of the old one and is near dead quiet compared to the last one, which made so much noise people would look at me funny in the school parking lot.

One thing to be learned from this starter project: take the starter out from below by turning the wheels all the way to the right, and put it back in from the top after removing the air cleaner, battery tray, and heat shield. Much easier and less time consuming. I tried for hours trying to get it in from underneath, when the removal of all that other stuff took 20-30 minutes.

Driving it to school tomorrow for the first time in over a month

__________________
Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K