time for new starter brushes I suppose

[thom]

A couple of days ago when I tried to start our '28 Coupe it turned slowly as if the battery was very low. I tried charging the battery today and had it checked to find it was good and fully charged. It is still 6 volt but has been cranking fine, till now. I suppose tomorrow I will remove the starter and have it rebuilt as needed. The cables are new and the connections are clean. I just recently rebuilt the starter switch also.

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by thom

A couple of days ago when I tried to start our '28 Coupe it turned slowly as if the battery was very low. I tried charging the battery today and had it checked to find it was good and fully charged. It is still 6 volt but has been cranking fine, till now. I suppose tomorrow I will remove the starter and have it rebuilt as needed. The cables are new and the connections are clean. I just recently rebuilt the starter switch also.

I assume the new cables are the correct gauge and not something from the local auto parts store?

Charlie Stephens

[Synchro909]

You mention the terminals are clean and maybe they are but the battery posts should also be cleaned, not just the cable clamps. That is often overlooked.

[rocket1]

Cold weather,heavy oil battery has les cranking amps as battery temp. Drops,depress clutch pedal when cranking.

[thom]

I reinstalled the battery this morning and the car starts fine. It was pretty cold the other day when I tried and failed to start it but I might have done something stupid like failed to retard the timing, though I usually retard it each time I turn the car off. I could have had a senior moment and failed to do so. We had company the day before I tried to start it and a couple of people had sat in the car to see what it felt like to sit in a Model A. No problem, no damage done, I guess.

[katy]

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Remove the band from the starter and do a visual of the brushes and commutator.

[thom]

Thanks, but I now believe that the starter is ok. I have started the car several times yesterday and today and all seems well. I think a visitor, possibly by accident, fully advanced the timing the evening before I tried to start the car and had trouble, and I failed to notice and retard it. I usually fully retard the spark when I turn off the engine and usually check it before each crank-up but must not have checked it that cold morning.

[eagle]

When slow cranking, first thing to do is connect a voltmeter right AT the starter and check voltage when cranking, and not. Do it when it is working well, then remember the numbers so you can use that information in the future when you have issues. Tells you a lot about battery and connection issues, as well as starter.

[Purdy Swoft]

I would first check ground connections .

[Purdy Swoft]

If the initial timing is the least bit too advanced it will effect cranking . In worse cases the starter will kick back and either break or bend the Bendix spring .

[big job]

I grew up on 6 vts. If all is well it should be running as fast as you step on the starter.
My sons Murray whips like 12vts. My only transport is 6vt V8 46 coldest days haft turn
its running and with no choking either. Then maybe i was in first grade and 12vts was
not invented yet (only on buses big Cat dozers, some were 24vts not the light cars and
trucks) so at the shop on starters lazy, he would shoot that brass fire extinguisher into
the brushes and armature. That stuff cleaned like new. so what was that? I think it
was something like 'carbon teck' I know it instantly evaporated. but did it clean and
starters whipped right over, of course most were oil soaked. any body my age know what that stuff was (not the big brass one you tipped upside down) that worked on water. Things they did in shops back in the day. sam

[katy]

That stuff cleaned like new. so what was that? I think it
was something like 'carbon teck'

Carbon tetrachloride
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/com...-tetrachloride

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Are the cables the venders sell the correct size?

[big job]

Bingo Katy thats it........

[john charlton]

Carbon Tetrachloride is very nasty stuff it used to be used in dry cleaning back in the day . The fumes when inhaled does damage to liver and kidneys etc etc . It is said it can be detected in the body many months after exposure .

John in Suffolk County England .

[mike657894]

I recently had to use a post brush on my battery posts. And a month later I was running bad due to the grounds being loose or needing a good scratching.