I came in from the garage after working over five flathead starter motors and could not get one to spin. I tried every trick I know of. Stuff that always worked before. It's going to kill me if I have to take one of them to a rebuild shop!
So? What did you do to try to get them started? Give us the list so we can see if we think there's anything you missed. All of my starter problems have been worn out brushes. Replaced them and away they went.
I was just venting but since you asked, I used some emery cloth to clean the shiny parts, repaired insulation on field coils where needed. New brushes installed and I greased the rotor end. What did I miss and how do I check for shorts?
