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Starter Generator $$


Brucep

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Thought I had a bad bearing in my s/g, took it to the shop to be looked at, a day later I get a call. "It's done, $117, it needed a new armature". Granted , the bearing didn't feel bad but something sure was noisy. I wanted them to let me know befor they did any thing. NOT! It seems about once every two years this needs to have something done to it so...I thought why can't I learn to diagnose, rebuild and replace parts in this thing? That's what I want to do, so does any one have any sugestions or information to help me learn this? It can't be that hard, I am mechanically inclined and I like doing these things. I haven't looked any where on here yet to see what I can find out but I will. Besides, even if I decide it's not a job for me it never hurts to learn more and more and more.... Thanks
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A friend of mine told me you can just go and buy brushes. I'll ask him where he recommended. That's why when you buy a rebuilt, they require the core. Hey, they want to say in business. I too might want to rebuild my own. Good question! I also respect the value of paying someone to do these too.
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Sorry to hear that you hit with that kind of bill, although 2 hours of labor @ $35.00 per and a 100% mark-up on parts adds up quickly. Of course I'm only guessing on the parts and labor thing but any time you contract a repair out to someone it always seems like it's more than it's worth IMO which is why I do as much as I can myself. I found on Ebay a place that sell bearings and brushes for the S/G's for under $20 if memory serves, I repaired 3 different units with his parts no problems as of yet. JEBCO is the business name and he is fron NJ. Spend some time here and at ST and find the right service manuals from simplicity, and you'll find almost all you need know about your machine. Good luck!
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I've got a unit with broken magnets. It's off a Kohler K-241, high mount. Thought I might be able to get a new/used housing or a used unit off ebay. bids are up to $50 for a used unit and $89 for brand new. Looks like I will wind up with a brand new unit to hopefully avoid future issues.
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In the days when cars had generators and not alternators a generator had to be replaced every 2-3 years so don't feel so bad.The last time a GM car came with a generator was 1962!!!42 years ago.The parts and cores are getting hard to come by.The armatures were checked with a growler.I can't even remember where mine is!!!!
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the last armature i bought for a s/g several years ago i had my shop i think my cost for the armature about $63.00. keith right about a growler to check armatures they work great.you can check to see if the armature is ground or magnetize.also most growler have 2 wire leads to check the field with. JJ
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That's about what a local shop charged to do one for me about a year ago. I didn't think it was too outrageous.Rebuilding them probably isn't too difficult,it's the diagnosing that I would worry about.
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Bruce, My Dad's 1966 Cub Cadet 122 ran six years before it had a S/G problem. We installed an hour meter on it in 1967 and it had therefore run 1,300 hrs before a failure or wear out problem. Actually the brushes wore out and started digging into the commutator. Something's definately wrong in having to have your's serviced every two years. Tom(PK)
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Hi, There is a section in our edensltd web site all about starter generators and regulators. Just go into the tech notes and keep clicking in until you find it. We stock parts for these. We had one disconcerting thing happen last month. The company we have been getting our rebuilt armatures from for the last 24 years went out of business. Looking for some new armature vendors. Good luck, Al Eden
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The company ReedS mentioned website on eBay is: http://stores.ebay.com/JEBCO-STARTERS-and-ALTERNATORS I ordered a set of brushes & bearings to keep on hand whenever the time comes to change them. I for one wouldn't put up with them doing work with out authorization. I know someone who took a Stihl chainsaw into a local shop here to have a new coil put on. They threw it away because they said it wasn't worth fixing. He had to take them to small claims court and won. I won't deal with them either. I went there with the neighbor in January to get a points and condenser for a 5HP briggs. We put the condenser on the counter and the guy (in his 40's) says, "what's this" He wasn't kidding either, he really didn't know what it was. I was told he's been a mechanic there for 15 years.
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There was a guy in my neighborhood who had a s/g repair shop for forty years, retired and did side work out of his garage until he died about 12 years ago. A friend had to clean her furnace last fall and everything is still in the garage exactly like he left it including TONS of parts for generators. At the time she did not want to sell anything, but I may try again when I get back home. Would be a nice little sideline and maybe save some club members some money.
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Last time I purchased parts for these (2 years ago) it was about $70 for new armature, field coils, brushes and bearings from a shop in Richmond, IN. That is pretty much everything new except the housing.
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Thanks all for all the coments and info. The last couple times I had some thing done to it was brush's once and bearings once and now the armature. I guess if it would have all been done the first time maybe I wouldn't have had the problem. Although, let me run this by ya. About a week ago I posted on here inquiring about the engine acting like it was bouncing off the govener. I had lots of help for that problem and thanks to all again. I first replaced the carb gaskets, wasn't the problem, I then replaced points and condencer, wasn't the problem. BUT! While I was setting the new points gap I rolled the engine by hand and noticed a rubing sound at the same point every time I rolled the engine. Huh, I thought? Sounded like the fly wheel rubbing the shroud so I proceeded to pull the engine so I could pull the shroud and fix my problem. What I found then was that the one leg of the armature had droped down onto the fly wheel and every time it came across the magnet it made the sound and I could see the scrapes in the magnet. Now the question. Would this, or could this have cooked my armature in my S/G? Oh, almost fogot. What is a growler?
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the s/g is for starting the engine and keeping the battery charged as for the leg of armature rubbing the flywheel causing damage to s/g no.a growler is atool made to check armatures and fields in starters and generators. you said that you carry the s/g to a shop because was noises you thought it might be a bad bearring. was it still starting the engine and charging the battery? JJ
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Yes, at least I thought it was. I put a meter on it and it read (if I remember right) about 15 volts (and would vary with rpm's)yet some times the next day I would have to jump it and then maybe the next day I wouldn't. At the time I tied it to a loose belt because it was slipping on start up and of course that was about the time that I was haveing (what I thought to be) the govener problem so I was correcting a couple things at the same time. Like I said, I think my gov problem was the engine armature. The s/g would allways start the engine if I tried it in the same day that it had all ready been running. Thanks for the clarification on the growler.
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its not good on the s/g if you have jump start it everyday.because the battery may not take a charge and the s/g is over working trying to charge it.if this is what you been doing then that is probably what ruin the armature.if true then get you a new battery too.
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Yes, good advice, and I'm allways open to advice. I just read that here the other day from some one that if I remember right used to do that kind of work. My battery is only about a year old but that doesn't meen it is good. I will have to determin weather or not it is taking a charge. Thanks
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