6v Starter Motor

[Laqueugne]

My starter motor has decided not to start.  I have cleaned the contacts and can see no reason why it should not turn over.  Would there be any point in trying to get some life in it by giving it a short burst at 12v?  Perhaps this would cause a total conflagration - I just do not know.  Any other suggestions would be most welcome.
Best wishes to all,
Anthony
Central France

[Jack in the Box]

Anthony,

On my special I used 12v direct to the starter to get it running initially as it was sluggish on 6v.

To get it to work successfully on 6v, I installed a thick cable from the battery to the starter. All ok now.

Alan

[Chris KC]

Not sure what you hope to achieve by doing this Anthony - why don't you just find the fault and fix it? Or despatch it to someone who can...

Alan is on the right track when he says you should use large wiring, much bigger cross sections than you would with 12V. Also make sure it is equally well earthed or you will get nowhere. It's normal to run a substantial earth strap from one of the starter fix bolts to the chassis. In my case I ran a second battery cable from the starter bolt back to battery earth terminal directly. 6V has no trouble turning the starter!

[Jeff Taylor]

Just to add to what Chris has said above, the links below describe the correct large cross section of starter / battery cable you need for a 6v system:

Battery / Starter Cable – 315/0.40, 40mm², 13mm OD, 300A

AES stock it in cotton braid black or red – their Ref. No. 020203 @ £8.97p per metre:

https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/p...#flash-msg

The Green Spark Plug Company stock it in PVC black or red – their Ref. No. 0-982-10 @ £11.81p per metre:

http://www.gsparkplug.com/1x-meter-durit...82-10.html

[Reckless Rat]

Take the starter off the car, put it in a vice and remove the cable operated solenoid. Check that the motor turns by hand & then put 6v through it using a pair of jump leads from your battery. If it won't spin up then first port of call are the carbon brushes - they are easy enough to access & remove once you've taken the dust cover off. Clean the commutator while you're at it. If a new set of brushes doesn't solve the problem then there is probably something more expensive amiss, but starter motors are usually pretty reliable. Clean the bendix arrangement while it's off the car. Don't grease it!

[Laqueugne]

Take the starter off the car, put it in a vice and remove the cable operated solenoid. Check that the motor turns by hand & then put 6v through it using a pair of jump leads from your battery. If it won't spin up then first port of call are the carbon brushes - they are easy enough to access & remove once you've taken the dust cover off. Clean the commutator while you're at it. If a new set of brushes doesn't solve the problem then there is probably something more expensive amiss, but starter motors are usually pretty reliable. Clean the bendix arrangement while it's off the car. Don't grease it!

Thanks Reckers and everyone else.  I now have more than enough info to proceed - a strip down will be necessary I think.
Test match starts on Thursday.....
Many thanks once again,
Anthony