The Ford Barn

Smitty · 04-14-2019, 05:03 PM

Does anyone know if there is someone making a high quality starter switch?
Thanks, Steve

BILL WILLIAMSON · 04-15-2019, 07:08 AM

Use your 800 number & inquire to REPUTABLE PARTS SUPPLIERS!!!
Bill Smartass

Railcarmover · 04-15-2019, 08:48 AM

Reckon you could engineer a reliable switch,the trick is to keep it looking authentic if that is what your after.

barnstuf · 04-15-2019, 12:03 PM

What has made the replacement starter switches regarded as unreliable is the breakage, or the loss of tension, of the movable contact which moves when you depress the starter switch.

It is very true that replacement switches are weak in this contact arm. However if you install it without testing or playing with it in your hands to test this tension they usually work OK. Testing it by hand in my opinion weakens the contact arm. As a retired parts dealer I have had zero failures off repro switches where I cautioned the buyer about testing the arm tension by hand.

Smitty · 04-18-2019, 08:30 PM

So this is what I discovered: The shaft that actuates the metal strip in the switch was binding enough so it would occasionally bind keeping the starter running even after I turned the engine off. I would get out and smack the starter with a wrench or hammer to release the switch. This was happening with new switches as well. You could feel it bind right out of the package.
Took the switch apart and massaged it so that it worked smoothly. Problem solved.
I would bet new originals did not suffer from this problem.

larrys40 · 04-19-2019, 07:49 AM

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Some of them are so stiff you can’t depress the starter switch.
It use to be that you could find originals or good older replacements made by aftermarket suppliers but days of finding stock of these is harder to find.

Agree with smitty in the sticking so you have to do a little work over in the new ones to make them better before use.
Larry

CarlG · 04-20-2019, 01:58 PM

I installed a key switch that activates the starter. Problem solved.

Ernie Vitucci · 04-20-2019, 02:23 PM

Bratton's, Snyder's, Burt's and Arizona Model A will have the good ones...Ernie in Arizona

04-14-2019, 05:03 PM	#1
Smitty Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Boston North Shore Posts: 752	Starter Switch Does anyone know if there is someone making a high quality starter switch? Thanks, Steve

04-15-2019, 07:08 AM	#2
BILL WILLIAMSON Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: FRESNO, CA Posts: 12,560	Re: Starter Switch Use your 800 number & inquire to REPUTABLE PARTS SUPPLIERS!!! Bill Smartass __________________ "THE ASSISTANT GURU OF STUFF"

04-15-2019, 08:48 AM	#3
Railcarmover BANNED Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Sacramento Posts: 1,262	Re: Starter Switch Reckon you could engineer a reliable switch,the trick is to keep it looking authentic if that is what your after.

04-15-2019, 12:03 PM	#4
barnstuf Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Cape Cod MA Posts: 2,840	Re: Starter Switch What has made the replacement starter switches regarded as unreliable is the breakage, or the loss of tension, of the movable contact which moves when you depress the starter switch. It is very true that replacement switches are weak in this contact arm. However if you install it without testing or playing with it in your hands to test this tension they usually work OK. Testing it by hand in my opinion weakens the contact arm. As a retired parts dealer I have had zero failures off repro switches where I cautioned the buyer about testing the arm tension by hand.

04-18-2019, 08:30 PM	#5
Smitty Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Boston North Shore Posts: 752	Re: Starter Switch So this is what I discovered: The shaft that actuates the metal strip in the switch was binding enough so it would occasionally bind keeping the starter running even after I turned the engine off. I would get out and smack the starter with a wrench or hammer to release the switch. This was happening with new switches as well. You could feel it bind right out of the package. Took the switch apart and massaged it so that it worked smoothly. Problem solved. I would bet new originals did not suffer from this problem.

04-19-2019, 07:49 AM	#6
larrys40 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: St Charles , Missouri Posts: 1,998	Re: Starter Switch Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Some of them are so stiff you can’t depress the starter switch. It use to be that you could find originals or good older replacements made by aftermarket suppliers but days of finding stock of these is harder to find. Agree with smitty in the sticking so you have to do a little work over in the new ones to make them better before use. Larry

04-20-2019, 01:58 PM	#7
CarlG Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Posts: 9,115	Re: Starter Switch I installed a key switch that activates the starter. Problem solved. __________________ Alaskan A's Antique Auto Mushers of Alaska Model A Ford Club of America Model A Restorers Club Antique Automobile Club of America Mullins Owner's Club

04-20-2019, 02:23 PM	#8
Ernie Vitucci Senior Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: Scottsdale, Arizona Posts: 611	Re: Starter Switch Bratton's, Snyder's, Burt's and Arizona Model A will have the good ones...Ernie in Arizona