Starters
From cars and big trucks, to tractors and construction equipment, we have the starter you need for your vehicle.
New Starters
In 1968 Fondy Auto Electric was formed to remanufacture rotating electrical parts and that is still the primary function of our business, but in recent years we have added new alternators and starters to our product line. This was done to give our customers the best value, and when appropriate, a choice.
We have new original equipment units available for most part numbers, but in most cases the OE parts are cost prohibitive. Most of the new alternators and starters that you see in our catalog are from aftermarket vendors. These new aftermarket parts, whether purchased from us or our competitors, are produced outside of our borders in countries with low labor rates and limited governmental regulation. Unfortunately, many of these new units are also produced in plants with little quality control. Our competition typically does not have the expertise to qualify the parts they buy, so they only learn of quality shortcomings when warranties start to roll in. So YOU are their quality control department.
Our policy is to analyze all starters and alternators starters purchased from vendors before they go on the shelf for sale. The objective is find defects before our customers ever see the units. This incoming inspection and analysis is expensive, but necessary as judged by the quantity of units that are rejected.
Our new units are identified by a “-N” as a suffix to our reman part number. You will note that for some part numbers we offer only a reman, while other part numbers may only be offered as a new unit and others both options. Our goal is to give our customers the best value regardless of whether it was produced in our facility.
There are instances in which other vendors offer a new unit when we only offer a remanufactured. This is typically because the aftermarket new units for that part number do not meet our quality standards. Our remanufactured starter may even cost more than the other guy’s new unit, but you need a part that will fit, work when installed and continue to work for years to come.
For some part numbers you will notice that we only offer a new part. That is typically because we have found the new unit to have acceptable quality at a price that we cannot match with a remanufactured product. That doesn’t mean that we cannot remanufacture that part number. In fact, we would love to provide a remanufactured unit, but in these cases it could cost substantially more than the new aftermarket option.
Sometimes you will find that we offer both remanufactured and aftermarket new for a part number. In these instances, the available new parts meet quality standards, but there is not a significant difference in the price of the new and reman units. Some of our customers have a strong preference for products remanufactured in our plant because of their experienced satisfaction with the fit and function. Others may like the idea of having a new product.
Remanufactured Starters
Having our manufacturing facility in a northern climate has an advantage. Brutal winters with below zero temperatures, snow, ice and salt are the most adverse environment for starters. These conditions, while sometimes uncomfortable for humans, provide a severe testing ground for our starters. We have found that features such as silicone grease and heavy duty 5-roller or ratchet starter drives allow our starters to have a long life in even our harsh habitat. If you don’t have these nasty conditions our starters will last even longer in your climate.
The remanufacturing process for our starters is similar to our alternators and generators. All units to be remanufactured are completely disassembled and cleaned. All wear parts such as bushings, brushes, seals, brake washers, hardware, starter drives and solenoids are automatically discarded. Component parts that are typically salvaged such as housings and castings are cleaned, painted or rust-proofed, and stringently inspected before they are reused. Any of these salvage parts not meeting standards are scrapped and replaced with new. Major electrical parts such as armatures and field coils are reconditioned and reused if they can pass rigid test and inspection procedures. If parts cannot pass our test and inspection, they are scrapped and new or remanufactured parts are used for reassembly.
After the component parts are processed, they are assembled by experienced technicians into completed products that will look and function as good, or better, than when they were new. All completed starters are tested in situations very similar to what they will see when reinstalled on the engine. When possible the starters are operated under a load equal to the size of the engine that they are designed to start. After starters pass the final test procedure each one is labelled to identify its date of manufacture and the Fondy Auto Electric associate responsible for the quality of that unit.
Starters for Collector Vehicles
In some of the more scrutinized collector vehicles it is important to have a starter with the original part number and correct date code. We rebuild our customer’s numbers matching alternator, starter or generator and return these units to the customer in like-new appearance and function with the original numbers intact.
We also have the ability to substantially increase the power of many starters without modifying the external appearance of the unit. Sometimes the engine will be harder to crank after the engine has been rebuilt, especially when it is hot. Our “Super Torque” starters can cure that problem while retaining the original appearance and numbers.
Regardless of whether you want an exchange unit for your working vehicle, you want your starter remanufactured with the original numbers, or you want it upgraded for more power, we can help. We have been remanufacturing starters since 1968 and have reworked units for vehicles from every decade since electric starters were put on vehicles. Our experienced technicians have rebuilt starters of just about every shape, size and manufacturer, so you can be assured that they can be trusted with the starter for your treasured vehicle.
Numbers Matching
Send us your numbers matching starter so we can rebuild your unit and preserve the collector value.