Escort starter motor 'M' connection

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I have a 1995 1.8 diesel Escort estate (manual transmission), and I'm in the UK. I started the car this evening - the engine ran but didn't quite catch so I switched off and tried again a few seconds later - this time I had nothing - no life at all from the starter motor. I got my multimeter (I'm an electronics engineer) and a torch and made a few quick checks by torchlight.

After I'd checked out the battery and its connections down to the solenoid 'B' terminal (all healthy) and the smaller conductor leading from the relay down to the small 'S' terminal on the solenoid (again, all healthy) I spotted the problem - the heavy conductor on the 'M' terminal is open-circuit. It doesn't look burned - it looks like it's had water inside the insulation and it has corroded through. So there's a little stub of this lead about three inches long which just ends abruptly in mid-air, running from the solenoid 'M' terminal at one end but connecting to nothing at the other.

So my question is - can anybody tell me where the other end of that lead should connect to? Perhaps it will be obvious tomorrow in the daylight but I couldn't find the other end of it tonight. I'm assuming it's the chassis return (negative) lead which would connect to the engine block, but then it's also possible that it connects to a terminal on the body of the starter proper (as distinct from the solenoid portion). Anybody know? Thanks.

[Selectron]

Well, I've been reading a guide to starter motor replacement on the Escort and the procedure is to remove the 'S' connector, and remove the 'B' connector and then unbolt the starter. At no point does it say to disconnect the 'M' terminal so therefore that must be the continuation of the positive feed which runs from the solenoid and into the housing of the actual starter motor.

Therefore my question has changed slightly. I now think that the open-circuit lead should run from the solenoid 'M' terminal and into the starter housing but how does it enter the housing? If it's bolted onto a threaded terminal then I can just make a new heavy duty lead with a new connector at each end and I'll be back in business but if it goes directly into the housing via a hole in the casing then a repair won't be so straightforward. So does anybody know how that lead from the solenoid 'M' terminal enters the starter motor housing? Thanks.

[12Ounce]

It's been years since I've looked at an Escort diesel (had two '86's), but I think I remember that conductor being routed through a little "bulge" that was at the end of a sheet metal cover that wrapped around the main starter motor body. The cover was designed somewhat like a clamp and secured to the starter motor with two sets of screws and nuts. I hope this is correct ... of course the USA models may have been different anyway.

Ford did not service their USA diesel Escort customers very well. Replacement parts were not much available here after 1990. Folks had to just "make do". I remember having to replace the vacuum pump with a totally alien dc electric pump bought from a laboratory supply company.

If your battery is located in the rear of the vehicle, as mine were, then the body is used as a ground path from rear to front. I remember those rear body ground connections were subject to loosening/corrosion... you may want to check.

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Thanks, 12Ounce. I did get a look at the starter motor but I didn't see any sign of a sheet metal cover. Also, my battery is in the engine bay just forward of the bulkhead so I suspect our models are quite different in detail.

I doubt that I'll be able to effect a repair in situ so the starter will probably have to be removed, at which point the wiring of this 'M' terminal lead will be quite obvious. How infuriating that it has waited until damp, dark November to fail, instead of during the long, dry summer. Still, at least I'll be able to do the repair or replacement myself and access looks fairly reasonable so that's something to be thankful for. I used to enjoy this kind of thing when I was younger but these days it's just an unwelcome chore.