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New owner here,
the car starts every time but the first to fourth start it just gives up after a brief crank. It’ll then crank a good spin then start.
battery is new and I’ve checked the battery terminals.
any opinions on the high torque starters I’ve seen advertised?
thanks Dave Walsh
 
I don't know anyone who bought a geared high torque starter for their Healey and wishes they didn't. Mine got rid of similar starting issues. Make sure the ground cable from the starter body to the frame is clean and tight and that the wiring from the solenoid on the firewall to the starter is in proper condition. The original starters weren't so great to begin with but if everything is sorted they shold work. Worn brushes, dirty commutator are also possibilities.
 
O/T--a little--but are the high-torque starters available for positive ground vehicles? According to this:

https://www.precisionmicrodrives.com/content/are-dc-motors-reversible/

... they can be wired either way, but starter motors are usually grounded to the engine and/or transmission, so if a negative polarity motor is grounded to a positive earth Healey it would cause significant problems, no? It's early in the morning, and I haven't had my full infusion of coffee so I can't wrap my head around this--yet--but if anyone has practical experience please fill us in (it appears that if the -gnd motor was wired 'stock' it would turn backward, but no one I know that has done the conversion has mentioned this).

This site indicates it may or may not be an issue--Healey in the banner--good sign!--Moss doesn't make a distinction:

https://www.powerlite-units.com/high-torque-starter-motors.html
 
I think that unless the starter is made with permanent magnets you would have to reverse the field and armature polarity independently. This can be done if there are permanent magnets in the starter and it would spin backwards. I also think most starters are not built that way (anymore) so the polarity of the field and armature are always going to cause the motor to spin the same way, regardless of how the battery is connected. A bench test would bear this out......so, it just happens I have my high torque starter off for the 5 speed conversion I'm doing and I just tested it. Spins the same direction either way. No permanent magnets. I would guess all of these starters are made the same way. I don't know how many manufacturers there are so your mileage may vary.
 
John Turney said:
When one switches the polarity on a Healey, the generator has to repolarized, but not the starter.
Click to expand...

yep 12VDC is 12VDC it doesnt care which way round its wired to spin .
 
According to the source above, at least some starters are polarity sensitive (permanent magnets, perhaps?):

"All Powerlite starters are direct replacement for original units and require no modifications to the vehicle on which they are installed, as they work for both positive and negative polarity (Except the Slimline and MicroStart Range)."
 
Bob_Spidell said:
According to the source above, at least some starters are polarity sensitive (permanent magnets, perhaps?):

"All Powerlite starters are direct replacement for original units and require no modifications to the vehicle on which they are installed, as they work for both positive and negative polarity (Except the Slimline and MicroStart Range)."
Click to expand...
Interesting that they don't show a choice for positive or negative ground for the Slimline starter on their website.
 
My thought was more along the lines of 'WTF?' The Slimline is probably the one I'd go for if I was interested, or if my OEM ones couldn't do the job.
 
All my cars have been converted to neg Ground but retained the original staters as some others have indicated made no difference.
 
DC motors have a predetermined direction due to field and brush rigging. It does not effect if battery lead in pos neg. you would have to rotate brush rigging to change direction. NOTE a generator is also a motor but as it is turned by say belts it becomes a rotating armature in a magnet field so volts are produced. Testing of a generator can be done on a bench and if good will run as a motor. Even out of the box a started should be bench tested why install it twice. Madflyer
 
As Roscoe said if your system( wires, connections, starter, commutator, brushes are cleaned and in good shape your original starter will do the job. I cleaned and rebuilt my original healey starter and even had to rewind and rewrap some of the coils, 20 years ago, and it’s still working perfectly.
 
Not sure I follow that train of thought. If the clutch is relaxed and you are in neutral, you are turning the clutch disc and the first motion shaft and just not the rest of the gear train. If the clutch is engaged, you are not turning the clutch disk or anything in the gearbox.
 
Try this:

1) put (idling) car in neutral, clutch out, and note RPM
2) press clutch in, note RPM

Both my BN2 and BJ8 will drop 50RPM or more with the clutch in. I attribute this to the friction from the crankshaft journal pressing against the crank thrust bearing.
 
Bob is spot on. Starting any standard transmission cold or otherwise, best method practices clutch out, in neutral! My reason has long been motor has lost some lube on bearings and, until oil pump gets going, limited lube to all parts. The worst being thrust bearing, TR's have a split thrust bearing that sits in a shallow pocket - minor wear can cause the thrust bearing to fall out making for major crank end-play. On motor rebuilds this bearing is pined. Another reason you are parked on a hill, hand brake may not hold so one foot for gas pedal, one foot for brakes. Habits are hard to break, but this is one your car can live with. Madflyer
 
Crank the engine over with the car in gear , clutch in , listen to the rpm , while it’s still cranking engage neutral and let the clutch out and listen to the big change in cranking speed .
Both my BJ8s had gear reduction starters on them and it was still a very noticeable change in cranking speed .
The only time I would start the car in gear was if it was hot and I stalled it .
 
British_Recovery said:
Carbon release bearing slows down the cranking of the engine.
Bob
Click to expand...


I think it's a safe assumption that both the graphite release 'bearing' and the thrust washer contribute friction to the crankshaft and slow the engine at idle (and make starting a bit more difficult). I've trained myself to stay off the clutch pedal except when shifting--e.g. I shift into neutral when stopped at a long red light, even in my Mustang--to minimize wear on the release 'bearing.' At least some of the issues reported about crunching gears is due to worn down 'bearings.'
 
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