VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Electrical - 6 volt Bad 6 volt starter?

Not so proud that I won’t ask for help! I have a stock 1946 Stylemaster 2door with what is possibly the original starter. Starter was never very reassuring in my 27 years of ownership and turned over quite slow. After a 6 month hiatus, it now barely turns the engine over a time or two before dying. Installed new fully charged and tested battery. Nothing changed. Decided to open it up and boy it was dirty, but brushes looked good and I ohm tested armature. Ohm tests looked good. Cleaned everything, put it back together and reinstalled it making sure ground was clean. Same problem. Then tried removing spark plugs one by one. It turned over better with every plug I removed. The starter spinned the engine freely when all plugs removed so it was not an engine seizing issue. Starter Had harder and harder time turning over engine with every plug I put back in. Thought maybe it was back-pressure related (clogged exhaust) so disconnected exhaust pipe from exhaust manifold. The problem persisted. Problem seems to be compression related. Could it be that starter no longer strong enough (torque-y) to turn engine under normal compression (with all plugs installed)? Can a starter loose it’s engine turning capacity over time? Has anyone experienced this before? Anyone have an idea what is causing this? The next step I am considering is getting a remanufactured starter, which would be disastrous and near-fatal to my weekend beer stash!!! Any help greatly appreciated. Should I have posted this in the year-specific forum? Sorry for long thread but wanted to give youz guys as much detail as possible about the symptoms. Thanks a bunch.

Have you checked the ground cable where it connects to the car. What gauge are your cables?

When you had it apart did you check the armature bushing’s to make sure it’s not dragging on the field coils.

Where does the ground cable connect on your car? Is it attached to the frame or the engine/transmission?

+1 dens41

loose bushings can cause this symptom

Mihaly

Are your cables properly sized? If they are the modern red and black one they are probably to small. Also do you have a battery disconnect installed? Most will not allow the proper amount of amps to flow when starting the car, once started they will seem fine. I was able to find one rated for the amps needed that is made of brass. Unfortunately other than the made in USA markings I cannot find who made it.

Remember that a 6v system will turn over slower than a 12v system does. This is not a bad thing, just the way it is. I was having starting issues and it turned out to be a failing coil. Bought a new one from NAPA and it made a difference in not only the way it started but the way it drove.