The Starter Solenoid is simply an electrical gateway that is opened by a trigger of small current. In our case, a small 12V wire connects a heavy gage cable to run the pump motor. When 12V+ is applied to a starter solenoid (which is properly grounded), the connection between the large terminals is opened, and 200 amps of power from the battery runs the motor.
To Test the Starter Solenoid:
- Verify the powerpack battery is ok.
- Verify the starter is properly grounded and is getting 12V+ from the trip wire from the RC (Starter Solenoid pre-2004 or Starter Solenoid 2004 to present)
- Using a volt meter, verify the large Studs are not electrically connected when not tripped.
- Verify the large terminals are electrically connected when trip wire is energized with 12V+ and the ground wire is connected. Replace Starter Solenoid if this does not happen.
- If starter solenoid is bad, look for cause:
- Maybe water intrusion?
- If 24V system, (FL10, FL13, SL18 or SL24), see if RC was ever hooked up to 24V instead of 12V. If so, RC receiver, Starter and Coils may have been damaged and may fail over the next few dozen cycles.
- The Smart-Start of Sunlifts (pre-2002) are likely to fail over the years.