Replacing Leopard Starter Brushes

[Larry Natzke]

My kart would not start Sunday after a little off track freestyling at TTAC.
Press Start button and nothing. Determined there was power going into starter.
Diagnosis is starter brushes need replacement due to the brief bumpy ride off track.
Leopard manual has detailed instructions and pictures on how to replace the brushes.
Any tips/tricks that will made the job good smoothly?

Also, since this breakdown ended my track day early, would a 18V cordless drill
have enough torque to manually start a Leopard ?
If yes, what type of one-way socket fitting is required for countershaft nut so once
engine fires, the drill can be removed without spinning out of control?
Do any kart outfitters sale such a product?

[Gary Meadors]

@rsotak wrote:

Coleman starter with new battery for sale. Switched to a TAG motor and don’t need it anymore. $200 OBO. Located in Colorado Springs.

Ryan Sotak

Check the above posting, in the classified section, for an external starter and battery that will work on the Leopard engine. All you have to do is drill a hole in the side pod to get at the crank nut, or take the side pod off.

I rather doubt a drill would start the engine, and if it did it would probably break your wrist when it did start. I have a similar starter that I use to start my Leopard engine when it is cold. That way I don’t drain the onboard battery down.

[Mike Jansen]

after having starter issues with my Motori7 and having to replace the starter I’ll tell you what i know:

external starter like what was mentioned above it perfect and get a universal joint 17 mm socket (i think that is the size) so you don’t have to drill a hole in your sidepod. But, be aware that if you stall on track you’re getting hauled in by the meat wagon.

[Gary Meadors]

MIke,

Great suggestion on the universal socket, I’ll have to try that, I didn’t want to drill a hole in the sidepod and I was
geting tired of taking it off every time I needed to use the external starter

[Joe Rosse]

Now, as to replacing the brushes: I understand that the Leopard starter is the same as the Rotax starter, so I think this should apply. The tricky part is figuring out to hold the spring-loaded brushes in place while putting it all back together. If you do a search on Ekartingnews you’ll find various strategies, but what’s worked best for me is to use a hemostat (i.e., roach clip, but you didn’t hear that from me) to hold the brushes in place just long enough to get the rotor (commutator?) in place. Once you’re close, the commutator will usually hold the brushes enough that you can gently maneuver them the last 1/4″ with a pick, screwdriver, or whatever. Why a hemostat? Because it’s really small and narrow, and there’s not much room to maneuver in there.

The other tip is to be very careful to hold the shaft in place when you’re putting the whole thing back into the case. The powerful magnets can very easily pull the shaft right past the brushes, and you get to do it all over again. Probably good practice, but you won’t be thinking that at the time. I hold the splined shaft with a vise grips to make sure it doesn’t get pulled through.

All of this is of course harder to do at the track, so it doesn’t hurt to have a spare starter ready to go. Or go the external starter route….

[Rick Schmidt]

Also, if you apply silicone to the wire leads at the brush, it will minimize this happening again.

[Kirk Deason]

I’m in the process of replacing mine now. I had to buy an impact screwdriver to get the housing separated from the mount (worked like a champ, btw). I was afraid of stripping the screws out and that tool was the KEY. I also found out it is ALOT easier to remove the motor from the chassis to take that starter motor out as far as getting access to the allen bolts holding it to the motor. I’ll be putting in the new brushes on Saturday and will pass along any tips I can figure out.

[Kirk Deason]

Before you start, download THIS .pdf document. Browse to page 35 or so and print out the 4 pages dealing with starter brush replacement. Every step is clearly pictured and explained, they also show a handy tip for keeping the brushes in place when you slide the rotor into place.

The process is fairly simple, I spent the most time digging all of the old silicone out with a razor blade and a small screwdriver. Hope this helps.

Kirk

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