Ignition Now Inc. · Calgary bench
Workshop services for starting and charging systems
Six focused services run on one steel bench at 1100 Meridian Rd Ne, CALGARY - T2A 2N9, Canada (CA). Each unit is measured before it is repaired and proven before it is released. This page explains what each job involves and what you receive when you collect your vehicle.
Starter Motor Rebuilds
A starter motor is a hard-working electrical machine that lives in a hostile place. Heat, oil, road grit, and thousands of engage cycles wear the brushes down, score the commutator, and burn the solenoid contacts. When a starter begins to crank slowly, grind, or spin freely without turning the engine, the smart move is a rebuild rather than a blind replacement. At Ignition Now Inc. we strip the unit down to its components and judge every part on its own merits.
The armature and field coils are checked for shorts and opens. The commutator is turned on a lathe or replaced when the bars are undercut or worn unevenly. New brushes are seated to the commutator so the unit does not need a break-in period that leaves the driver stranded. The solenoid is opened, its copper contact washer and studs are renewed, and the plunger is checked for free travel. The drive and one-way clutch are tested for slip, and the ring gear engagement is verified on the bench.
Once rebuilt, the starter is clamped into a braced fixture and run under load. We record the no-load spin, the current draw under load, and the solenoid pull-in and hold behavior. Those numbers are written on the job card and travel with the unit. A rebuilt starter that does not meet specification does not leave the bench.
- Armature, field coil, and commutator inspection
- Brush replacement and seating
- Solenoid contact and plunger renewal
- Drive and one-way clutch testing
- Load test with recorded draw figures
Alternator Testing and Repair
The alternator keeps the battery charged and carries the electrical load once the engine is running. When it weakens, the first symptom is often a dashboard warning light, followed by dim lamps, slow cranking, and finally a battery that will not hold charge overnight. Rather than swapping parts, we bench the alternator and spin it across a controlled range of shaft speeds while the arc meter tracks voltage and current output.
Rectifier diodes are tested individually, because a single failed diode can ripple the output and confuse other electronics while still showing a healthy average voltage. The voltage regulator is swept through its operating range to confirm it holds the correct set point as load rises. Slip rings are cleaned or replaced, brushes are renewed, and bearings are checked for roughness and play. A bearing that howls under load is a failure waiting to happen and gets replaced before the unit is closed.
When the fault is a single diode, a worn brush set, or a tired regulator, a repair is often the sensible route and costs far less than a new unit. When the stator or rotor windings are damaged beyond economic repair, we say so plainly and explain why a replacement is the better choice.
- Diode-by-diode rectifier testing
- Regulator set-point sweep under load
- Slip ring and brush renewal
- Bearing inspection and replacement
- Recorded charge curve at multiple speeds
Ignition Coil Diagnostics
An ignition coil that fails cold is easy to catch. The difficult ones pass every cold test and only break down once the engine bay reaches operating temperature. Those are the coils that cause a misfire under load on a long hill, then behave perfectly in the parking lot. Our diagnostic routine is built to catch exactly this behavior.
We measure primary and secondary resistance against the manufacturer specification, then run the coil up to temperature and watch for the spark that fades or the resistance that drifts out of range. A hot-soak test holds the coil at temperature while it is cycled, which reveals insulation breakdown that a cold ohmmeter will never show. Coils that pass the cold test but fail hot are flagged clearly on the job card so the driver understands the diagnosis.
Ignition coil problems are frequently mislabelled as fuel or sensor faults, so we also sanity-check the charging system while the vehicle is in. A weak alternator can cause a coil to misfire by dragging system voltage down at idle, which is why this service pairs naturally with our alternator work.
- Primary and secondary resistance testing
- Hot-soak cycling to reveal heat-related faults
- Spark strength and gap verification
- System voltage cross-check
- Specification-matched replacement coils
Battery and Charging Checks
No starter or alternator diagnosis is trustworthy until the battery and cables have been proven. A battery that cranks well on a warm afternoon can collapse under the first hard frost, and a swollen or corroded cable lug can imitate a failed starter by starving it of current. We test the battery first, so we never rebuild a unit that was never at fault.
The battery is load tested at its rated current and its state of charge is tracked across a full charge and discharge cycle. Terminal lugs, ground straps, and the heavy cable runs are inspected for corrosion, fraying, and heat damage. We measure voltage drop across the cables under load, which exposes resistance that a simple voltage reading will miss. Cable ends that have failed are replaced with copper lugs crimped and soldered on the bench.
Cables and terminals are the cheapest part of the starting circuit and the most common cause of a no-start morning. Cleaning and re-lugging them correctly is often the difference between a vehicle that starts reliably and one that leaves its owner calling for a jump.
- Load test at rated current
- Full charge and discharge cycle tracking
- Ground strap and lug inspection
- Voltage drop measurement under load
- Copper lug replacement, crimped and soldered
Key and Switch Replacement
Sometimes the starter is healthy and the fault is upstream: the key turns, but the start command never reaches the solenoid. The ignition switch, the neutral safety circuit, or the key cylinder itself may be worn. These faults are frustrating because they look identical to a dead starter from the driver seat, and they lead many owners to replace a perfectly good unit.
We trace the start signal from the key through the switch to the solenoid, measuring the signal at each point. Switch contacts are tested for resistance and pitting. Worn key cylinders are replaced with matched parts, and where the neutral safety circuit is involved we verify the switch in every gear position. The goal is to confirm that when the key turns, a clean, full-voltage start command arrives at the starter every time.
This work often saves customers the cost of a starter they did not need, and it resolves the intermittent no-starts that are the hardest faults to live with because they never appear when a mechanic is watching.
- Start signal trace from key to solenoid
- Switch contact resistance and pitting checks
- Key cylinder replacement
- Neutral safety circuit verification
- Intermittent fault reproduction
Fleet Starting Systems
For a business, a vehicle that will not start is a route that will not run. Fleets feel starting faults far more sharply than individuals because one no-start can ripple through a whole day of scheduled work. We approach fleet starting systems as a program rather than a series of emergencies, looking at whole vehicles and whole model lines at once.
A fleet survey records battery age and condition, cable and lug condition, alternator output, and starter draw across the same models. Patterns emerge quickly: a model line that eats alternators at a certain mileage, a cable routing that corrodes on one side, a battery batch that is reaching the end of its life at the same time. Those patterns let a fleet manager plan replacements rather than react to failures.
Calgary winters are the hardest test a starting system faces, so the shop keeps winter bench slots open for fleets ahead of the first cold snap. Units can be serviced on a rotating schedule that fits around routes, so vehicles are off the road for planned maintenance instead of unplanned breakdowns. Every survey and every schedule is written down so the work is accountable.
- Whole-fleet starting and charging survey
- Battery, cable, alternator, and starter records
- Pattern analysis across model lines
- Reserved winter bench slots
- Scheduled rotating service around routes
The bench method
How every job moves from intake to release
Whatever the service, the process is the same. We log the complaint and stamp a unit tag on arrival. We clamp the unit on the bench and record load, voltage, and behavior. We isolate the fault to specific parts. We repair or rebuild with matched components. We run the unit a final time under load and only release it when the numbers are right.
That discipline is what makes a bench shop different from a parts swap. When you collect your vehicle you receive the recorded figures, so the repair is transparent and the next fault, if one ever appears, can be compared against a known baseline. To book a slot, use the form on the contact page or call +15074788695.
Book your unit on the bench
Ignition Now Inc. · 1100 Meridian Rd Ne, CALGARY - T2A 2N9, Canada (CA)