79 Bus Starter

[[email protected]]

I've asked several people what they think is the problem with my bus, but it seems like everything I try just doesn't seem to fix the issue. I love my bus, it's my daily driver, however when I go long distances or travel at a speed greater than 60, I know that I won't be able to start my bus for at least two hours afterward, unless I push start it. My guess is that it has something to do with the heat (I live in AZ), but I'm not sure. The only sound produced when I turn the key at these points is a medium pitched buzz that almost sounds like something small turning really fast. Any help?

[chabanais]

I had the same problem with my 71. Although I'm sure it was for a different reason than yours, what my mechanic told me was that when the starter gets hot it takes way more energy to start it than when it's cold. He said this can happen for two reasons: your battery isn't strong enough or the starter is going. My problem was fixed when it was discovered why my alternator (I had it converted) wasn't charging the battery correctly.

This happened about a month ago.

[had a bug named O.J.]

my toyota does it all the time. i stop it and try it again. i'm not an auto guru. when another car had flywheel(cracked) problems and i drove a while it wouldnt start well until cooler. in the realm of tractors, if the guide assy that the gear rides on is dirty or the spring catches, it can cause problems too. if a flywheel or starter gear is missing teeth it can mimic the same thing. tractors use mainly automotive principles, so i hope this may help. to alleviate a lot of costs to my customers, i used to pull the starters, and spray the bejeezus out of it with a good cleaner and voila!! a working starter. no problems since. hope my useless ramblings help.mm

[had a bug named O.J.]

the spinning sound is your gear spinning and not catching the flywheel. if the flywheel is fully intact and the starter gear is fully intact, then try to clean it. remove the starter and spray it with a good cleaner. make sure everything moves nice and freelyu and the return spring doesnt catch on anything that feels unnatural. mm

[[email protected]]

Thank you both for your input. I will try to clean my starter and flywhell. I'll check my battery charge....Does the ground wire from the battery play a big role in its charging? I may not have it grounded well enough.