Electric Starter nightmare

[DianneB]

I believe you will find that is a J.I.S. screw, NOT a Phillips. Try to find yourself a JIS driver so you don't chew up the head.

When they are buggertight, I usually find a punch is the ONLY way to break them loose though you will chew up the head a little. Sometimes it takes a fair amount of pounding.

Of course you would have to be very careful with heat because of the windings...... Maybe time for a new/surplus starter?

[GG]

Hi Dianne,

By the way, your restoration project of the Dream is really nice! You now know these bikes inside and out!

I call them all "Phillips", but you are right: JIS, and yes, I have some bits that fit tight. But these will not budge.

Might be time for another starter. Not cheap! And I'm always a bit gun-shy of buying something electric that is as old as my worn out one! Anyway, thanks!

BG

[sdaigle240]

A couple of things to look for in a case like this is:
2. Make sure that there is an insulating sheet between the wrap-around shield and the starter. This prevents the hot brush wire from shorting to the shield.

this one got me once before! I had the same issues as you, worked fine on the bench! after several tries i gave up and gave it to pops. he said he just wrapped it in news paper and put it back together. I just chuckled and never looked into it or exactly what he insulated. sorry to hear yours isnt a simple fix. these 305 parts are pricey!

[GG]

Well I fussed around for another 2 hours tonight. It seemed to "fix itself", lost continuity from the post to ground, so reassembled. Starter worked great - for 3 tries. On the fourth try it shorted out again. I'm pretty sure the issue is behind the coils - grounding out. But I can't get the JIS (Dianne!) screws loose. Tomorrow might bring another attempt. I might need a helper. I hate using the vice on the round barrel - afraid to smash it...

I think the newspaper fix is exactly what it needs!

Thanks everyone!

BG

[DianneB]

If it "fixed itself", even temporarily, that means it is repairable! You just need to find the short.

Many multimeters have a buzzer for continuity testing. These are great for finding an intermittent short/continuity 'cause you can hook it up with clip leads and then poke around until you hear the buzzer chirp when the short comes and goes.

[GG]

Quick update - with the help of a friend, the impact screw-hammer and a small sledge hammer, 3 of the screws came out. They didn't come easy, but finally yielded. On the fourth screw we BROKE the bit! These things were tight! Since I didn't have much else to lose, we took the chisels, and it still took quite a bit of work to loosen the screw, but it is now laying on my bench. Next step is to examine the coils. Tonight.

BG

[DianneB]

Good luck!