1986 Force 50 - Starter / High Amp draw

Shane70

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Apr 6, 2014
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Hello all. My 1986 Force 50 HP is drawing over 1,000 (yes 1,000) amps when cranking. This doesn't take much more than a minute before the battery is no longer strong enough to turn the engine. I purchased a brand new battery which led to the discovery of the high amp draw. I was told either that the starter is in need of repair / replace OR I have a short someplace. I hate to tear into everything to tracing wires and cables as it's a lot of tear down. Does anyone agree that I may have pierced a wire when I installed my new trim with screws? Would that make it draw lots of amps potentially? Having the starter rebuilt should be easy enough but I am afraid that might not be the issue. Your opinions are appreciated greatly. Thank you.
 
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Feb 17, 2012
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the only cable capable of handing 1000amp with out catching on fire with in a few seconds is the starter cable. Any time the starter system is dragging a major amount of amps that's going to be converted into heat. so something should be nice and warm if you can flatten a battery in one minute its kinda surprising the battery doesn't blow at that rate.

firstly if the starter is turning the engine slowly make sure all the terminals are clean, shinny and tight. 12vdc does not like dirty connections and that includes the ground (dc neg) cable and the place its bolted to the motor. if the starter is still slow then it needs to be stripped and the stator and brushes cleaned. if you do this yourself make sure you clean in-between the copper sections on the stator with something sharp and pointy as carbon trapped between sections of the stator can cause high amp draw. while the starter is in bits also check the magnets have not come unglued or are broken.
P.s cranking for more than 10 seconds at a time is a bad idea on any engine.
 
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Jiggz

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Oct 23, 2009
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Do a little diagnostic by jumpering the starter straight from the battery using heavy duty jumper cables. Make sure the negative cable is correctly attached to the engine block while the red or positive cable will be attached to the positive connection on the starter. If the starter cranks normally at high speed and starts the motor, it means the starter is good, and you need to investigate your battery cables, i.e. large black cable on the engine block, red cable on starter solenoid and also the red cable from the solenoid to the starter. Visual or "thug" check is not good enough. You need to disconnect, clean and shine and then re-connect. If problem persists, try jumpering between the starter solenoid terminals. if the starter runs normally, replace the solenoid.

However, if after jumpering straight to the battery and the starter continues to drag, then it is time to repair the starter or even maybe replace it.
 
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jerryjerry05

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May 7, 2008
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Possible: the starter is dirty and needs to be rebuilt, or the cable is bad, or the connections are loose, or the compression is low on 1 cylinder, or the bearing in the lower unit is shot and seizing.
That should keep you busy for a bit.
Check these things and post the results.
 

Shane70

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Apr 6, 2014
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Thank you everyone. Working on all your suggestions. Starter got dropped off for a professional clean and repair. His initial test / opinion on it was, "Yup. Seems a bit sluggish to me. I'll check it out." So hopefully this is the root of the problem. It won't hurt to follow up on all the other suggestions as well. Thank you again all!!

P.S.
Yes, things were getting nice and toasty warm while trying to start it up. Cables and starter.
Compression on both cylinders is good.
 
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Jiggz

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I'm not sure how much you will be spending to a professional to clean and repair the starter but for non-OEM replacement you can get one for less than $80 brand new.
 

Shane70

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Apr 6, 2014
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So back to the drawing board. Rebuilt starter (the guy said it was "mush" inside) for $50. I'm still having the same problems. Inspected cables - all is in tact. Cleaned the connectors - bright copper - all good. Starter began to smoke after a minute or so of trying to start the engine and of coarse was VERY HOT. So I stopped. The engine seems to want to start but then - zilch. It seems to lock up or just keep turning slower and slower. Battery is fully charge and brand new. I even linked it with jumper cables to another battery so I was getting plenty of 12V power. Starter jams and can't turn the the main large "gear" on top at times or just keeps getting slower slower, then maybe fast / regular speed again, then slower again or jam. When jammed I can barely even turn the main gear by hand. Usually I am able to spin it with not much effort. I eventually get it turning again but what gives? Your suggestions / criticisms are always appreciated. Thanks.
 

Jiggz

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Oct 23, 2009
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Now that the starter has overheated to the point it smoked, there is absolutely no reason not to replace it. Get a replacement and then try again. If problem persists, remove the LU off and try again. If it spins normally, open and inspect the LU for binding. However, if problem persists, remove top spark plug and try again. If it spins normally, replace plug and remove lower plug. Or if problem persists (with top plug off and lower plug in place) there is a problem with the lower cylinder. Remove head and inspect.

With lower plug off, if it spins normally, replace plug. However, if after removing lower plug (with top plug in place) the problem persists, then there is a problem with the top cylinder. Remove head and inspect.
 

jerryjerry05

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May 7, 2008
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What's the compression #s ?
Just because it was rebuilt doesn't mean it was done right.
The solenoid might be a problem?


(Possible: the starter is dirty and needs to be rebuilt, or the cable is bad, or the connections are loose, or the compression is low on 1 cylinder, or the bearing in the lower unit is shot and seizing.
That should keep you busy for a bit.) You check this stuff?
 
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