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New starter smoking?

BigBen

BigBen

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OK,

I changed the starter on my '74 and got everything put back together tonight.

I went to start it and it cranked for about 15 seconds. I had the hood and drop light pointing under the hood. I noticed a small whisp of grey smoke coming up from the firewall area at the back of the engine. The engine had not caught yet.

I got out, checked everything (looked good, no scorches on wires, no scorches on starter, wires were not hot from current). Decided to try it again. After about 10 seconds I had the whisp of smoke again as the engine caught.... Once the engine was running and the starter was off, the smoke stopped.

After that the engine caught much faster everytime I started it and I haven't seen the smoke again.

I didn't hear any shorting/arcing/sparks. I didn't smell any burnt 'electrical' smell.

Anyone got any ideas what is going on? I'm here alone tonight and don't have a remote start switch... so I've got to wait until I can get some help this weekend to watch it while it cranks.

I unhooked the battery tonight just to be safe.

Any ideas guys? Is it possible that some assembly lube was just burning off inside the starter? (wishful thinking, I'm afraid......)

-Ben
 
BigBen said:
OK,

I changed the starter on my '74 and got everything put back together tonight.

I went to start it and it cranked for about 15 seconds. I had the hood and drop light pointing under the hood. I noticed a small whisp of grey smoke coming up from the firewall area at the back of the engine. The engine had not caught yet.

I got out, checked everything (looked good, no scorches on wires, no scorches on starter, wires were not hot from current). Decided to try it again. After about 10 seconds I had the whisp of smoke again as the engine caught.... Once the engine was running and the starter was off, the smoke stopped.

After that the engine caught much faster everytime I started it and I haven't seen the smoke again.

I didn't hear any shorting/arcing/sparks. I didn't smell any burnt 'electrical' smell.

Anyone got any ideas what is going on? I'm here alone tonight and don't have a remote start switch... so I've got to wait until I can get some help this weekend to watch it while it cranks.

I unhooked the battery tonight just to be safe.

Any ideas guys? Is it possible that some assembly lube was just burning off inside the starter? (wishful thinking, I'm afraid......)

-Ben
Click to expand...



Should have bought a starter that was a non-smoker :D !
 
I had no idea that you could select starters from the "smoking" and "non-smoking" sections at the auto parts store....

:D
 
Was it turning over slowly at first but is turning much faster now?

Also, why did you have to change the starter?

And lastly is the timming set correctly?
 
JEBSR said:
Was it turning over slowly at first but is turning much faster now?

Also, why did you have to change the starter?

And lastly is the timming set correctly?
Click to expand...

Speed for turning over was constant and normal.

I changed the starter because my old one would crank for a couple seconds and then disengage. Figured it was a solenoid problem or something and swapped. The new starter stays engaged and cranks well. So I think that problem was solved.

Timing is correct. Truck is running like a top once it starts.
 
Ok. the reason I asked about the speed is that I have seen starters that had to thick of a washer in the rear causing them to be really tight the first little bit. After a few turns they sometimes loosen up but do smoke just a little. If it is smoking allot I would just take it back before it leaves you stranded.
 
I didn't know about the washer problem.

I have no idea where the smoke was coming from.
If it were a short on the main wire, it would short all the time because it is always hot. A short on the 'start' wire would not be likely because it was fine with the old starter. I'm only left with the concept that the small amount of smoke came from the new starter itself.

I guess I'll have to get my girlfiriend to turn the engine over this weekend while I watch for the smoke.

It's never easy.

-Ben
 
Oh and they are fabric type washers, not plastic or metal. The older ones were like leather. That's why they would smoke.
 
Hmmmm... it wasn't smoking much... just a little whisp of light gray smoke. It's a new AC Delco Reman starter that I got from Rock Auto.

Maybe I'll try it through the weekend and see if it goes away....

-Ben
 
The manufacture might have put alittle lube in there to keep corrosion at a minimum. They probably sit on a shelf for several months before it gets sold and used. Might be burning that off with the first few cranks.
 
`Nothing to worry about. Probably just a little grease burning off of the commutator. Same thing happened to me after I got a winch motor rebuilt.
 
OK, sounds like our consensus is to not worry and run the blazer.

That's good news since the weather is so beautiful here right now!

-Ben
 
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