starter solenoid part number for SD22

[millican]

I thought I had seen these mentioned in the past, but couldn't find anything. Does anyone know the part number for the starter solenoid for an SD22 gear-driven starter? I bought a new solenoid, took the starter out, and ... it is not the same. The one I need a number for is the well-used one in this photo.

 

[wayno]

Are you positive yours was bad?

The SD series starters have this habit of clicking a lot, and then seemingly jamming and then not doing anything, but when I use a screwdriver and jump the power from the main cable, to the starter exciter post on the starter itself, it works just fine.

I am actually not sure why it does this myself, but when I tighten the main power cable on the starter itself, my issues go away, at least for a little while, it also seems to be worse when warmed up, mine hardly ever act up when cold, but once warmed up................

 

I have bought and sold a bunch of 720 diesels, on a few of them people have set up this relay system that pulled power off the main power supply post of the starter/battery(same thing), then it went to a relay, then it went back to the stater exciter post, they then put the starter exciter wire in the 720 harness to the relay, that way the exciter post is fed a full 12V when you hit the key to start the engine.

 

Every time I have ever pulled the diesel starter out of the truck, it has worked fine on the ground, it drove me crazy, that is when I started trying other things first, like tightening all the nuts, using a screwdriver to jump it, ect; as I knew it would work fine once I removed it.

[millican]

The motor was shorting out by a bolt that runs through it close to one of the not-so-fixed internal contacts. So, sometimes, this short would occur, which could be seen by checking resistance from the motor side of the solenoid to ground. By Ohm's law, the amount of current that would go through the solenoid when that shorted was probably more than the solenoid could handle. If I skip the solenoid and power the motor directly on the bench, it works fine. I do have the solenoid relay setup installed as you described just in case. I ordered a solenoid via ebay that supposedly fit. It's the nice shiny one in the picture. They won't take it as a refund saying that it does fit "some" of the models that they said it fit.

[millican]

So, I was wondering what that rectangular plunger in the solenoid is supposed to do anyway. Nothing seemed to happen when I moved the lever on the gear housing of the motor, but there is a hole there that looks like a bolt could/should go through it to hold the lever in place. I've never had more than 2 bolts to take the starter out, so I'm pretty sure that there just hasn't been anything in that hole. Should a bolt or something be where the T-handle Allen wrench is in this photo?

 

[wayno]

That is where the bolt is supposed to be that makes the solenoid work, that is the pivot point, if that has been missing, it's not going to work.

You must also put the bolt in from the side you have the allen wrench poked into the hole, if you put the bolt through from the other side, the nut/bolt will interfere with the upper bolt holding the starter in(you won't be able to get the socket on the head of the bolt), I had one of mine rebuilt, the guy put the bolt in the wrong way, had to take it back to him, because that particular bolt is hard to install, as there is a spring in there, but I did get it in, but there was a dragging issue, so he fixed it correctly.

Here are some photos.

The nut has to be on this side in the photo below.

[millican]

Ahh. Thanks. I put an M8 1.25x50mm bolt in, and it worked. The starter has never worked right on the truck since I bought it. Now it does! The starter motor did have a short in it, but that bolt was missing too.

It still won't start for some reason, but it will at least turn over consistently.

[wayno]

Ahh. Thanks. I put an M8 1.25x50mm bolt in, and it worked. The starter has never worked right on the truck since I bought it. Now it does! The starter motor did have a short in it, but that bolt was missing too.

It still won't start for some reason, but it will at least turn over consistently.

 

What won't start, the engine?

There are a lot of reasons why a SD22 engine will not start, so many in fact, it's hard to think of them all.

For a first time start, in my opinion it would be smart to disconnect the injection pump(IP) controller arm, the reason for this is that when the engine is not running, the IP is in the shut off position, this means that you cannot prime the system, and if the electrics are not working properly it will not run either, but if the arm is disconnected, the IP will default to the run position, but once started, you will have to manually shut the engine down yourself by twisting the arm counter clockwise that the rod going to the IP controller was disconnected from.

Do you know if you are getting fuel to the injectors?

In the past I have taken off the injection lines and turned it over till I seen fuel squirting out of the injection pump itself, then I put the lines back on and turned it over till it started.

Are you the one that pulled your truck till it started?

[millican]

Yes, it's the engine that's not starting. It was getting harder and harder to start cold after sitting for a day. After multiple attempts at starting and heating the glow plugs today, only one was hot enough to make you think it might not be comfortable touching it for a long time. The others might have been warm. I have no idea how old they are and will order some tomorrow. I'll try plugging in the block heater tomorrow too while looking at the injector pump. The block heater usually made it start easier - even in the South in the summer.

I didn't pull the truck 'til it started, but I did let it roll a few feet to start once this summer near Oklahoma City.

[wayno]

In anything above 60 degrees it should start fairly easy, even in the morning, if it's hard to start even when warm outside, then you have an issue.

You can check the glow plugs, just remove from the block, ground the threads, and apply 12V to the post, it should get hot fairly quick, if nothing happens, it is bad, at least that is how they did it at diesel injection services when they tested mine.

So you have had it running, how long before it quits smoking white/gray?

This is what happened to mine when the dash lights went out one night, and one of the hoses sprung a leak, it overheated and I did not know it.

It took 5 minutes for this to completely clear up in the photos below, people standing around did not like it, they don't like the smell either, I pulled this engine and replaced it with one I rebuilt, but I will rebuild it someday, as it is a SD25.

 

[millican]

The smoke goes away within a few seconds of starting.

[wayno]

The smoke goes away within a few seconds of starting.

 

OK, that is normal, try new glow plugs, or test yours to see if good, let us know what happens.

Do you know what shape your injectors are in?

[millican]

Haha. It's hard to believe I was able to use this truck at all. I checked with a multi-meter that the glow plug relay and all were working and putting power to the plugs. They are getting power. I took the back one out, re-connected just it, grounded the threads, and checked that it was grounded with a multimeter. All was good. I turned on the key, and 12.5 V went to it, but it doesn't heat up. I was able to unscrew it from the wire by hand after turning the key back off. These guys are so corroded! Time to call for a new set. There may be other problems, but this needs to be remedied too it seems.

[wayno]

Well a new set of glow plugs seem to be in order, might even start easier.  :lol:

Haha. It's hard to believe I was able to use this truck at all. I checked with a multi-meter that the glow plug relay and all were working and putting power to the plugs. They are getting power. I took the back one out, re-connected just it, grounded the threads, and checked that it was grounded with a multimeter. All was good. I turned on the key, and 12.5 V went to it, but it doesn't heat up. I was able to unscrew it from the wire by hand after turning the key back off. These guys are so corroded! Time to call for a new set. There may be other problems, but this needs to be remedied too it seems.

[millican]

I called around and couldn't find them. I went to the Nissan dealership parts counter and told the guy I needed to order some glow plugs. He said, "Man, you're in the wrong place. Glow plugs are for diesels."

[wayno]

I called around and couldn't find them. I went to the Nissan dealership parts counter and told the guy I needed to order some glow plugs. He said, "Man, you're in the wrong place. Glow plugs are for diesels."

 

Yea, glow plugs might be tough, go to a diesel shop that rebuilds injection pumps and injectors and makes injector lines and such.

I have used ones, but they could go bad at any moment, so I am reluctant to sell them, I bought a set at baxters auto parts once, they worked great once, when I pulled them to figure what the issue was when it would not start the second time, I had to use vise grips to get them out, as the end of the glow plug blew up like a balloon, and I had to pry them by the threads, when I took them back, they were not happy, but I suspect they were the wrong ones for my SD25 engine.

You can also find them on ebay, but ask the seller questions about what they are selling, make sure they say that they will fit you application, that way if they don't fit, you can get your money back.