on the 76 the starter will WHirrrr half the time when i push button. Sometime it will engage and the WHirr when it fires and other times it will spin her over and start up. Cleaned all connections, changed the plate that sticks and no change. Time for a starter rebuild?

 

Could be the Solinoid is hanging up, try pulling it off and see if there's rust on the plunger causing this. Might be a simple matter of cleaning it up, if thats not it the throw out might be the culprit. Sounds like the motor is spinning o.k. (starter)? That would explain the whirring sound, if it does turn over occasionally I'm thinking somethings either binding or hanging.

Hope it's simple.

 

I vote for the solenoid plunger and contacts too.

Also be sure to hit the start button with authority, not a squeamish tap, and hold it until it turns the engine over or spins out.

 

It's either the solenoid or an issue with the Bendix gear, the one that drives the clutch hub from the starter. I'd start with the solenoid, it's simple and going through it surely cannot hurt. Take it apart and clean it all up. Pay particular attention to the contact plate. If it has never been flipped, one should should be perfectly clean, flip it so the good side is the contact. Lube up all the plunger contact surfaces, reassemble and try that out. If you're still having problems, get out the manual, crack the primary and follow the procedure to replace the Bendix gear, just reinstall and align your existing one.

 

I had the primary off and the put back on and thats when all this started so i am going to pop it off and realign. I had solenoid apart and cleaned it twice. The plate has been flipped to the new side.

 

Yeah, then my bet is on the Bendix. My shovel is doing it now, I just haven't gotten up the energy to tear into it, but I also have a kicker so it doesn't really matter. I've seen this a bunch of times in my years of shovels.

 

Thanks for the input when I get back from Phoenix I will open it back up and realign. Thanks again. Love my shovel. Its the learning curve I like. Oh and the sound!

 

I am also betting bendix....since you had it apart before it started, did you get the brass thrust washer back on the starter shaft? Sometimes they get lost when you pull the outer cover.

 

Yes the washer made it back on the shaft. I will realign it and try again. Nothing more annoying than 6am at bike rally n trying to fire up the shovel and it takes 20 minutes of starter whirr before she finally grabs n starts. Haha.