Date:         Mon, 24 Jun 2002 21:43:25 -0500
Reply-To:     wilden1@JUNO.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Whacking the solenoid
Comments: To: voicebox@DNAI.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

You guys just keep whacking away blindly and you'll break the bake-lite
end cap on your solenoid, crush the sheet metal end cap and weld your
table leg to the positive battery pole.
Then you're going to reach a learning plateau ........... Oops!
But you'll be making a two word exclamation.

Stan Wilder
83 Air Cooled Westfalia

On Mon, 24 Jun 2002 19:22:17 -0700 DaveC <voicebox@DNAI.COM> writes:
> >With all the discussion of gently beating the starter with hammers,
> etc., I
> >noticed a lot of folks spoke of crawling under the van, opening the
> deck lid,
> >and other inconveniences to hit the starter.  The trick is to go at
> it from
> >the side.  If you have a 2-foot pole (or a 62 cm pole), you just
> slide it
> >into the wheel well, at about the 10 o'clock position to the rear
> right tire.
> >  If it is your first time, do it in daylight or use a flashlight.
> A couple
> >of whacks and you are good to go.  It like shooting pool, and you
> hardly have
> >to bend over -- no crawling or unloading involved!
> >
> >I did this for a few weeks, intermittently, until I disassembled,
> >cleaned, and lubed the solenoid.  I may not be an expert on fixing
> these
> >things, but I got all the good roadside tricks down pat. :)
>
> Ya gotta be careful with this technique.
>
> I'm sure there's lotsa folks who've driven millions of miles with
> no
> ill effects.
>
> But remember that a solenoid is a coil of wire inside a thin metal
> skin. If you bash that thing too hard with something heavy (the
> wooden pole is probably the best suggestion to avoid damage), you
> could dent the shell so that it pierces the insulation of the wire
> coil inside.
>
> At the least, it could stop you travel plans until you replaced it.
> At worst, it could cause a short that would take out one of the
> fusible links in the starter circuit (this circuit isn't protected
> by
> any of the fuses in the fuse box) next time you turn the key.
>
> Dave
> --
> Dave Carpenter
>
> Whatever you wish for me,
> May you have twice as much.
>
> "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
> magic." -- Arthur C. Clarke
>

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