REFLECTOR: Starter problem

[Steve Goldman]

> 
> It’s January.  The starter has to draw more current when the engine and 
> oil are cold that when things are warmer.  It sounds like you have a 
> very marginal system, as confirmed by Sky-Tec.  The only permanent 
> solution will be to get the correct size breaker installed.
> 
>  

The starter may be drawing more current but it's the solenoid circuit 
which doesn't do anymore work in the cold that is tripping (the 
starter draws 100's of amps). (Ok that isn't pedantically accurate as 
the coil resistance does decrease marginally with temperature).

However as you say having a 5 amp. breaker on a circuit that is rated 
at 6 amps is just asking for trouble. There could be lots of things 
that make it touchy. Since the cb is marginal if you have to run the 
starter longer (because of thicker oil, low battery, plugs, etc.) then 
the over-current could last long enough to trip the breaker. A cb can 
take an over-current and not trip depending on how long the  overload 
exists.

A bad connection in the solenoid circuit would seem to make it less 
likely to trip because the bad connection adds resistance to the 
circuit and limits current.

A bad connection in the starter could cause the solenoid breaker to 
trip (in this instance) because the starter may run slower and take 
longer to start the engine.

One other seeming paradox is that a low battery (within limits) 
actually increases the current the starter draws while turning 
because the inductance of the starter motor increases with speed and 
so the current draw decreases as the speed goes up. You can see this 
effect when you stall or almost stall a drill/saw/etc. and have a 
breaker trip that under normal circumstances won't trip.

-- 
Steve Goldman
'77 Tiger N28531
Velocity XL5-RG (T-3370hrs)
Pittsboro, NC (9NC8)