VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 starter Qs

We've been trying to start the old 194.
The starter doesn't seem to be spinning the engine very fast.
Is that the way these starters are?
We rebuilt it and lubed it up good, put a new button on it and it still doesn't spin it very fast.
Any suggestions-is this starter shot?
Thanks.

They don't spin really fast at best. Not like a modern V/8 with 12 volts. But it should be a steady speed.

What about the battery cables, are they good heavy duty and with good terminals also do you have a good ground back to the negative terminal? It takes a good hardy 6 volt battery. has the engine been freshly rebuilt? Also if you have a manual spark advance is it fully retarded when you are cranking?

Hey! I didn't see you down there JYD!

It could be any number of things. When you said that you "rebuilt" the starter, what all did you do to it? The armature could be dragging on the pole shoes.

Check your battery cable connections to make sure they are clean. The ground cable should go to bare metal were you have it attached. The positive cable should be a six volt cable (at least 00 in size), not a 12 volt cable. The starter nose cone flange should be bare metal as well as the area on the bell housing where it mates with. And, most importantly, you should have at least a 600 to 650 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) battery. Also, pull out the spark button to retard the engine when starting, and check your timing as well.

Thanks fellas.
I had the battery checked just after I talked to you JYD and it had well over your recommended 600 CCA. My dad lubed up the armature-but I think I might take a look just the same. I have good heavy cables from the battery to the starter and I have it grounded to the transmission housing via a bolt. I got all the paint off where the starter mounts to the bell housing. I had put new brushes in it a bit ago and the engine has been rebuilt. So I guess it's time for some pokin' around and see if I might have paint where I don't want it.
Thanks again.

If the engine has been rebuilt it is probably a little tight, which will cause it to turn over slower. With everything else being equal, as the engine wears in it will turn over faster.

Should I put some oil in the top to give it some lubrication to help with the starting?
When trying to start it the starter does have the classic err-err-err sound. I suppose it's all about getting the right things in the right place at the right time and away we'll go.

Oil in the top?

Another thing to check is your timing.

If you end up removing the starter make sure the shunt wire(ground) on the end cap is making good contact.I had this same condition with my starter.This shunt wires have a small screw that holds them to the cap and this is the problem area.This wire is attached to the negative brushes and to end cap.Hope this well help!

is the shunt wire on the outside? Ii have a feeling that might be part of the problem.

There is no shunt wire on the outside.

I didn't think so-just making sure I didn't forget something important.

I had a similiar problem --after rebuilding the starter etc, it still would not start.
A Chevy friend visited and he recognized that the firing order to the plugs was incorrect.

Maybe "shunt wire" is a incorrect name for this wire.The wire is internal and is screwed to the end cap and the negative brush.The problem I had was a bad contact at the screw and the end cap.Hope this might help.Stan

On the 714-L starter, there are four brushes. Two of the brushes are ground brushes and they each have ground wires that connect them to the end frame. The other two brushes are insulated and they are connected to each other via a brush field lead that also connects to the starter fields.

Just thought I would let you in on mine. I did the same thing. Rebuilt my starter and it still cranked over very slow. Found out that the ground wire from the battery to the frame was not for 6 volt cars. It had been on there for years. Don't see how my grandpa ever cranked it. Replaced it and worked just fine.

See the USA in my 1930 Chevrolet!!

Hi all,
The field brush lead JYD refers to is known as an equalisation lead.Its purpose is to balance out,or equalise any difference in voltage that is applied to the 2 positive main starter brushes.
If this lead is omitted or damaged,the starter will still function,but due to voltage imbalance across the two positive main brushes,severe arcing and burning of the commutator segments can occur,causing a lot of damage.And if the commutator has to be skimmed,can lead to a shortening of the life of the commutator,as once the diameter becomes too small,there is a risk that the segments will loosen up and destroy all the brush gear,and probably damage the field coils as well.

Are there any diagrams for the starter available so I don't end up burning down my garage.
I think I can figure it out just I'm a visual kind of guy.
Thanks for all who have contributed to this topic.

There are illustrations of the individual parts of the 714-L starter in the 1929-32 parts book. The Delco-Remy manual also has great illustrations and so does the "Ace" parts manual. However, once you get into the starter you can see how things go. It is not that difficult.

Also, the brush field lead must be connected to the fields or the starter will not work.

my hard starting problem was solved when i replaced the very worn bushing on the starter shaft. i had to replace the bendix drive and found the warn bushing. the wear cocks the starter so it doesn't allow square contact with the fly wheel gear ring and creates one hell of a starter drag. now nothing but fast spin and go.....knock on wood. jim '30 coupe.
chevy 6 clatter means nothings the matter.

Cartunman did you get the starter fixed?