Haven't posted in a while, but I have one that has me stumped, and could use some advice..
My engine starts when cold. When the engine is warm and I turn the engine off and then try to restart it, it acts like the battery is nearly dead. I've had the batteries checked at two locations and both say the batteries are good. Once the engine is completely cold, the coach starts just fine.
I recently had both the alternator and starter replaced thinking they were part of the problem (they need replacing anyway) but that did not solve the problem.
After stopping with the engine not running I get a 12 volt reading from the battery, and while the engine is running I get a14.5 reading at the battery, so it appears that the batteries are charging while the engine is running
Coach runs fine until I stop, then it barely cranks over, until it is cold again several hours later.
thanking everyone in advance for your thoughts.

David Gardner
1976 Birchaven (455 motor)
Oxnard Ca

A 10MT starter is so robust that it was used from 1956 to the late 90s. The problem is that it is Too Robust. It will keep trying when it should have quit and gone home long before. Then the is the problem that the 10MT for the TH425 went out of production 38 years ago. You can get a rebuilt, but don't expect it to be in anybody X-stock list. If you haven't looked into your starter recently, think about it. Changing brushes is cheap and easy.

Any suggestions on a good rebuild kit (or what should be in such a kit)?
Seems like cheap insurance and lighter/cheaper than carrying around a whole spare starter.
Might not always be able to fix it, but a rebuild kit could keep you from being stranded (or you could just do a pre-emptive rebuild with it).

thanks,
Karen
1975 26'

When we removed Lou Boone's transmission two weeks ago for Manny to rebuild
it here, we broke the starter. Cracked the bakelite housing which supports the primary 12VDC connection. Rather than fool with tearing down one of
the old starters laying around here for a replacement housing, we took it to the local Carb/Ignition shop. Charlie Smith, the owner, is about 65.
He started work at 17 for one of my grandfather's best friends.
<snip>
On the way home from lunch, we stopped at Charlie's to pick up the starter, fixed or not. What we found was a shiny new-looking one. "It was in
pretty good shape, brushes looked real good. But one armature bushing was worn so I replaced it. Found a near-new switch housing on an old starter.
It should work OK now..." Total bill? $22.00. Good Ol' Charlie!

Ken H.

David,

When you say you have 12.5 VDC at the starter, is that with the starter
activated? Otherwise, it's a virtually meaningless number. It's the
voltage under load that's important, and it must be measured at the battery
cable BOLT on the starter -- NOT at the cable end.

I've seen two instances within the past 6 months, one of them my own, where
similar problems were due to battery cables which were apparently good, but
the end terminals did not make perfect contact with the cable itself. In
one instance, there was smoke from the terminal while cranking. The other
terminal pulled off under severe manual twisting -- revealing severe
corrosion. New cables cured both problems.

Ken H.


On Sun, Sep 18, 2016 at 7:53 PM, David Gardner wrote:

> Thanks to all for your suggestions. They were all greatly appreciated. I
> have checked all my battery connections, and everything looks good.
> Both my batteries have been checked by two different battery stores, and
> they say the batteries are good.
>
> I have just noticed that when I put my key into the ignition, and depress
> it slightly, I get a buzz from the battery isolator. Is this normal?
>
> Over the last few days the coach has gone from starting when cold, to
> barely starting at all, to now not starting at all.
> I checked and I do have voltage (12.5) going down the starter.
> At the moment I am only getting a click when I turn the key to start the
> engine. Batteries are still showing 12.5 volts when I check the battery
> with the volt meter.
>
>
>> On Sep 16, 2016, at 5:00 PM, David Gardner wrote:
>>
>> Haven't posted in a while, but I have one that has me stumped, and could
> use some advice..
>> My engine starts when cold. When the engine is warm and I turn the
> engine off and then try to restart it, it acts like the battery is nearly
> dead. I've had the batteries checked at two locations and both say the
> batteries are good. Once the engine is completely cold, the coach starts
> just fine.
>> I recently had both the alternator and starter replaced thinking they
> were part of the problem (they need replacing anyway) but that did not
> solve the problem.
>> After stopping with the engine not running I get a 12 volt reading from
> the battery, and while the engine is running I get a14.5 reading at the
> battery, so it appears that the batteries are charging while the engine is
> running
>> Coach runs fine until I stop, then it barely cranks over, until it is
> cold again several hours later.
>> thanking everyone in advance for your thoughts.
>>
>> David Gardner
>> 1976 Birchaven (455 motor)
>> Oxnard Ca
>>
>
>
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