wrote:
skytec stuff snipped because 'tin' doesn't auto-wrap columns

Hi Cory. I have a sky-tec starter sitting in the back of my Cherokee 180
that I bought to replace the Prestolite unit. After buying it, I did some
more detailed reading and found quite a few notes about operation like yours.
As skytec says, the PM motor spins down and generates quite a few volts until
it stops. Because the motor and solenoid are both fed from the starter
contactor the solenoid is the path to ground and it stays pulled in far too
long. The skytec-like design works on cars because the solenoid that kicks
out the pinion gear also energizes the motor but is powered from a different
circuit, so when the solenoid drops out the motor's residual voltage goes
somewhere else. (I suspect that you knew all that.)

The notes that I turned up were from a Grumman Tiger owner that installed
the sky-tec and then had the same "sticky" pinion. The Tiger owner eventually
went back to the Prestolite starter because he was afraid of ruining the ring
gear.

Perhaps sky-tec could have minimized this little glitch with a couple
diodes, and I think it could be completely eliminated with a second starter
contactor to drive the solenoid only. My sky-tec has a heavy external wire
between the solenoid and the motor, so they could be separately driven
easily (in an electrical sense: YMMV paperwork-wise).

The conclusion that I came to was to fix the bendix on my Prestolite starter.
So, now I have a spare sky-tec for when the Prestolite breaks.
--
Aaron Coolidge (N9376J)