[T3] no start -- but just drove it!

[Jim Adney]

On 3 Feb 2012 at 11:52, Bryon Garvin wrote:

> Well, the car sat after this episode until today.  I finally have the
> time and weather to deal with it.  One question though, if I get under
> the car (not in gear! ) and try the "quarter procedure" and the car
> *doesn't*start, I assume then that I have a starter problem.  If that's
> the case, does the starter have to come off to do further analysis? 

I would check a couple more things before pulling the starter. For 
these, you need a voltmeter or a test light. (A test light just 
checks for the presense or absense of voltage: the light is on or off 
(or dim.)

Gearshift in NEUTRAL!

NOTE: Any time you put a wrench to a nut that has + battery voltage 
on it, you must remove the battery ground strap first!

Get a friend to help with the key. Crawl under the car and find a 
clean place to clip your ground lead. Check that this is good by 
touching the other lead to the large cable from the battery.

Have the friend turn the key to START, while you put your probe on 
the lug on the solenoid where the ignition switch wire comes from the 
front. You should see voltage there when the key is turned to START.

Put your probe on the LUG on the end of the large main cable from the 
battery. You should see voltage there even when the key is turned to 
START. If not, R/R both battery post connections. Check again. If it 
still isn't good, your battery may be the problem.

Put the probe on the end of the STUD the large lug above connects to. 
There should be voltage there even when the key is turned to START. 
If not, loosen and retighten the nut on that stud. Add some grease 
there to keep out moisture.

If all these things check out okay, remove the battery ground strap 
and then the starter. It's probably the starter brushes. Most of the 
time they just need to be freed up where they slip in their guides, 
but eventually they need to be replaced. There are special brushes 
for the Bosch starter motors with alum field windings. I don't think 
you'll find them anywhere else, but I think I still have some.

The special brushes don't come with copper pigtails attached. They 
come with a hole in the brush that is metalized. You crush the old 
brush with a pair of pliers and insert the end of the old pigtail in 
the hole and solder it in.

You CAN use normal brushes with pigtails, but you have to use a 
solder and flux that will work with alum. Normal flux will not work.

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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