I have a Lister SR2 with electric starting installed in NB Otter, which we purchased last November. Cold starting is fine but when the engine is warm, the starter appears not to engage – the solenoid clicks in but the starter spins freely. Until the engine block has cooled down (e.g. overnight) the starter will not engage.
I’m not sure what kind of starter it is (Bendix?) and the manual I have gives the electrical circuits but no detail on the starter itself or how it engages to start. Can you suggest where to start? I am contemplating stripping the motor off and cleaning it, but am not sure whether I will need new gaskets and/or shims to put it back.
Your engine has what is known as a pre-engage starter. If you follow the battery pos. cable, you will find that it joins the “engine” on the smaller if a two cylinder chunk of kit. One cylinder above the other.
The large cylinder is actual starting motor – electrically this sounds as if its ok – more later.
The smaller cylinder is the solenoid. This has two jobs. First it pulls the starter pinion (gear) into mesh with teeth on the flywheel, and once it has done that it closes a switch at the cable end of the solenoid to send electricity to the starter. Your switch sounds ok and I am 98% certain that the pulling in bit is also ok.
Diesels often fire up one cylinder at a time and this requires the operator to keep the starter operating even though one or two cylinders are firing. This would cause the flywheel to drive the starter motor round at such a speed that parts of the motor would fly apart. To prevent this some form of “one way clutch” is fitted between the motor and the pinion. I think this is your problem.
Modern motors tend to use a free-wheel (like on a bike), but I think yours has a multi-plate, one way, clutch. The plates may be worn out, covered in oil, or the whole thing may be falling apart.
You need to turn off the master switch and disconnect the wires on the starter – draw a diagram so you can put them back correctly.
The starter is normally bolted to the engine by tree bolts or studs with nuts. Undo these and lift the starter out.
I think that your starter needs the throw on the pinion set up, once it has been disturbed, so would advise that your best course of action would be to take it to a vehicle electrical specialist, tell them the symptoms and ask that they repair it – I think this should be cheaper than buying an exchange one – even assuming an exchange one is available.
