Which end is up

[Terry in Ottawa]

When I took my electric start apart, I didn't notice the orientation of the cup that sits under the circlip at the top of the armature shaft.

The cup has a thick wall about half way up the interior of the cup. I installed it with the cup facing down so that the spring on the shaft is constrained by the cup area.

Now I'm not sure if that installation is correct. The service manual seems to imply that the cup portion should face upwards and slide over the retaining circlip. Have I installed this backwards?

 

[Terry in Ottawa]

The answer is that the cup should be facing up when installed on the armature shaft. The circlip is installed on the top of the armature, and then the cup is raised up so that the circlip rests on the interior ledge of the cup about half way down. With this orientation the bendix gear rises full height to engage with the flywheel