I my basic electronics class in 1975 we were taught that a device that used an
electromagnet to make a heaviy switch make contact was called a RELAY.
A device that used an electromagnet to cause mechanical motion was called a
SOLENOID.
Now I know that Ford Motor Company has been calling thier fender-mounted
starter relays a solenoid forever, and I know that the British never call
things what Americans call them, but that is how it is taught in electronics
classes in the USA.
Who cares what we call it? It is the thingy that uses an electromagnet to push
the pinion gear into the ring gear, and makes the connection between two very
large contacts to conduct current through the starter motor. It looks like a
big lump on the side of the starter motor. If it does not work properly a few
different symptoms can occur.
1. No response at all when you push the start button.
2. A click sound when you push the start button.
3. A whirring sound (the starter motor spinning) but no engine turning when you
push the start button.
All of these can be fixed by repairing or replacing the solenoid.
Sometimes...
Eric Thompson
S/V Procrastinator
South San Francisco
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Kafer
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2008 7:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] update - motor doesn't start!
This is not exactly correct. The bendix is indeed the mechanical device that
causes the starter's pinion gear to mesh with the engine's flywheel. When the
shaft of the starter motor spins, the pinion gear is thrown outward along the
shaft to engage the flywheel. When the fly wheel is spinning fast enough (when
the engine starts), the pinion gear is thrown back along the shaft, disengaging
the the pinion. The solenoid is an electromechanical device that is essentially
a switch. By applying a small current to the electro-magnet, the switch (heavy
contacts) is closed which allows a large current to flow from the battery to
the starter.
Peter
s/v Now or Never!
P323
----- Original Message ----
From: Philip & Marilyn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2008 7:09:11 AM
Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] update - motor doesn't start!
A small point:
A bendix spring and a solenoid are different methods by which the starter
motor pinion gear is made to engage the ring gear on the flywheel..
They are not used together, Both are systems whose purpose is to engage the
pinion gear with the flywheel on the engine.
A solenoid is a electro-magnetic device which drives the pinion into the ring
gear on the flywheel.
A bendix spring is a purely mechanical device relying on a loaded spring and
centrifugal force to do the job.
I believe what we are dealing with here is a solenoid.
Philip
"Be the change you want to see"
Philip & Marilyn Lange
AE4OV & KD4JRC,
ORYOKI
Witness 35 Catamaran
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