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How many volts should a starter start?

How many volts should a starter start?

You can test for proper cranking voltage with a voltmeter while—you guessed it—cranking the engine. The several hundred amperes of current the starter motor draws should pull the battery voltage down to a normal 9 to 10 volts.

What should the voltage drop be on a car starter?

Connect your meter’s negative (black) lead to the battery negative (-) post. Have an assistant turn the ignition key to the Start position to crank the engine for no more than 15 seconds. Check the readout on your meter. Voltage drop on the ground side of the starter circuit should be no more than 0.2 volts.

What should I do if my starter light does not come on?

If the lamp does not light, put the car in neutral gear (or Park on an automatic), turn off the ignition and cautiously try to bridge the two main terminals on the solenoid. This bypasses the switch contacts inside the solenoid. Use a strong screwdriver with an insulated handle. Do not touch the blade.

How can I check the voltage of my starter?

Connect the meter’s positive (red) lead to the positive (+) post on the battery and the meter’s ground (black) lead to the starter battery terminal. Have an assistant crank the engine for a few seconds, but no more than 15 seconds: just enough to get an accurate voltage reading. Check your meter’s readout.

How can I tell if my starter switch is working?

Working the starter switch should cause a drop from 12 volts to below 0.5 volts. If the voltmeter reading stays above 0.5 volts, look for a bad connection at the battery earth strap (at either end) or the engine-to-body earth strap. Clean and tighten the connections, and carry out the test again.

What should I do if my starter switch is not working?

If your solenoid is a four wire solenoid, check both small wire terminals as one is ground and the other is power from the ignition switch. *If your solenoid is a three wire solenoid, make sure the solenoid body is not corroded where it bolts to the chassis of the mower as this is your ground path back to the battery.

What causes the voltage drop from the solenoid to the starter?

Four post, ground post to battery negative, 0 Ohms. If you have 12V on the battery side of the solenoid and only 6-7 V on the starter side when the key is turn to start, that means that the contacts inside the solenoid are not doing want they should. What could be causing the voltage drop from the solenoid to the starter?

What should I do if I have a bad starter wire?

Click to expand… Bad wire or connection. Try it with a jumper cable connected from the solenoid out terminal wire end to the starter wire end. Here is a procedure for troubleshooting electrical problems. As SandBur said, check electrical connections first. Electrical* problems can be very easy or very difficult, depending on four things. 1.

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Ruth Doyle