[DeTomaso] DB electric starter bites the dust
MikeLDrew at aol.com
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Mon Jul 22 18:22:24 EDT 2013
In a message dated 7/22/13 14 26 53, dave at damardirect.com writes:
> Ed,
> I have had my DB starter 5+ years. I also wrapped a fabric heat shield
> around it for good measure. No high temp starting issues.
>
>>>FWIW, I have a starter which appears to be identical to the DB Electric
starter, except it's a different color, I got it from Dennis Quella and it
cost $150 instead of $50.
It broke, but I am willing to acknowledge that *I* broke it by noticing
that the main cable on the solenoid was a bit loose, and then over-tightening
it. It turns out the stud on the solenoid is merely a standard bolt, and
the plastic housing has molded internals to capture the head of the bolt.
Attempting to tighten it resulted in the housing cracking and the bolt then
flopping loose. This happened at the track at the Reno-Fernley Speed Trials
a few years ago. Fortunately it was still able to make incidental contact
and I was able to get home without resorting to push-starting (most of the
time).
I mentioned it to DQ while there, and a few days after I got home, a new
solenoid appeared at my door, gratis, even though I claimed responsibility for
breaking the old one. I swapped them out, carefully tightened the nut
just so, and have been happy ever since.
The fact that you (you Hugh, not the other yous) have suffered repeated
failures of the solenoid on the nominally identical DB Electrical units, may be
down to the same poor installation technique that I used the first time.
The fact that you Hugh isn't installing it himself prevents him from being
able to say for sure. It certainly would have been nice if there was a
warning against getting too rambunctious when tightening the nut on the stud,
though....
Mike
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