15 kV class vacuum circuit breakers have become the most popular method of starting large chip Refiner synchronous motors. Multiple re-strikes, can occur in vacuum circuit breakers and may cause transient overvoltages at the motor terminals. This condition damages motor stator windings. The paper will describe multiple re-strikes in vacuum circuit breakers and how they are measured. It will also discuss the experience at Avenor's Canadian pulp and paper mills in Gold River, British Columbia and Thunder Bay, Ontario and at the QUNO mill, Thorold, Ontario, Canada. Included are modifications recommended to protect the Refiner motors from further damage.