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Starter problem


s.leah

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Hello!

 

An age old problem.... the other day, the starter on my Herald 13/60 decided to just spin without turning the flywheel - hammer time!

No, really, I gave it a couple of thuds with a hammer and it started no problem.

I'm not 100% sure which starter it is. As far as I know it is the original type which I think is inertia?

 

I'm assuming the flywheel is OK, before I used the hammer I rocked the car in gear to turn the flywheel thus hopefully ruling out missing cogs.

I read somewhere it is likely the sliding gear on the starter itself if the flywheel is ruled out.

 

What would anyone recommend the best way to try to fix? Would it be a simple case of taking the starter out and greasing the shaft the gear slides along? Or is there more to it?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated!  :)

 

Simon

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Simon,

 

If its an original starter, which it sounds as if it is, then if it spins then the motor is likely all right.

 

What you have is probably the most common problem with the Lucas inertial starters, the bendix mechanism is simply gummed up with crud so that the rotation inertia does no shove it into the flywheel ring gear.

 

The fix is simple, remove the starter and clean the shaft and everything related to it and the bendix end with your favorite solvent and dry it thoroughly. Normal health and safety warnings apply to the use of solvents - don breathe them in, work in a well ventilated area and no naked flames or sparks or other sources of ignition.

 

Do not lubricate it with any kind of oil or grease, it is the accumulated grease and oil that attracted the dirt that created all that crud in the first place.

 

If you really feel you need some "lubrication", then some graphite powder (ground/crushed pencil lead) can be used.

 

Reinstall the starter and all should be OK again.

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