It'd be worth checking the earth strap on the gearbox is still firmly attached and not falling apart, however given your ignition lights come on it's probably fine and is as @77 Westy states just a dead starter/solenoid.
I'm waiting for the new starter motor to arrive. Takes a week. Still wondering how a live battery cable caught fire... Can't understand it.
You said you have a quick disconnect - if that is not making good connection (loose or oxidised) , it would get very hot and could start a fire : if you dont do up the knurled knob tightly enough its the same as a loose connection on the battery. And it could be linked to the starter motor failing , maybe this stopped rotating for some reason, drew a very large current and caused a lot of heat at the weakest link -- that battery disconnect ?
Not looked at this thread before. I cringed as Day said he'd short the starter positive to the starter body and nobody noticed. And generally here is a chap clearly not understanding the terminology getting more elec speak he wouldn't understand and ... not understanding it. Like trying to get a foreigner to understand english by repeating it louder. Well done Jim for actually reading Day's posts and understanding the depths of his lack of understanding. As you were.
Well, thankyou. If I knew what to do I wouldn't ask for advice. I really appreciate the help and advice from folk who understand there are people who are complete novices, but help and advice teaches, which is preferable to condemnation of knowledge.
You're having a go and making mistakes. That’s how we all learn, costly at times but essential to help remember! I seldom advise on here as people seem to know an awful lot more than me, but I do jog the thread along if people aren’t responding and that’s what I’ve done here.
Both useless now - cycling is mostly done with total disregard to the Highway Code and swimming survival is achieved by lying on your back and floating about a bit, not using up all of your energy taking off a sodden pair of jeans and tying a knot in each leg to make a air balloon that doesn't actually hold air for more than 10 seconds. There is no dignity in drowning in your underpants...
Dude, I was just cringing, not at you. Causing a dead short across your battery as you were intending (and tried) is no laughing matter. At least one person skip read your post and agreed you should do that. That was the ooch moment. If you'd been successful the battery might have exploded as happened to a friend of mine.
When shorting from green marked wire (battery positive) to the lump on the back of the starter ... I dont think that was suggested but there was an interpretation caused by confusion between the solenoid contactor studs and the case of the starter ... (noted by @Zed above ..) where it was described as not doing much.. Which is a surprise because it should have been a flashbang woah! - I miss my screwdriver as it doesnt have an end any more - sort of event. This might mean that underneath all of this is the fact that the wire from the battery has become not very good at being a wire any more. So it might not be the starter but the big wire going to it has rotted out, making smoke as it is a rubbish connection so it got hot. .
Day suggested it and after the responses he got actually tried it. My memory of your post, it started with "Yes", then the rest as it is, stating stud blah. I'm sure a gent such as yourself hasn't gone back and edited it since my post so I think what was missing in my tiny brain was a big loud NOOOOOOO!!!!! This. Good job he didn't get a good connection as you say. lol
