M43 starter won't work

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Motomon
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Location: Santa Barbara, CA

M43 starter won't work

Post by Motomon »

Hi guys, I parked my truck about five minutes ago. When I went back to start it, I pressed on the starter and I heard a pop and my foot went to the floor. There was no sound or anything from the starter. The pedal won't return via spring, and even working it manually nothing will engage electrically. Help! At this point I can't start the truck
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Motomon
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Re: M43 starter won't work

Post by Motomon »

Figured it out. It simply slipped off the linkage! I'm a dumbass. On the road!

Edit: elaborating: the pedal tube/bolt thingy that goes through the firewall slipped off the linkage to the starter spring. Once I took a few breaths, stopped being pissed off and actually touched things in the motor (note, a metal screwdriver showers sparks if touching the hot leads haha :lol: ) I was able to move the pedal back and forth to figure out where it came from the firewall and deduce what went wrong. I'm happy with how simple the whole thing is.
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m37jarhead
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Re: M43 starter won't work

Post by m37jarhead »

Motomon wrote:Figured it out. It simply slipped off the linkage! I'm a dumbass. On the road!

Edit: elaborating: the pedal tube/bolt thingy that goes through the firewall slipped off the linkage to the starter spring. Once I took a few breaths, stopped being pissed off and actually touched things in the motor (note, a metal screwdriver showers sparks if touching the hot leads haha :lol: ) I was able to move the pedal back and forth to figure out where it came from the firewall and deduce what went wrong. I'm happy with how simple the whole thing is.
Motomon:
Don't beat yourself too badly. Anyone that's played with car and trucks for a while has occassionally run into a "crisis."
Then, sometimes, a panic attack sets in and we want to reach out to others for suggested fixes before we have
taken the time to fully check out the problem. That's a pretty normal reaction. Been there and done that. Your
post above made many of us smile with approval.

You called it right: "Once I took a few breaths" and got the oxygen flowing to your brain again, the problem became
obvious and you easily fixed it.

So, no harm, no foul. Keep posting your questions anytime you need help.
Jerry
Member: Arizona Military Vehicle Collector's Club, Treasurer.
Past Pres
Member: MVPA #26600
Member: NRA
‘43 GPW, '53 M37 W/W, ‘54 M170 Field Ambulance,
59 M43, '76 M151A2, '86 CUCV,
'43 GPW, 416 & 101 trailers.
majorhitt
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Re: M43 starter won't work

Post by majorhitt »

Just look at all the excitement you got. And the reward of finding the problem.
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