Slow starter churning

[100+]

Hey guys,

thought i had a duff battery (well, I did, so I replaced it), but the slow cranking is still present.  The connections and earth strap from engine to chassis are all good.

Bridged the contacts directly accross the solenoid - still slow.

So, knackered starter I reckon.  damaged field coil due to having cranked it for too long on the old depleted battery, perhaps?  Or maybe the brushes and commutator are on the way out.

Anyway, should I just replace the lucas inertia m35j with one of the hi-torque nippon denso units? 'Twould be an extra £100 I think.

There was loads of hype, people raving about them, but apparently their reliability is not as good as an old Lucas inertia job.

I'd appreciate your thoughts!  Cheers :)

[dar]

i would strip it down and give it a good clean,brake cleaner is good for removeing the crap,theres nothing in there to go wrong apart from brushes

[herald948]

I have several Lucas starters that are approaching 40-50 years of age (including the one in my '62 Herald -- it's the original starter) that continue to function just fine! Yes, they can and do fail, but rarely is the failure so complete and drastic that they can't be overhauled, often for reasonable cost. Worst case scenario: good used, rebuilt and even "new" ones are readily available.

The modern hi-torque starters have their place, particularly on heavily modified engines that might benefit from a stronger starter. As for their durability compared to the OE Lucas units, I guess we'll know more around 2062, won't we?  ;D

[Paudman]

Brushes are about £3 per set, and relatively easy to replace.

[100+]

Thanks guys.  If a field coil needs re-winding though, I'd run out of talent and have to employ an auto electrician.

Anyone know how to test one of these with it on the bench?

[100+]

Hi, quick update, brushes were not the problem, it was the field coil, so I replaced the whole starter for about 30 quid from good old Canleys and she's good once more!

While I'm there though, I'm just whipping the manifolds off to cure a chuffing gasket which is only going to get worse, and do some electrolysis rust removal on the exhaust manifold prior to coating with stovax graphite coating, but I'll put that up as a different thread...

Cheers!