| Author | Message | ||
     Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 519 Registered: 5-2009 |
I got my Car's starter back this morning: all good news. The armature was bad, so they replaced it. The part was still available. Total bill: $147 US Bargain! Now to complete my Quest for the Grail: put it all back together! | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 536 Registered: 5-2015 |
This is a very straightforward job. Because the car is an automatic there is no clutch dust. So lubricate the bits keeping away from the copper commutator and brush gear. Chapter M has all the details. When testing clamp starter down. 2.6 hp motors can jump off the bench when energised. Use jump leads to carry lots of amps. Max running time unloaded 10 seconds. The motor should be able to chew through a piece of soft wood shoved into the gear. A bush mechanic way of testing. Also charge and test your battery. If possible use a hydrometer on each cell. 12.60 is fully charged. If the cells are uneven then drop down to a trickle charge for 12 hours then recheck. Equalisation charge. Can't wack a properly charged battery. Also engine earth straps or bonding. If in doubt simply bolt a heavy earth strap from a convenient torque convertor housing bolt to body. To check engine earth bonding. Connect a volt meter between engine and body the turrets are ideal. Engage starter and observe volt meter. Any voltage means that when the earth bonding is under load there is a voltage difference between engine and body which is caused by inadequate earth. No doubt dirty connections. Note that the front subframe is rubber mounted and will have is own earth bonding strap. Flat tinned copper braid is best. To make solder copper squares at each end and drill through for a bolt. Make copper squares from domestic copper water pipe. I buy a long ready made ones and shorten to fit perfect. | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 520 Registered: 5-2009 |
We have a brand-new Group 27 battery; earth straps are one of the first things I check on any car that follows me home. The "wood" test is used in the USA also, but this shop has "store-bought" test equipment. Been in business for probably 60 years. | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Grand Master Username: bob_uk Post Number: 537 Registered: 5-2015 |
Good. In the UK the battery is an 069. The ones I get have removabale cell plugs. A hydrometer is only about 3 quid also a separate hydrometer for antifreeze is also about 3 quid. Numax batteries only £50. The proper starter motor tester is rare now. I local guy has a Sun starter dyno and also a Sun dizzy tester. Very useful. Growlers are fun to play with. I saw a bull dozer with a small petrol engine as a starter. Briggs and Stratton pull cord single. The starter could also be run to warm the main engine. Ex artic circle model. The first electric starters were fitted by Cadillac. 1909 .No doubt there were earlier ones. Given that Sir Henry Royce was an electical engineer who owned Royce and Co ltd who built electric cranes amongst other things. Rolls Royce were a bit tardy in fitting an electric starter. The advent of the electric starter finished off the electric car. Because the main advantage of the electric car was no starting handle which made the EV popular for women. Then the battery was rented and when it needed charging the owner did a pit stop and a fresh battery was fitted. This was before WW One. So a hundred years on we are thinking of doing the same thing. Nothings entirely new. Wayne Carrini of Chasing Classic Cars had a go in a 1900s electric car with tiller steering. The batteries were on a slide in the back of the body. The car went quite well. | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 521 Registered: 5-2009 |
Indeed. Me Dad had a Caterpillar D-7 built circa 1955 and it had a 2 cylinder flathead starting engine bolted on one side of the crankcase. It shared coolant with the main engine plus the exhaust passed through a heat exchanger such that the start engine could warm the main when cold. The start engine could be equipped with electric start but ours had a crank you inserted through the bonnet from above. As I recall it usually started right up and had no problem with the main engine but we don't usually get very cold here in Louisiana. The start engine got so worn out that the flywheel was dragging on the housing and parts for the thing were $$$. Dad got it fitted with an electric starter which worked great until he sold it. This same shop is where I had the Wraith's starter overhauled. | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 969 Registered: 5-2012 |
There is no way I would test a starter motor by shoving a piece of softwood into the gear whilst the motor is running at full speed on a workbench. Unless a very safe clamp is fabricated, which would likely take a lot longer than simply bolting the starter back onto the engine, there is always the chance of the heavy unit breaking free if the wood gets snagged in the gear. I am also very happy with the position of my fingers - attached to the ends of my hands. This sounds to me a dangerous practice. I would either take the motor to a shop with the correct test equipment or refit the starter to the engine. Geoff | ||
| Carl Heydon Frequent User Username: car Post Number: 69 Registered: 2-2004 |
Wood test is standard practice in small shops here in Oz. We usually use a good piece of hard stringybark or blackbutt. Functional and inexpensive and puts a nice polish on the pinion. Clamp starter in a vice and if your fingers are nervous then the wood is too short. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 1684 Registered: 6-2009 |
It's always interesting to me to see how many test methods are devised for things that are very unlikely to fail. In the case of a starter motor, if it runs in a manner at all consistent with the way it should run the gear teeth are almost certain to easily chew up soft wood of any kind. This means that the test isn't likely testing what it's supposed to test anyway. In test design/statistics speak it's probably very reliable (wood always gets chewed up) but not valid (enough "oomph" to crank the engine). If I went from dead motor to functioning motor I'd be more than willing to assume that a functioning motor will do what it used to do when it was functioning and simply reinstall it. My nightmare was getting the thing out and having to drop the exhaust system to do that. Getting a new one (or the original) back in and doing a quick crank test with the coil lead disconnected from the distributor was a cinch. You're going to want to do this anyway. Brian | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 522 Registered: 5-2009 |
Well, it turned out all right: I got all the exhaust piping and heat shields back in place and She started right up. |
