That uninsulated wire between the starter body and the solenoid is not a
ground.  It is the main wire from the solenoid to the starter.

I have repaired a starter by putting a short piece of battery cable where
that wire goes.

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
Mark A Kippert
Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2010 9:20 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Starter Help!

I recently found that my starter had failed because the short ground that
runs from the starter body to the solenoid had disintegrated. It looked fine
until I started brushing it clean to inspect it, then it fell apart. I
bought the van non-running so I don't know if there were any symptoms
leading up to it's failure.

Mark K
1986 GL/2WD/4SPD "Old Gold"
1990 Carat/2WD/Auto "Carol"

On Feb 13, 2010, at 3:35 PM, Kevin Plichta wrote:

> My 91 starter not turning. I here the fuel pump come on, there is 12v at
the main starter lead and less than 4 at the solenoid when turning the key.
When I disconnect the solenoid lead and turn the key there 12v. So under a
load is when I think is the problem but what ??  I had the starter tested at
a shop and worked. Some history, this past fall the short braided cable
between the starter and solenoid was replaced at a shop.
> Thanks again for your wisdom!!
> Kevin Plichta
>
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