Starter

[rappareems]

Long story short, last day of cruise engine would not start... checked wires, fuse... finally rapped on starter and she fired up.  Took out starter, what a bear that was, friend says to take to local shop and have them go over brushes, celluloid and armature.... anything else?

[Jim Hardesty]

rapped on starter and she fired up

Good job Mark.  This is one case where hitting something is the right temp fix.  You either unstuck the solenoid or the brushes.  New solenoid, brushes and a cleaning is what you probably need.  Be careful of rebuilding or rebuilt starters, many will put fewer windings in, they work, but less power. 

Jim

[rappareems]

Thanks Jim, I will tell them new brushes, solenoid and a cleaning.... I have worked with this guy before he is pretty good...

[KWKloeber]

.... I have worked with this guy before he is pretty good...

Mark that's good. It's virtually impossible to verify what shops "find" once it's in their hands. For that reason I (attempt to anyway) diagnose the problem to the component level (solenoid vs motor vs circuit) before removing.

Was the S terminal ok (clean and tight)? It could be as simple as a sticky solenoid - an easy self-replace.
No more non-cranks afterward? A hammer wrap can appear to (temporary) fix either of those causes.
Those nippendenso starters are pretty rugged, I equate them to the fuel pump (~ 30-35 yrs) for all the use they get. I had one that sat under water due to a flood (long story), removed it, shop tested, it was like new (1984) replaced the solenoid "just because" (cheap insurance) and slapped it back in (knock on simulated teak.)

Rare, but not impossible for the motor to go bad - typically a "flat spot" on the armature that it just happened to land on.

There's wiring improvements you can make in that vicinity if you want to get to into that level.

-ken

[Ron Hill]

Mark : I'm sure that if you take the starter to that shop they'll look it over and refurbish it.  Most of the alternator/starter shops really know what they are doing!!

A thought

[rappareems]

Took to my local guy.... $100 bucks... back in and working ... he said it was gunked up, corrosion etc. etc... something about the brushes.  I've used this guy for all boat electrics, starter, generator etc.  Always good.  Thanks for the replies.