Orpin Switch

I had the same problem with a starter that had been previously worked-on. I decided to bring the starter to a local shop in Arlington Heights and they found a rusted internal ground. The repair made all the difference.

Another thing I did was to enlarge the battery box and buy a larger 6 volt battery to fit in. Probably wasn't necessary, but I feel like I have more starting capacity now.

Mark

I too use 6V and it works just fine. Both on my Auburn and L-29.
CORDially Mike

I have always used the heavy cables
double check for clean and tight connections
I like using the Optima brand battery 6 volt
lots of power and extra long shelf life, good
for storage periods
I agree 6 volt worked for years and should be fine
today. My experience with 8 volts has never been good,
the system isnt designed for it and bulbs dont like it
either
greg

Hi Curt,

No, I do not have the ohm values of a 6 volt or 12 volt brushes. I agree you should be able to check the resistance between the two. I was just relieved to get the starter working again and never pursued the matter after that.
Carl

C.R.D. wrote: Curt if it was only so simple. The 12 volt brushes were identical to the 6 volt, just not as conductive. The first rebuilder must have been unfamiliar with 6 volt, the second who was in his upper 70's and has done rebuilding for about 40 years just assumed they were correct as they were new. From now on my starters and generators go to the third one.
Carl

Possibly one could check the resistance with a olhm-meter. Do you have the value of a 12V?

Curt if it was only so simple. The 12 volt brushes were identical to the 6 volt, just not as conductive. The first rebuilder must have been unfamiliar with 6 volt, the second who was in his upper 70's and has done rebuilding for about 40 years just assumed they were correct as they were new. From now on my starters and generators go to the third one.
Carl

1934-36 Auburns utilize Auto-Lite starters which use the rivets on the end plate to ground the two grounding brushes. I have found that over the years corrosion has built up between the end plate and the rivets. Even though the meter tests it OK, there is sufficient resistance to reduce the power of the starter. The end result is it will turn over slowly. The easy fix for this is to install a grounding stud on either side of the starter under the commutator band so they will not be seen.

The 12V brushes is a new one on me, that is good info. I suspect they are smaller that 6V brushes.

I agree a 6 volt battery should do the job if everything else is alright. Heavy cables and good connections are essential.
On one of my other cars I had my starter rebuilt and it would barely turn the engine over. I installed an old starter and the car cranked over fine. The original rebuilder insisted the starter was fine and suggested I go to an 8 volt battery. After going to three starter rebuilders and numerous attempts to correct the problem. Finally one starter repairman discovered the problem. The original rebuilder put 12 volt brushes in the starter. Once the proper brushes were installed the starter worked great. Might want to check with the person who rebuilt yours and make sure they used the correct brushes.
Carl

I too don't think that you need to do anything fancy like 12 volts I'm a 810 Cord owner who has eliminated trouble with my car by having my parts store make up new battery cable using 00 electric welding cable. I ran my ground (positive) from the battery to a bolt on the starter. I also had high torque field installed in my starter. I don't know if an Auburn starter is the same but it might be?

I would first check all your battey cable's condition , conections, cable sizes, and grounds etc first.
Use Large size battery cables ~~~Not small 12 volt modern cables.

Your old original 6 Volt starting system should work just fine if properly cleaned-up and maintained !

If 6 Volts worked when new~~~It should work fine now today.

There must be some voltage drop in your battery cable system ,between the battery and starter, that is causing your starting system issue.

Using a 12 Volt battery today is just an un-necessary Band-Aid repair for a poorly maintained original 6 Volt starting system !

Hi,

I had one on a POC '52 Willys Jeep driveway plower-outer, and it was the difference between having an operable Jeep and a flower planter.

I ran this two-battery arrangement and switch for several years with no problems.

--Tom

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Warm-Up this year because of starter problems with my 1931 898-A. Despite having the starter rebuilt, the 6 volt battery just doesn't have sufficient power to crank the starter with enough force. A trial using a 12 volt battery does the trick just fine. I would like to retain the original 6 volt system and was wondering if any club members had any experience with the Orpin switch that Josh Malks mentions in his book, How to Maintain and Enjoy Your Collector Car on pages 112-114. I checked EBay and noticed one is currently for sale. The Orpin switch allows 2 6 volt batteries to be connected in parallel allowing the starter to run on 12 volts but maintaining 6 volts for the electrical system as I understand it. Thanks for any advice. MA