The Bendix system places the starter drive pinion on a helical drive spring. When the starter motor begins turning, the inertia of the drive pinion assembly causes it to wind the spring forcing the length of the spring to change, and allowing the pinion to engage with the ring gear.
How do I know if my starter Bendix is bad?
- Grinding noise. When the starter drive gear is worn out or not engaging properly, it will often produce a grinding noise. ...
- Freewheeling. ...
- Intermittent issues starting the vehicle. ...
- Starter stays on after engine started. ...
- Smoke. ...
- Batteries.
How do you test a starter Bendix?
You will get one of four results from your bench test.
- The starter bendix will come out and spin fast. If this happens, then the starter is good.
- The starter bendix will come out and spin very slowly. ...
- Nothing happens and you hear a loud click. ...
- The starter spins, but the starter bendix doesn't come out.
