TOPIC:

hey Scotch, do you have any how to's on your coil conversion? the earlier reply/post with your mod images looked very cool

Thanks

Thanks, buddy! When it warms up enough here in Missouri (March, maybe?), I'll check out the insides of that relay.

Sorry, Don't have a "how to" on the coils but I guess that's on the list now too !

Sorry about the delayed reaction, but can the solenoid "click" when the button is pushed, as if it were working OK, but still not conduct enough electricity (because of damaged contacts) to turn the starter motor?

The soleniod can still make a ckicking sound it doesn't mean that power is going through it though (internal contacts could be burnt)
best to try this
1. put a volt meter across the battery termnimals and push starter button see if volts drops. - no drop no power going through soleniod if voltage drops then tap the side of the starter with a hammer and push starter button again and see if starter works if voltage still drops and doesn't turn over I'd look at the starter.
2. put a test light from the neg terminal of battery to the starter side of the soleniod and push starter button (see if test light lights up (bright light - a dim light may indicate a poor ground somewhere in the circuit)- no then no power is going through soleniod. try tapping top of soleniod with a hammer and try starter button agian- try bridging the soleniod momentarily (across the two bigger wires) to see if starter tries to turn engine over.

BE CAREFUL you don't want to fry any wires.

Hope this helps.

Jumping the solenoid terminals on the heavy cables will tell you if the solenoid is working or not. If the starter spins then you need to clean the internals of the solenoid like Scotch suggests.
The other thing I'd like to mention is the ground circuit through the starter. One brush in the starter is connected to the starter power cable and the other brush is connected to the brush plate (which is the ground for the starter motor. the brush plate is in contact with the field housing, which is in contact with the starter gear housing, which is attached to the motor. That's your ground path through the starter. Any corrosion at any of these contact points will leave you with an open circuit to ground. Sometimes tapping a corroded starter will help bridge the corrosion and the starter will spin. Then you need to disassemble the starter and clean all the points of contact, reassemble and give it a good coat of paint on the outside to protect it from the elements.