Reproduction Parts for 1916-1964 Chevrolet Passenger Cars & 1918-1987 Chevrolet & GMC Trucks


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Joined: Dec 2014
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Grease Monkey
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Grease Monkey
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 22
I am trying to troubleshoot a problem with starting my car. I have a '48 Fleetmaster with a 6 volt electrical system and 216 stovebolt. When depressing the starter button on the floor, there is a bit of a grunt but the starter does not engage with much more than that. It tries but does not have enough power to turn the flywheel. Here are the things I have done so far:

Battery is freshly charged and putting out appropriate power.

Battery cables and connections are tight and without corrosion. Removed cables at both ends and re-seated and torqued them down.

Confirmed that motor is not seized by rotating the main shaft via fanbelt. Turned without difficulty and provided appropriate resistance for a normal engine.

Confirmed that starter motor rotates freely.

Depressed the starter button on the starter thus supplying power to the starter motor without engaging the drive gear to the flywheel. The power was sufficient to rotate the starter without a mechanical load.

The bottom line is that the starter appears to work without a load but does not have enough umph to turn the flywheel. Could this be a function of worn or missing brushes or something else failed on the inside?

So my initial thought here is that there is something wrong with the starter. Is there anything else I should check before popping for a rebuild? Am I even on the right track? Any advice is most welcome.





Steve A.

'46 Chevy 3600 3/4 ton Pickup
'48 Chevy Fleetmaster Sport Coupe with Country Club kit
'63 Chevy Monza Spyder convertible
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I would try looking at the brushes, make sure they are in contact with the commutator. Also clean the commutator with some fine emery paper. Bearings should also be good. If it still fails, a tractor supply place or part store can have it repaired.

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Oil Can Mechanic
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Oil Can Mechanic
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Connect a multimeter to the positive and negatve battery terminals (right on the posts) and measure voltage while cranking.

Connect the positive lead of the multimeter to the post where the cable attaches to the starter and negative to the case of the starter or the block. Check voltage while cranking. See how different the voltages are. This will expose any hidden problems with the cables or terminals.

What does your negative cable connect to? The frame? If so make sure there is a strap (or third cable) connecting the frame to the engine, and that the connections are clean and tight.

If all that is good you could check the switch on top of the starter. There are copper contacts in there.

If it isn't any of those things, I guess it is the starter.


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Check your battery cables to make sure that you have 6 volt cables installed and not 12 volt cables installed.

Also, the armature in the starter may be dragging on the pole shoes.

laugh wink beer2


The Mangy Old Mutt

"If It's Not Junk.....It's Not Treasure!"
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Grease Monkey
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Grease Monkey
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Posts: 22
Thank you all for your helpful replies. I have taken the advice of Bloo and checked the voltage at the battery while cranking. There was hardly a drop at all. I suspect that the brushes are not making contact. The whole starter is a bit of an unknown so I'm sending it over to a local shop for refurbishing.


Steve A.

'46 Chevy 3600 3/4 ton Pickup
'48 Chevy Fleetmaster Sport Coupe with Country Club kit
'63 Chevy Monza Spyder convertible
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Had a problem with my 48 about a year ago. Found the battery lug that goes into the starter housing was loose. Had another starter on hand and also changed the battery cables to 00 or 01 size cables. It now spins over like a 12 volt.


1946 Chevy 3100 1/2 Ton Pickup Purchased 11/18/17 Sold 9/20
1948 Chevy Fleetmaster Coupe, Purchased 6/20/2010
1965 Chevy ll 350 Purchased Feb 2021. 3-speed Saginaw Hurst Floor Shifter 3.08 Rear End

2019 Ford Ranger Lariat Super Crew
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I think those who have advised you on the commutator, brushes and bushings are giving you some advice that is an easy job to do. A little tricky on the brushes when reassembling but you can figure it out.

Use a light and see if there is any short between the commutator and the armature.

Good luck with it. Check the continuity in the reverse polarity switch, yours was one of the ones in 48 that had them, (Seems that Gene pointed out a while back that not all 48s had them.

Hope you find the problem. It must be tough finding a slope to park on every time you shut the engine down. Agrin

Charlie computer


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