How to rebuild a Starter/Gen?

[Nlb7928]

What all can you do to repair a starter/gen? What all fails on them?

New brushes
blow out all the old carbon
Polish the commutator bars
new bearings

I read where a guy thought his "fields" were grounding, but he didn't say what the symptom or solution is.

Do you sand or buff the fields or armature?

I had just replaced the starter, but think I fried it because I didn't replace the voltage regulator. Heck, I don't even know what that means to "fry a starter" from a voltage regulator. I didn't feel right taking it back since it was my problem. The brushes were shot after 2 weeks of use, so I put on new brushes, but that didn't solve the problem. If I hold the pedal, it just barely cranks, and maybe after 5 minutes I get lucky and it fires up. The S/G is super hot!

Not the battery: it shows good volts, tests good for load, and does the same thing with jump pack connected.


Thanks,
Nathan

PS: I don't really know what all this stuff is, I just read it on the internet and repeat it to act like i'm not as dumb as I really am.

[Capt. Lenny]

First thing I see is the commutator looks badly worn so it would be best to put it on a lathe and true it up. Before you do that, take an ohm meter and check between the commutator and armature to make sure nothing is shorted out. Next you would need to make sure the brushes are seated to the commutator completely. The better the contact the better it will work with less heat. The other thing to check with the ohm meter is the field. make sure it's not shorted out to the case. Some of this work is specialized, that's why there are starter/generator/alternator rebuild shops around. But that is a dying trade in a throw away world. Good luck!