4 pole Prestolite starter motor

Hi Gents,
A buddy of mine has a MkIII electric start that he is rebuilding and he doesn’t do the internet thing so he asked me to help.
His question is for wiring a 4-pole Prestolite starter motor.
Is there a diagram to show the brush housing on which wire goes where, so the starter turns the correct direction?
He doesn't want to build it and find the motor turns the wrong way.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Thomas

If you are using a Harley Prestolite starter, the brushes must be rotated 90 degrees clockwise to reverse the rotation. I did mine three years ago but I've got pictures of most of it.
Let me know if I can help.
Jaydee

A Prestolie 4 brush starter (in good condition) is not an easy or cheap option in the U.K. I made my 4 brush conversion from one of the after market sportster starter motors on eBay, as you know you will have to use the Commando end plantes/caps and armature, you also have to make a thin reducer to centralise your original drive end bearing housing/plate, the brush end bearing cover fits straight on.
Setting up the brushes is easy before you strip out your 4 brush motor , Put the soft jaws in your vice open the vice just wide enough to let the Harley drive gear to pas with the weight of the motor sitting on the end plate tighten the vice now nothing jumps or springs out of place when you remove the brush end cover. Remove the long bolts and ease up the brush end cover carefully some times the brush plate tries to lift with the end cover, with the cover removed I eased each brush back from the armature and hold it back into it's houlder using twisty sandwich bag ties , then mark the brush holders clockwise 1,2,3,4. Now you can strip out the motor without the brushes springing everywhere, then move each brush clockwise to the next brush holder i.e. The brush from holder 1 relocates into holder 2 and secured with the twisty bag tie and repeat until the brush from holder 4 is located in holder 1.

jaydee75 said:

If you are using a Harley Prestolite starter, the brushes must be rotated 90 degrees clockwise to reverse the rotation. I did mine three years ago but I've got pictures of most of it.
Let me know if I can help.
Jaydee

Click to expand...

Hi Jaydee,
Yes if you could post some pictures of the brush holder and the relationship to the cable post we could sort out the rest. You could PM me or post it here for others.
Thanks
Cheers,
Thomas

Esme
Thanks for responding. My buddy John showed me the Prestolite starter that he had rebuilt. New brushes. So the end cap was off. Now we just need to determine where the brush plate needs to be in relation to the cable post.
Cheers,
Thomas

There's not much to see Just take the brushes out and move them over 90 deg. They will bind a little bit and feel unnatural, but they will go. After you get them moved, bump the starter with a battery and make sure the rotation is correct.

Original Harley with brushes loose:


Rotated:


I used a 1" OD tube to hold the brushes in while I slipped the rotor in:


Jaydee

Thanks Jaydee
Great tip with the 1" tube to hold the brushes.
Cheers,
Thomas

In the past I have used the stock starter, and the upgraded 4 brush Harley Prestolite. This is what I use now, a much better option:

http://atlanticgreen.com/starter.htm