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iguana9999
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Joined: 07/02/2009
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Posted: 06:00pm 06 Feb 2009

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Obviously alternator can be used, but rotation speed requirements are a problem. Can a starter motor be used instead?

oztules

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Joined: 26/07/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 1686

Posted: 07:59pm 06 Feb 2009

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Not usefully.

There is very little about a starter motor to like for this application... either physically (bushes, stiff brushes etc) or electrically (1 turn per wave winding in the armature only, solid pole shoes for the fields... which have only a few turns as well.).... you were better off with the alternator by a mile..... and it is a fairly poor choice too.

... but light years ahead of the starter motor.

..........oztules
Edited by oztules 2009-02-08

Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth

GWatPE

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Joined: 01/09/2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 2127

Posted: 10:01pm 06 Feb 2009

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Hi oztules.

I have seen some modern starter motors. These have permanent magnets and reduction gearing. I would expect high rpm of the motor, so these may be pretty useless as well without a rewire/rewind. Brushes will still be an issue.

Gordon.

become more energy aware

oztules

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Joined: 26/07/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 1686

Posted: 11:46pm 06 Feb 2009

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Yes Gordon, I rewound one of these reduction gearbox/starters recently (from a Mazda Bravo I think it was). It had field windings, but only a small armature. Luckily it still was only 1 turn per wave... so yes expect very high speed, very high rpm/volt... I have played with the perm magnet ones from the Honda's too.... wicked cogging... to put it mildly.

This is the one from the 4X4 Bravo.... so small. The bearing on the end is a little 629... like the ones on the vacuume motors on your vacuum cleaners....tiny things.

(Comments about the shoddy rewind will be ignored

... yes it worked too.)

........oztules

Edit: Gordon, if you look at the slotwidth on the armature,.... well, your not going to get decent wire in it, so you are reduced to feeding the wire through the slot from end to end, wire wrapping is not an option.

Edited by oztules 2009-02-08

Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth

GWatPE

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Posts: 2127

Posted: 12:37am 07 Feb 2009

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Hi oztules, I agree totally. These units are best left as motors in the application they were designed for.

Gordon.

PS: How do you burn out the armature? Brushes and the solenoid are usually the weak links.

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oztules

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Joined: 26/07/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 1686

Posted: 01:06am 07 Feb 2009

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Funny you should ask... It requires an unbelievable combination of things to happen.
1. You need a sticky ignition lock
2. A bloke that has never driven the 4x4 before
3. A 5hp honda on the back of the ute with no exhaust box (ear splitting) to drive the towed spray unit.

So now combine the ingredients, and we have a bloke who starts the honda up, jumps in the car, starts it up (but unknowingly, the starter stays engaged... and he can't hear it...) and proceeds to spray the paddock with some kind of weed killer. Some 5-10 mins later, smoke is seen issuing forth from the bonnet area.... the rest to your imagination.

Then it turns up here.... what can I say?

.......oztules

PS... No I wasn't the bloke!

Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth

GWatPE

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Joined: 01/09/2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 2127

Posted: 02:49am 07 Feb 2009

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I guess all cars should have a PTC thermistor in the starter cct.

Gordon.

become more energy aware

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