electrical issue...

[noJeepshere]

I guess starters are supposed to have a life of 50000 starts or something like that. the other day the starter on my yukon malfunctioned. it cranked the engine and all was well, until things started going wrong, the wipers started, the turn signal made headlights flash,and all sorts of other shtuff like that. remembering a similar problem with bus i drove last summer, i suspected the starter. i pulled mine off and took it to NAPA, and the gear that engages the flywheel stayed out until it stopped rotating. my guess is that it did that on the engine and acted as a second generator/alternator. now the coach was fine after a new starter was installed, and mine seems likewise. am i just lucky, or should i worry?

 

[vortec]

that's interesting. since all that stuff was still working, and it didn't blow the fuses or burn up wires, it sounds like stuff may have survived just fine.

 

[lectric80]

It would have converted to an unregulated generator. In most cases the battery can absorb the overflow, but the computer freaks out because the power is very dirty. You should be fine, but should go through all your fuses, as well as check to make sure everything still works. Most systems can handle it, but sometimes things go wrong. The strange thing is the way the starter drive is designed, it should only spin one way, and if it fails it usually just spins both directions. It will usually just be forced back in by the twist on the end of the starter motor. How much debris and grease was found in the drive? I have run starters for 10 - 12 years, getting used regularly, and never seen one fail like this.

 

[noJeepshere]

no grease, and something that looked like graphite. quite a bit of it.