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Starter motor woes


R.White

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My 26 DB is a 6 volt.

Are you usung old or regular size battery cables?I had nothing but grief until I upgraded my battery cables(advice from friends with 6 volters). I went to a welding shop and bought 02 welding cable(almost double size of regular cable) and new connectors. I did not ground to the frame. I grounded to one of the bolts connecting the starter to the bell housing. No more issues.

If you think it was wired for 12 volt, connect using booster cables a 12 volt battery direct to the starter. disconnect the cable to the starter switch so you dont screw up anything 6 volt. Many guys use 12 volt on their 6 volt starter without problems. Just try it a couple times to see if it turns over ok and still smokes.

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  • 1 year later...

I am revisiting this thread because there is a bit more of this saga to report. Those of you who were following the sad tale of how my starter motor was entrusted to a supposed "expert" for a rebuild will remember how his shoddy workmanship resulted in failure of the unit. I found a number of basic faults which I was able to correct but over the last few months the smoking had returned and the motor gradually slowed to the point of corrigendum. Eventually I decided to leave the starter motor with a local auto electrician who has carried out a comprehensive rebuild.

I refitted the starter motor today and the results were most impressive!

Total cost £100 .:)

Edited by R.White (see edit history)
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Mike. When I took it to this local guy, I dismantled it on the bench in front of him and pointed out where the armature was touching the sides (the steel clamps in the middle of the field windings showed signs of rubbing) so that there could be absolutely no mistaking what was wrong or what needed to be put right. I also explained how I had been ripped off by the other so called "expert". I got a sympathetic hearing and a promise of a working unit within a week.

True to their word, the work was completed to a high standard, on time and within budget. This guy had no doubts that it was a 6 volt unit and detailed how he had to re work the "new" centre bearing plate because previous poor work had left the armature running at least 2mm off centre - it was not new as I had previously been led to believe - he undercut the commutator and replaced the brushes which were contaminated with oil! The field windings and armature checked out o.k. but bushes had to be replaced. The only problem he had was that the pinion was not compatible with any of the gears on his torque tester but experience (he's an old guy) has taught him that there would not be a problem.

The end result is a starter motor which spins the engine like a top!

Ray.

Edited by R.White (see edit history)
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It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

You may have read previously on this thread how I was totally ripped off by an "expert" who, admittedly, had done good work for me before at a reasonable rate. I had even written to praise his firm for the quality of their work.

This time, something had gone seriously wrong and I had to pay up £500 or walk away without the starter motor and they are unobtainable here. It would have been bad enough if the rebuild had been properly done. The present rebuilder found quite a few faults with the previous work carried out by a guy who somehow operated under the "trusted trader" scheme and had been in the business for 25 years with satisfied customers including Rolls Royce owners.

No longer trading, I believe.

Ray.

Edited by R.White (see edit history)
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Um, well I don't mean to be picky but there are 25.4 mm to the inch so 2 mm is about 80 thousandths or 0.080". For reference, a human hair is roughly 0.003" which is less than 0.1 mm. This is the kind of stuff that can make bridges fall down... :P

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All I can say is that now I have found a rebuilder who I can rely on I will be sticking with him. They do a fair bit with old cars and presently have an early "sit up and beg" Ford Popular in for work. I said that I had one of those as my first car and it only cost me £2.00. Joking, the guy said that the one in for work was worth twice that!

At least the joke is not at my expense this time!;)

Ray.

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  • 8 years later...

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