Went to fly a few weeks back, pulled the starter and silence!
Well the starter had not been touched since brfore I bought the plane in 1997. So I figured I was in for a rebuild.
But being curious (and low on funds) I decided to exhaust all possibilities before I pulled the starter off.
I removed the brush cover and looked at the communtator. It was nice a shiny with no black marks.
I pulled out one of the brushes. It was barely worn.
I disconnected the power cable and removed the button on the starter. The copper blocks were nice and shiny and tight.
Under the button housing there is a copper contact attached to the starter frame with a nut.
As a final act of desperation, I powered up the master switch and touched the power cable to that copper contact. Still Nothing!!!
I then touched it to the nut that held that copper contact to the starer frame and, presto, it spun.
Turns out somehow that nut had worked loose and needed about half a turn with a wrench.
I reinstalled the switch, put the power cable back on. Master on, pull the starter cable and problem solved.
So if you starter dies suddenly, check out that contact under the switch to see if it is corroded and or loose.
Patrick Mahaffey
N1410D
Grand Prairie, TX