Good advice all round, especially that about finding a starter/generator repair shop in
your area or sending it off and letting them do the rebuild. Simply cleaning up the
commutator and replacing the brushes may work for the short term, but a complete rebuild
will put things back to the way they were meant to work coming out of the factory.
I would say this about a 6v starter: There is absolutely no reason that it shouldn’t start your
Stovebolt engine if all is in proper working order. I.E., engine free and tuned, all
connections clean and tight, good battery and 6v starter in working order.
Because of some generous members here on the forum, I was able to get Old Blue back
on the road this summer. Also enough parts were salvaged to assemble a generator for
my ’54 and put a spare on the shelf for future mishaps.
Although these are pictures of a recent generator rebuild, much of the internals may require
the same attention for a complete rebuild, be it starter or generator.
A potted or wrapped coil can have damage to the insulation. Once the coil has been
checked for shorts or opens and determined good, it can be re-wrapped.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/167974930 The lugs are often damaged and need to be replaced. This is almost always a must with
the starter contact lug, which gets burned from arcing. A soldering iron is not hot enough to
handle the job and a small micro-torch works best.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/167974931 CAUTION: Care must be taken to keep from overheating the coil or solder joint when using
a flame. Here a heat sink is applied to the pigtail of the coil of this generator coil. A copper
starter contact lug requires a lot more heat and a much larger heat sink.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/121814064 If you do decide to attempt a rebuild or wish to have your starter rebuilt, I would suggest
contacting Ken Warner at Classic Generator in Midlothian, TX. I’ve used his parts kits
for years and would highly recommend him.
http://www.classicgenerator.com/ Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
