Stu,
If the cost to rebuild your starter seems to be a lot or if you want a
spare for situations like this, many other British cars used the same
starter. This would include MGAs and Spridgets (at least early ones)
plus others, I'm sure. This starter is also probably available new, or
at least one that works.
Of course you would have to not be concerned with it having the right
date code. Even then, you may be able to find one that came off of a TD
or other car of the same month and year.
Charlie
Bud Krueger wrote:
> Stu, it sounds as if the one item you need to check before you take
> the starter to be tested is the switch. Take a heavy jumper cable and
> connect it directly between the ungrounded battery terminal and the
> starter terminal. Be prepared for a bunch of thunder and lightning.
> If that makes it spin over as it should, there's one more component to
> eliminate, the cable between the switch and the starter. Connecting
> the jumper between the battery and the terminal on the starter switch
> should give you the same effect if it's the switch. Good luck.
>
> Bud Krueger
>
> Stuart C. Keen, Jr. wrote:
>> How do I test the starter in a TD? The starter turns the engine, but
>> in slow
>> motion - i.e. Lugging effect.
>>
>> 1) I have replaced the Optima battery with a new Interstate one with
>> 700 amp
>> cranking power.
>>
>> 2) I have cleaned all electrical contacts between the battery and the
>> starter.
>> 3) Since ground is often the culprit in a Lucas system, I ran a
>> jumper cable
>> between the battery ground and the starter, but this did not help.
>>
>> 4) I checked the starter brushes and their respective wires and all was
>> okay.
>> The only two items left untested are a) the starter switch and 2) the
>> starter itself.
>> The evidence is: When I try to start the TD, it lugs (thus my initial
>> suspicion of battery or wiring problem). It appears to be zapping the
>> battery (like overload) because if the XPAG engine does not start by the
>> third attempt, there is not enough amperage to crank one more time.
>>
>> Then I tried to make a compression check. Each crank only built up the
>> compression to 30 psi (in the old days it would virtually jump to 150).
>> That's what I mean by slow motion. The highest it would climb was 90
>> psi (3
>> cranks) and then the battery was too zapped to turn the engine anymore.
>>
>> I tried to minutely adjust the mount of the starter so not a tight
>> meshing
>> of gears between the starter pinion and flywheel (ring gear), but
>> nothing I
>> did helped.
>> I am suspecting a shorted field wiring or something like that in the
>> starter, but do not know how to test in house.
>>
>> Thanks for any insight and suggestions.
>>
>> Stu Keen
>> 1951 MGTD Mark II
>>
>> PS You might say I am now paying the price for insanely driving this
>> 58 year
>> old MG from Venice, Florida to Prince Edward island, Canada (5,604 miles
>> round trip - 26.03 mpg, 8 qts of oil), arriving home a week ago. The
>> starter
>> problem began on the return trip, outside Albany, NY. Parking on
>> hills and
>> pushing were the methods of choice to start the TD. Kept ye old
>> hand-crank
>> in reserve.
>> _______________________________________________
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