Can I test a starter with a battery?

['73 Stingray]

I have a 3.8 and I am pretty sure the starter is bad. It is off the car. Is just hooking it to a battery with jumper cables a bad idea? Will it tell me what I need to know? I do not want to have it tested because I am a while from anyone who will do it.

Thanks,
Scott

[Schurkey]

You cannot do any more than a rudimentary test with a battery and jumper cables. You could verify that the motor turns, and the solenoid/shift fork will move the drive into cranking position. I guess that's better than nothing.

You will NOT be able to verify starter current draw off the car, and you won't know if the motor actually has any power. You will not be able to test the drive for slippage, either.

Without some instruments, you won't know for sure if the starter motor is bad, or if the battery is bad, or both.

[tblake]

the drive gear inside the starter should be inside, and when you turn it with your finger it should turn freely one way, but stop the other. take jumper cables, hook them to a battery, and take the ground one, and hook it to the starter case. next you will find 2 terminal bolts on the starter solonoid and also another smaller terminal. one terminal on the solenoid will have a wire hooked to it that runs inside the starter, you want to clamp the batt posative jumper cable to the other solonoid terminal. you should still have no movement from the starter. next take a piece of wire, and jumper from the batt posative from the jumper cable hooked to the soloniod, to the other smaller terminal on the soloniod. watch out, sparks may fly, and the starter drive gear should kick out and spin very fast.

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by tblake

the drive gear inside the starter should be inside, and when you turn it with your finger it should turn freely one way, but stop the other. take jumper cables, hook them to a battery, and take the ground one, and hook it to the starter case. next you will find 2 terminal bolts on the starter solonoid and also another smaller terminal. one terminal on the solenoid will have a wire hooked to it that runs inside the starter, you want to clamp the batt posative jumper cable to the other solonoid terminal. you should still have no movement from the starter. next take a piece of wire, and jumper from the batt posative from the jumper cable hooked to the soloniod, to the other smaller terminal on the soloniod. watch out, sparks may fly, and the starter drive gear should kick out and spin very fast.

And torque itself off the bench and land on your foot

I use a screwdriver to jump from the big stud to the solenoid terminal, a piecr of wire gets hot fast! (especially if you end up doing a little arc welding by accident)

[tblake]

lol