Hi Roller .... ok thats funny .. anyway ... yes but you may see some connection sparks from the brushes attempting to make the conact, and you can easily tell (visually) if they're warn once apart. It could certainly be a winding or the communtater surface ?? It's an easy fix either way. I've had a couple of older gen's that I simply took off and had rebuilt. Its only about $75, and it all looks new when you get it back.
Good luck
