Is my starter bad?

[cutitall]

Cub Cadet LT1050 with Kohler engine

Hi all,

So I'm bench testing this starter I have, in the usual manner, but the thing is that although the shaft spins just fine, the internal solenoid will throw the gear shaft out about an inch like its supposed to, but as I keep power to it the motor continues to spin but the gear shaft begins to retract back towards the starter housing.

Is this just a quirk due to the starter not being mounted to the engine? Such that if it was mounted, the friction of the starter gear meshing with the ring teeth on the motor would keep the gear shaft thrown out and engaged?

I have a video but don't see a way to post it.

Thanks for reading!

cutitall

 

[Douglas Lee]

I agree with your statement!
I don't think the starter is bad.
I think that is normal in this case, it has no engagement with an opposing gear to keep
it at the top end/extended position of the motor shaft, therefore it is slipping back down to the retracted position.
Thanks,
Douglas Lee
*

 

[StarTech]

Solenoid shift starter should keep the Bendix up; unless, the battery voltage is dropping below 9.5v. If the applied voltage is dropping so is the strength of the solenoid magnetic field; so therefore, the solenoid will start to retract the Bendix below 9.5v.

Now an Inertia starter operates a little different as the starter slows the anti drift spring could start to push the Bendix while free rotating.

But in this case the OP said internal solenoid so it would be a solenoid shift starter. Sounds like a bad test battery to me or it is well below 300 CCA capacity.