Hi Zeke, The stop solenoid on my Ford Lehman became intermittent last year and your (awe inspiring) hand actuation trick worked until I found time to operate. Investigation finally revealed too large a voltage drop through the coil alone. Out of curiosity, expecting a corroded wire, I started unwinding the coil. The wire looked fine until the last inch where it is simply stuck into a small hole drilled into the iron core (armature) of the solenoid. I cut a half-inch off the end of the wire and scraped the varnish from an additional half-inch. After cleaning the small hole I flattened the end of the wire slightly with hammer blows so that it would conform to the side of the hole. Once the wire end was inserted I wedged it against the side of the hole by driving in a round pin. I filled the remaining space with varnish. I had wrapped the wire on a large coffee can as I unwound it from the coil. To rewind, I found I could mount the rotary axis of the armature on the spindle of a discarded electric can opener, which I rigged with a foot switch. Some careful level winding by hand finished the job. It has worked fine since. Bottom line: if you are not a mechanic/machinist, buy a new one. Jerry O'Neill GB32 Adventure Annapolis, MD