Jeffrey,
Thanks a lot for your thoughts. After reading your message I decided to do
what it would take to get good connections to the brushes and that all came
out fine. As you said, the solenoid worked fine when installed on the
starter motor. The trouble is, when I tested the starter motor as it laid
on the garage floor, it revved up OK for about 3 seconds and then slowed
down to a steady but slow speed. That pretty well replicated what it does
when in the car.
The armature had scoring around it but the stator windings looked OK. Of
course, one can't tell too much just by looking. It didn't feel as if the
armature was binding when turning it by hand but when it runs it sounds like
there is a mechanical problem somewhere. Also, the brushes I took out of it
looked as if they had lots of wear left in them.
Gary
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