Solenoid bad test?

[nw04jen]

Hi
Could someone tell me how to check if solenoid bad please and not electric start. Have 12v at small red wire top right with arrow but no start.
Do I put a screwdriver across the two big nuts to see if energises starter? Arrow on left and nut to left of that with large yellow cable which i assume goes to starter motor.

Many thanks

[beamishken]

Yes big screwdriver across the two big terminals should energise the starter

[nw04jen]

Thanks for that. As suspected - failed solenoid not starter.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by nw04jen

Thanks for that. As suspected - failed solenoid not starter.

Maybe worth tracing the two smaller wires & see where they go I'd imagine one should be earth & the other a live to start. The problem could be with start in gear protection not doing what it should or an issue with the start signal supply itself

[nw04jen]

Red goes to start and receiving 12v when press button / turn key. Yellow goes off to ECU i think and from there to coils if remember rightly. Yellow has continuity.
12v start to 12v large nut from battery through solenoid no continuity ...which makes me think fault localised to solenoid?

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by nw04jen

Red goes to start and receiving 12v when press button / turn key. Yellow goes off to ECU i think and from there to coils if remember rightly. Yellow has continuity.
12v start to 12v large nut from battery through solenoid no continuity ...which makes me think fault localised to solenoid?

That wiring seems suspect to me those solenoids usually have one of the small terminals going to ground to complete the circuit when the start wire is powered up. Has it ever worked wired like that or could someone have connected it up wrong? I'd disconnect the wire off to the ecm & ground that terminal & see if it cranks. It might take its ground from the ecm but it would be more usual to take a live from the solenoid to the ecm. Dont try feeding a live down that wire until you confirm what it is though just in case I'm wrong. Disconnecting it & grounding the post its come off you cant hurt anything but it will prove the solenoid

[Davie]

Your red from small terminal will be going to the yellow/ red from the ignition switch. Ground the yellow. There will be a neutral safety switch inside the control box, put it in gear and it should not crank

[nw04jen]

At a bit of a loss. Replaced solenoid.
So no wiring been moved and all worked fine pre lay up.
Screwdriver across two.large terminals she fires up no issue. So wiring to starter motor is okay.
Two main posts - red from battery and ground to battery. Also engine ground post.

2 smaller posts. Power from switch (red wire) and the other smaller post to ground towards coils.
Continuity between switch and red smaller wire 0.0.
When I press start button I get 12.4V across push buttton terminals. . But at solenoid only 6V when ground on engine block. If ground on battery I get 12.4V. Should I just ground smaller ground on solenoid all the way back to the battery? What has made the engine ground 'bad'?
Sorry about explanation...not that easy in type

[nw04jen]

Fixed it. For some reason the small post on solenoid needed to be grounded back to battery and not just grounded on the engine block ground. No idea why. But for some reason now works so many thanks

[User name]

Originally Posted by nw04jen

Fixed it. For some reason the small post on solenoid needed to be grounded back to battery and not just grounded on the engine block ground. No idea why. But for some reason now works so many thanks

That's suggesting you've a grounding issue from the battery to the engine itself. 👍