ian@Centric.COM asks:
>My understanding of starter motors would indicate one or more shorted
>windings on the armature? That would suck tons of current without producing
>any useful work for it, hence hard starting and major battery suck. Does
>that make sense?
I couldn't say on that, however another possibility is that the bushings
are shot. (The starter on my Plymouth got to the point where I had to
pull and regrease it every summer to compensate for the worn out
bushings. I finally replaced it this year when I had to pull it three
times in two months... .)
>TRF wants $190 for a rebuilt starter, and unfortunately they don't list
>all the individual parts so that I can't do it myself. Is rewinding an
>armature something an electrical shop can do for me? Is this worth pursing
>or should I just fork over the $$ and get an entire rebuilt unit? Would
>a rebuilt unit have a 20-year-old armature inside with original wiring
>with decaying (shellac?) insulation, like mine?
A *good* electrical shop should be able to completely restore it,
including new windings. A disreputable shop might just do little more
than repaint it and try to convince you it's fixed... I understand that
the ratio of incompetent to excellent auto-electrical rebuilders is
dismally high. However, the cost to rebuild it may be almost as high as
TRF's price... .
-coryc
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