[TR] Who went driving this weekend? And also: Another Broken TR4 Vacuum A...

[Dave1massey at cs.com]

In a message dated 4/6/2008 9:00:36 PM Central Daylight Time, 
bberger720 at sbcglobal.net writes: 
> Let me explain.  I tried to start it in December and after a number of 
> tries
> the starter stopped working and all I got was a click.  When I opened the
> hood there was smoke coming out of the wire at the starter.  I grabbed my
> fire extinguisher but no fire.  So  thought that I had let all of the smoke
> out of the starter.
> 
> I finally had time to work on the car Saturday and I thought that I might as
> well see if anything happens when I turn the key.  Lo and behold the starter
> worked and I could not smell any smoke, so I cranked it and it started.
> 
> I let it warm up and it seemed happy and it was a beautiful day in St. Louis
> so I took it for a short drive.
> 
> I guess I still need to try and find out what happened so that I don't burn
> anything up but it sure made me feel better to drive it.
> 
Bob, the smoke was probably from the connection where the wire is bolted onto 
the starter terminal.  A little corosion created some resistance at the 
interface and the starter current created a bunch of heat.  The heat may have 
caused the terminal to weld itself to the terminal.

I suggest you take that connection apart and clean all surfaces and put it 
back together.  (Be sure to disconnect the battery first.)


Cheers


Dave Massey
57 TR3
71 TR6
80 TR8