Hey guys, on my TS V6 manual I have an issue with the starter motor solenoid sticking, if I give it a gentle tap it works fine. I have replaced the starter motor recently, and this one seems to have developed the same issue. Is there a way to free up the solenoid, or am I up for yet another starter?

thought it might still be under warranty

just replace the solenoid 'if the rest of the starter is ok


auto electricians can add a 12v relay to help it start better

Hey guys, on my TS V6 manual I have an issue with the starter motor solenoid sticking, if I give it a gentle tap it works fine. I have replaced the starter motor recently, and this one seems to have developed the same issue. Is there a way to free up the solenoid, or am I up for yet another starter?

I just had the same problem on my 6A12 V6 galant (manual), give the solenoid a tap and it would work but it was also slow to disengage the pinion and it was getting overrun by the flywheel.

I fixed mine by giving it a birthday and stripping it down and cleaning it out. It was quit gunked up with clutch dust right throughout and the solenoid piston was very dirty and gummy. i used electronic parts cleaner or metho would do. Cleaned up the piston with very fine steel wool and then washed off all the debri.
I also very lightly spun the armature contacts holding it with some 1200 grit wet & dry and some wd40 just to clean it up. It was very black in appearance. Apart from that it was in good condition. I then used some toothpicks to clear the carbon embedded in the grooves between these contacts. Once again washed the debri off with electronic parts cleaner.

The bush for the shaft was not worn so a couple of drops of light engine oil went in there. I cleaned the pinion shaft using a brush and some diesel I had and worked pinion up and down the shaft so it was nice and free now.

The brushes on the contact block were getting low but still usable althouh one had seized in its spring loaded retainer which i onced again cleaned and worked it with electronic cleaner. i suspect it was not making contact and was contributing to a slow starter due to the reduced power going through the windings.

Cleaned all electrical contacts, re assembled and the result was astounding. It's now running like a brand new starter and the crank speed i reckon is almost double. Car starts much faster and I also reckon the current draw on the battery has been considerably reduced. Starts faster and easier than my 2005 Magna

If you still have your old starter maybe grab the workshop manual and have a go at stripping it down. It's not hard just be methodical and mark the positon of everything before you pull it apart, just makes it easier to identify which way things were to start with.

I did it without a book and the only thing that could have brought me unstuck was a small ball bearing deep in the housing which the armature shaft sits on which I did not see.The magnets in the main body luckily caught it when i turned the motor upside down without seeing the ball bearing.

Also a good idea to go over all the electrical connections clean/tight etc.

Of course the solenoid could be shagged but this was my experience. You could also just remove the solenoid and check it out but I was glad i went the whole way because there were a number of other things which would have all contributed to a lazy starter and i now know i need to get some brushes in the future.

Was the replacement starter new or one from the wreckers?

The replacement was second hand, but got me out of a sticky spot 700+kms from home. Now I am back at home I have the time to fiddle.......might just pull it out and tinker, if I bugger it I'll go and get another one

Well I wasn't expecting it to be so hard to find a starter motor for a TS Magna, didn't realise that manual v6's are pretty scarce. However did manage to find a rear spoiler and the elite tail lights for a good price at u-pull it, and the starter motor found at eddy wreckers.

I was about to say, finding a starter for a manual v6 is a hard task, in the end I gave up and just re manufactured one using an auto one..


You mention its filling with clutch dust? Do you find you go through clutches quickly? Mines done 240k and I'm on its 3rd clutch (previous owner did 2) seems to wear a bit quick.

I don't know if it is filling with clutch dust......clutch on the car seems to be good, but I know it is on the second one, and my car has done 206,000

As I also could not find another starter motor, I had to have my starter motor rebuilt. The solenoid was tight as it was new, so it would not always engage on start up. Adding a 12V relay to the starter motor gave it more juice and solved the problem, never had a problem after. Don't have the Magna anymore.