The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop starter will not disengage-wired wrong?

I just bought a used 250 and want to start it before I intall it.
I just hooked the positive on a battery to to the starter and the negative to the block and used a remote starter switch.
The starter keeps cranking after I release the button.
Is it wired incorrectly or maybe it needs to be shimmed?
Does it take any power to disengage the starter or should it just release though spring pressure? Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank-you

Is the starter still trying to turn the engine over, or just simply not releasing? No power neded to release it, just the spring in the solenoid. Could be a shorted solenoid or constant power to the "S" terminal. Usually if a shimming problem will cause grinding when the starter tries to engage, not making it run after the switch is turned off.

Thanks for the reply. The starter is still trying to turn the motor over. I forgot to mention, I took the starter out and it seemed to work fine.

Could be the seliniod sticking but sometimes a GM starter will short out inside & do that. The only way to cure it if thats the case isto replace it.

Sorry not sure how this got posted again

How do you have the remote starter wired?

sounds like the solenoid is sticking..

How do you have the ignition coil wired? Is the starter solenoid getting power through it?

If the starter is still on the motor you might try this. Take a working voltmeter, set it for plus DC @ anything over 12 volts. 25 volt full scale is about right. Hook the red lead to the "s" terminal, black to ground. Have someone bump the starter with the key. The voltmeter needle will "jump". If it does not jump to 12 volts then return to zero when the key is returned to off you got it wired wrong. If it does return to zero the problem is in your starter system or how is the bolted up to the fly wheel. Note: a bench test is a good test but remember that in a no load application such as a bench test, very little current is going through the starter. In the real world 50 plus amps are being used depending on how much energy is rerquired to turn the motor over. You may have a high resistance short. Take the stater to a auto parts place and they can test it under load if you suspect this might be your problem.

This situation has happened to me before. If the engine is extremely difficult to turn, the load on the starter armature will not allow the starter drive gear to disengage from the flywheel. If the engine doesn't start, or at least fire a cylinder occasionally and unload the gear, the spring in the solenoid will not be strong enough to yank the drive gear out of the flywheel, keeping the contact disc on the solenoid engaged. The first time it happened to me, I was working on an engine that had the pistons fitted way too tight, creating lots of drag on the starter. Once we got it to start and the pistons established a running clearance, the problem went away. Try turning the engine over with a wrench on the crankshaft center bolt, and I'll bet you find it takes LOTS of torque to make it move.
Jerry