Starter rotation

Hello,

A friend gave me a starter, it had a stripped positive lead attach bolt. I took it apart and had the bolt/stud repaired. I did not mark the case properly to put the statrter back together . Now I am not sure if the starter is rotating in the right direction when I apply power to it. The starter I have can turn in either direction, which was/is pretty handy if you have a twin but I don't.

Assume we are standing at the back of the starter and applying power. Which way should the stater be turning. Right now when I apply voltage the starter turns clock wise. This seems wrong to me.

Is this correct? It seems wrong. It seems like it should turn counter clock wise. Just want to check with others before I mount it and start the engine in reverse. I suppose that would be ok for backing up but..

Thanks in advance.

Mike Ice

Mike,
Is it a geared starter? The gearing will change the direction of rotation from the motor itself. The final gear, the one that engages the flywheel should indeed turn counterclockwise when viewed from aft.

starter rotation

Mel,

Sorry, I should have stated that it is not a geared starter. It is just a plain old starter for an O-320 E3D. Looks like it came off of a Ford Tractor but it really did come off of a 150 HP lycoming. My friend up graded to a B&C special and gave me his old one.

thanks,

Mike Ice

starter rotation reverse

Mel,

Looking at the starter from aft, the armature turns counter clock wise but the gear that contacts the flywheel turns clock wise. Is that the way it is supposed to work. Seems odd to me.

Mike

Mike, it's the other way around.. the gear that engages the starter ring gear ("flywheel") needs to turn counter-clockwise.

I know a lot of folks will laugh at me for pointing it out, but the "back" of the starter is the opposite of what it would be if mounted on a car. I figure it's best to get this squared away before this thread turns into some kinda "who's on first?" thing.

starter rotation

Steve, I am not laughing, well not at you, at myself maybe but this problem is intersting. The aft I am talking about is if you were sitting in the plane looking at the prop. The part of the starter that you would see (if you could)is the motor. Attached to the front of the motor is the gear housing where the small gear sits that engages the fly wheel. Ok so now we all know where aft/ back is.

Radomir, I agree, it seems to me that the small gear should turn CCW. But it doesn't, the armature of the motor turns CCW but the gears spins in a CW direction.

When I spin that gear with my fingers (electricity removed) it clicks. Is this proper?

Is there a disengagement of the starter gear when the motor fires? Does the starter gear move forward when it is supposed to engage the fly wheel? Does the starter gear move back wards to disengage when the motor starts?

Mike Ice

rotation mystery solved

Hello,

The starter mystery was solved with a short trip to an accessories shop. The Pro at the counter told me that the backing plate, which has an "R" and a "L" stamped on it has to be aligned with the power lead bolt. When that is done put the brushes back into the nearest slot and there you have it. Seems so obvious now.

Now the armature of the motor turns CW and the drive gear turns CCW, just like it was supposed to.

I suppose this was "starter Basics 101" to some folks but hey I am learning all the time.

Mike Ice