All,
I have a TO-20 that I did a 12v alternator conversion to. Within a couple of days of getting the alternator belt issue resolved (previous post)the original 6v starter died. The symptoms were as follows: the starter spun up nicely, and the tractor started right up. After a few days of testing various tractor components, the starter acted like the battery was dying, then stopped turning completely. The starter never even got slightly warm. No indications of current flow to the starter. So I figured that the old original starter was on its last legs anyway, and ordered a replacement from -bay. That one arrived, and I installed it. Tractor starts up nicely, but within a few days, the exact same symptoms happened and the starter would no longer turn over. This starter never got warm either. Now I am annoyed. So thinking the 12v into the 6v starter was too much for it to handle, I ordered a 12v one from this web site. Thinking that a starter rated for 12v should work without any issues. Well, it didn't last more than a week either! Now. I'm really upset. I am not abusing the starters. I limit any cranking to no more than 5 second at a time with at least a minute between tests.
So today, I took the two original 6v starters apart, and here is what I found. The original starter has a broken wire that attaches to one of the brushes. The crimp spade had actually broken where the screw attaches it to the brush. The comutator is in good shape, with not significant pitting. The brushes are in useable shape. I'll get a new spade connector for it from a rebuild shop in the near future.
Now on to the "new" 6v starter. When I opened it up, the comutator was severely pitted, with no continuity through the starter. After cleaning up the comutator on the lathe, and putting the starter back together, and reinstalling in the tractor, it turned over about 3 or 4 times, then stopped working. So I pulled it apart again, inspected it and found that one of the ground brush holders was sticking and not making good contact with the comutator. I tweaked the brush holder with a pair of pliers until it moved freely. The face of the four brushes were in pretty bad shape too, and worn on an angle lengthwise from where they had been installed crooked.. So I took all four brushes out one at a time, and flat filed the face of the brush to clean up the pitting. I then left all four loose and re assembled the starter armature in the housing. I left the positive brush connections off until I had ensured each brush was seated squarely to the commutator, then tightened all connections. I then bench tested the starter without a load to let the brushes seat back into the comutator. I hooked up an amp meter to the starter during this testing and found the starter pulling approx. 65-75 amps, no load. I ran this test for approx. 30 seconds at a time for about an hour. Giving a few minutes in between for the starter to cool downa little. At the end of this testing, the starter was fairly warm. The brushes seated into the comutator nicely and the comutator smoothed down nicely too. Not perfect, but serviceable. I then put this starter back into the tractor, and tested. The starter works perfectly, with no hint of slowing down or stopping. So I have at least repaired one of the starters. The original will need a new spade connection.
The 12v version is setting on the shelf waiting for the seller to reply to the email I sent in regards to an exchange. To be perfectly honest, the 12v starter really acted like a 6v one does. It turned the engine over about as fast as the 6v one running on 12 volts does. I would have expected the 12v version to be a bit faster than a 6v one on 6 volts, but not as fast as a 6v one on 12v. So I'm thinking I was sent a 6v one in error. Either way, the starter has died, and need to be replaced. So, that details the starter saga on my TO-20. Hopefully, this repair will have corrected the starter problems.
Mitch
I have a TO-20 that I did a 12v alternator conversion to. Within a couple of days of getting the alternator belt issue resolved (previous post)the original 6v starter died. The symptoms were as follows: the starter spun up nicely, and the tractor started right up. After a few days of testing various tractor components, the starter acted like the battery was dying, then stopped turning completely. The starter never even got slightly warm. No indications of current flow to the starter. So I figured that the old original starter was on its last legs anyway, and ordered a replacement from -bay. That one arrived, and I installed it. Tractor starts up nicely, but within a few days, the exact same symptoms happened and the starter would no longer turn over. This starter never got warm either. Now I am annoyed. So thinking the 12v into the 6v starter was too much for it to handle, I ordered a 12v one from this web site. Thinking that a starter rated for 12v should work without any issues. Well, it didn't last more than a week either! Now. I'm really upset. I am not abusing the starters. I limit any cranking to no more than 5 second at a time with at least a minute between tests.
So today, I took the two original 6v starters apart, and here is what I found. The original starter has a broken wire that attaches to one of the brushes. The crimp spade had actually broken where the screw attaches it to the brush. The comutator is in good shape, with not significant pitting. The brushes are in useable shape. I'll get a new spade connector for it from a rebuild shop in the near future.
Now on to the "new" 6v starter. When I opened it up, the comutator was severely pitted, with no continuity through the starter. After cleaning up the comutator on the lathe, and putting the starter back together, and reinstalling in the tractor, it turned over about 3 or 4 times, then stopped working. So I pulled it apart again, inspected it and found that one of the ground brush holders was sticking and not making good contact with the comutator. I tweaked the brush holder with a pair of pliers until it moved freely. The face of the four brushes were in pretty bad shape too, and worn on an angle lengthwise from where they had been installed crooked.. So I took all four brushes out one at a time, and flat filed the face of the brush to clean up the pitting. I then left all four loose and re assembled the starter armature in the housing. I left the positive brush connections off until I had ensured each brush was seated squarely to the commutator, then tightened all connections. I then bench tested the starter without a load to let the brushes seat back into the comutator. I hooked up an amp meter to the starter during this testing and found the starter pulling approx. 65-75 amps, no load. I ran this test for approx. 30 seconds at a time for about an hour. Giving a few minutes in between for the starter to cool downa little. At the end of this testing, the starter was fairly warm. The brushes seated into the comutator nicely and the comutator smoothed down nicely too. Not perfect, but serviceable. I then put this starter back into the tractor, and tested. The starter works perfectly, with no hint of slowing down or stopping. So I have at least repaired one of the starters. The original will need a new spade connection.
The 12v version is setting on the shelf waiting for the seller to reply to the email I sent in regards to an exchange. To be perfectly honest, the 12v starter really acted like a 6v one does. It turned the engine over about as fast as the 6v one running on 12 volts does. I would have expected the 12v version to be a bit faster than a 6v one on 6 volts, but not as fast as a 6v one on 12v. So I'm thinking I was sent a 6v one in error. Either way, the starter has died, and need to be replaced. So, that details the starter saga on my TO-20. Hopefully, this repair will have corrected the starter problems.
Mitch