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Shorted starter motor?


Ohtoo

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So my bronco has had a little trouble starting if it has been running for awhile and then is turned off. Starts right up on the first crank from cold. If I say, kill the engine while parking, I often have to wait a few minutes before it will do anything but a low groaning crank like it has a dead battery. The other day was in the situation described above and tried to turn it over again immediately. After a couple tortured cranks the power died and some smoke came out from under the hood. Looks like I melted something at the battery terminal.
15462
Now the lights will come on if I out the key in the ignition bit when I try to crank it the electrical system does for a few minutes. I'm guessing I shorted something in the starter but I wanted to see if anyone has had a similar issue before I start buying parts.
 


Ohtoo

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Also I should mention, the battery is good, reading 12.36 volts. There don't seem to be any blown fuses either.
 

Uncle Gump

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I say you had some poor connections at a minimum... all the battery connections and cables have to be spot on. Any resistance in the cables will cause cranking issues.

I would repair all the battery connections and cables before I went any further. Then see what you have after your repairs. Google "voltage drop testing" and quickly learn how to test your starter cables and connections

Sometimes an engine that "bucks" while trying a warm start can be attributed to too much timing advance... or worse... just plain running to hot.
 

Ohtoo

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I say you had some poor connections at a minimum... all the battery connections and cables have to be spot on. Any resistance in the cables will cause cranking issues.

I would repair all the battery connections and cables before I went any further. Then see what you have after your repairs. Google "voltage drop testing" and quickly learn how to test your starter cables and connections

Sometimes an engine that "bucks" while trying a warm start can be attributed to too much timing advance... or worse... just plain running to hot.
Thanks for the info! I'll check that out and start with the battery.
 

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