Indiana Shop Adjusts To Shifting Landscape - by Traci Matt, Associate Editor

Twenty years ago, a 16-year-old golf prodigy named Tiger Woods hit the PGA, presidential candidate Ross Perot warned that NAFTA would destroy our economy, and green was just a color.

It was a different world when we last spoke with Tom Silnes at Bridgeport Starter and Alternator in Indianapolis, Ind. At that time he and wife Beverly were juggling three employees, six kids, and Tom's return to college with honors levelgrades. They were planning to expand into trucks and more automotive applications, and were worrying about parts proliferation.

A different world, indeed. Since then they have whittled the shop down to no employees, shelved college because of the high expense, and added grandchildren and great-grandchildren to the fray. Beverly still manages the accounting side of things.

The takeaway of this story is that out of thousands of rebuilding shops which were thriving in the early 90s, Tom is one of the few survivors. When asked why he has been able to stay in business his first reaction is to joke: “I guess I'm just dumb.”

Beverly corrects him: “How about stubborn, or persistent.”

One of the keys to survival was knowing when to downsize. As Tom watched his customers'businesses fail, or close due to death or poor health, he simply did not replace his employees as they moved on.

“As each one of them left I thought, ‘I bet I can get along without hiring somebody else,' and then finally after the last …

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Starter Shunt Field Coils: Clearing Up Confusion - column By Bob Thomas And Wes Grueninger Sr.

A shunt coil (see Figure 1) is simply a field coil connected directly to the battery in parallel with the armature, as opposed to being connected in series with the armature, as most starter field coils are. Shunt coils have been used in many different starters and sometimes cause confusion or misunderstanding for rebuilders. Why is the shunt coil there, what does it really do and how does it work?

The general conception is that a shunt coil will slow down a starter while providing more torque. While true in a sense, it is not really the whole truth. In actuality, a shunt coil does limit the speed of the armature, and it often provides some additional torque. But it also allows the starter to crank the engine with equal or better torque using less amperage. We will explain how a simple shunt coil can do all this, but first let's look at the characteristics of both series-wound and shunt-wound configuration DC motors:

Series-wound DC motor (Figure 2):

• It has high starting torque to handle high mechanical loads.
• As the load decreases, amperage draw decreases.
• If the load is suddenly removed, armature speed rapidly increases.
• Armature speed under no-load conditions can exceed safe limits.

Shunt-wound DC motor (Figure 3):

• It has low starting torque.
• Torque increases with armature speed.
• Armature “motors” at a constant speed under no load.
• It provides torque to match the load once constant speed is reached.

As you can see, the series-wound motor is the better choice for a starter. It provides maximum torque at start-up when you need it most to get past that first compression stroke. However, that benefit comes with a drawback …

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Older Civics May Cause Grief - by Dan Marinucci

This column focuses on two details of a Honda Civic charging system. The first one is simplifying alternator belt adjustment; the other is preventing potentially harmful overcharge conditions.

Suppose you're replacing an alternator and/or drive belt on an early 2000s Civic equipped with the 1.7L engine. The belt adjuster assembly sits on the driver's side of the engine; its main adjusting bolt points toward the front of the car. But instead of a common hex head, you're likely to find a large wing nut on the end of this adjuster bolt.

This wing nut could present any of several problems. First, it may be difficult— if not impossible—for you to turn this adjuster with your fingers. Second, while reaching this wing nut may not be your toughest task this week, there isn't a bundle of working room around it. If you try turning it with pliers, you may be wishing for a hex head adjuster in short order. Third, a routine accumulation of road dirt and corrosion may make the adjuster bolt even more difficult to turn, especially in the snow-and-salt regions of the country. Don't be surprised if the adjuster feels like it's seized up. That's why some techs always presoak these adjuster threads with potent penetrating oil before they tackle a drive belt or alternator replacement on a 1.7L Civic.

Furthermore, other techs—especially Honda specialists—said they always allow extra time on these Civics for two additional chores: prepping the adjuster threads and removing its wing nut. To do these jobs, you must first remove the …

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Plain Talk: What's The Good Word? - by Rob Buksar

I can now count Polly Shea as one of my “old” friends. We have known and worked with one another successfully for twenty years. It's been great!

In a recent phone conversation, Polly and I were exchanging notes concerning our present personal and business circumstances. Some info exchanged was very good and some not so good. What seemed to be ever-present during our exchange was the growing level of toxic stress in both of our lives.

Time and circumstance didn't allow us to finish our phone conversation so I'll finish my end of it here. You might find some value in it.

We are all trying to survive a “stinky economy” and a major conflict on how America is going to define itself in the future—God willing we have one. Yes, when times get difficult as they are now, most of us fall into the could-a, would-a, or should-a mentality and start blaming and beating ourselves up for the problems we're immersed in.

This toxic stress derails our digestion, tightens our muscles, weakens our immunity, thickens our blood, harries our hearts, and cooks our cells into a stew of stress hormones. Not to mention high blood pressure, rapid and irregular heartbeats, back pain, muscle aches, skin disorders, and a list of problems and disorders that's long and still growing. …

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From The President's Desk: Looking Forward To Seeing You - column By Hank Henke

If your list of things to do this month doesn't already include making reservations for the ERA Trade Show in April, it's time to add that to your list. Polly and her planning team have outdone themselves again and the event schedule looks great.

In my experience, the ones who showup for industry events like this are the ones who will be in business for the long run. They see how important it is to talk to other rebuilders and to suppliers about all the issues that cause problems for our specific occupation. They understand that the only way to stay in business is to look ahead to the changes that are on the way. Over and over I have been told about guys who save enough money with the tech info they've learned at the show to pay for the trip.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend is the Sunday morning marketing sessions. Back in the old days I even gave presentations about the importance of tools like direct mail. In recent years we've added the younger generation's perspective on Internet marketing. This year we are giving it a new spin with a seminar on “branding” your business. This is just the marketing industry's term for making sure people know what is special about your business and our industry. I'm sure it will be a worthwhile session for us all.

Email and phone calls are great, but there is no substitute for sitting across the table from someone to find out what is really going on in their neck of the woods. Besides all that, it is really just a lot of fun to get together with old friends—and make new ones.

Help Polly out and send in your preregistration from page 9 now. Looking forward to seeing you in Allentown!

Hank Henke, ERA president, is owner of United Starter & Alternator, Lowell, Ind. …

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Tech Tip

Here is a tip on how to remove the negative diodes that are pressed into the end frames of Delco 25SI alternators. Cut off the lead and drill a 17/64-inch hole into the diode. There is a small space between the diode and the frame. You will feel when the drill goes through the diode—it is not necessary to drill into the frame. After the hole is drilled, run a 5/16-inch tap into the hole and continue turning the tap and the diode will come out.

Charles Bukovick
C&D Rebuilders, Owosso, Mich. …

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Think Green And Make More

Think about everything that you use in one day—your morning shower, the coffeemaker, the work commute, your annual report, the short drive to lunch, watching television, doing laundry. It all adds up. Now think about how much time, money and resources you'd save if you just used a little bit less during your day.

Here are some things to consider using less of:

1. Use less coal
Utilities buy more than 90 percent of U.S. coal, a non-renewable resource. So in the winter, think about turning your thermostat down a few degrees; this will save you money and help reduce coal use.

2. Use less energy
Energy consumption is at the forefront of many environmental discussions these days. While you may think cutting your energy use won't make that big of difference, by using cold water to wash your clothes, you can save 90 percent of the washing machine's power utilization. That's a lot of energy for a simple step.

3. Use fewer virgin materials
Each American uses about 47,000 pounds of newly mined materials each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mining can have large negative impacts on the environment. Try using products that are made from recycled content to cut down on your use of virgin materials.

4. Use less water
Many experts agree the world is in the midst of a water crisis. Do your part by …

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