Delco Starter Question

[Steve Suesens]

Getting close to finishing my TO30 restoration. Although the previous owner converted the tractor to a 12v system with alternator, my starter (Delco model 1109457)may not have been rebuilt to 12v. A local shop said they could rebuid with 12v guts for better performance. The starter has never seemed to have much ummmph even with new battery and 0 gauge cables.

My question - Do most people who convert from 6 to 12 volts upgrade or change their starter? What are the pro"s and cons.

Thanks!

 

[Steve Suesens]

And, is there a simple way for me to tell if my starter has already been converted from 6 to 12v?

 

[Richard L]

when changing to 12v I have not heard of anyone changing the starter to 12v (I am sure some do) but with a 6v starter and 12v system the only thing you don't want to do is keep the starter cranking very long at a time as you can burn it out. If your engine starts easily as it should you should not have a problem with the starter. When I had my generator changed to 12v the electrical shop stamped into the body just below the original delco tag "12v" just so the next repair person knew it was changed to 12v. I would not spend the money on the starter until it needs to be fixed.

 

[Serge Dion]

to get more power to start my to 35 during cold season i bought an 8 volt batery at the batery solution store and going very good for the last 3 years i live in quebec and it start very good in minus 20.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Ive converted a few dozen tractors to 12 volts and have never changed a starter from 6 to 12 volts. In fact, unless you want to have one custom wound, I dont think you can even buy a 12 volt starter for many early tractor systems! A 6 volt starters armature and coils are overbuilt to begin with and will easily handle a 12 volt jolt. In fact, I think they actually can handle the higher voltage better than a starter that was originally wound for 12 volts as the later 12 volt starters are usually built of lighter gauge materials.

 

[Jerry/MT]

I bought my TO-30 in 1994 and it had been converted to 12v but it still has the original 6V Delco starter. It"s a working machine on our ranch and I have never had a problem with the starter. My suggestion is that you check and replace the brushes, if needed, and clean the commutator. Replace the bushing if they are excessively worn. Forget about rewinding it.

 

[JDemaris]

The higher the voltage a starter is designed to crank on, the lighter it is built (not heavier). So, a 6 volt starter does fine on 12 volt. You just cannot go the other way around. Try to use a 12 volt starter on a 6 volt system and it will burn out.

6 volt starter was designed to operate on 4.5 volts. A 12 volt starter is designed to crank on 9 volts. Feed your 6 volt starter 9-10 volts from a 12 volt battery and it just cranks much faster. Only down-side on a few older starters is the drives cannot handle the super-fast engagement. I never had a problem though, with the Delco starters.