tohatsu 40hp 07 bad starter

[julenisse11]

so my engine was under salt water a while ago, i got it into fresh water and serviced, they got the engine running again and all. and its been laying im my garage for a little while now.

i tried to start it up but its only makes a "click" when i turn the key.
i played abit the the gears on the starter and the bigger gear, turned the key and it poped up and worked. then i get my boat at sea, and it works for 4 seconds, and goes back to saying "click" when i turn the key.

i open the starter and grind over the copper stuff (brushes?) that spinns next to the magnets. and it worked for 3 more seconds before it went back to "click"

i tried to connect some jumper cabels from the battery and right onto the starter + - nodes.

i allso tried to take the cabels from my car and to the boat battery so the battery should be fine

so i really wonder if i should buy a new starter unit, or if the probleme can be elsewhere.

* Sorry for bad spelling, im from norway *

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: tohatsu 40hp 07 bad starter

You can have the starter checked at any starter speciality repair center. Depending on where you are in Norway that might be difficult. Sometimes a big enough auto garage will have the ability to load test one. In the U.S. we generally replace electrical parts if there is the slightest doubt as to their reliability.

 

[lots of boats]

Re: tohatsu 40hp 07 bad starter

Hi

You can check the key, the starter solenoid, and the starter motor.

1) Your key seems to work, but keys have contacts that corrode, they may work when they are first turned, but as soon as they pass a little current they stop working because the resitance in the correded connection. increases. Also the pin connections in the motor corrode, check them. Don't trust the key, you can bypass it to do the next steps.

2) disconnect the solenoid from the starter, this is going to be a short heavy wire, make sure this isn't touching anything and turn the key. If the solenoid has a ground wire, the solenoid should click. If it clicks, it may be working, but to check whether there is a connection inside the solenoid put a 12volt test meter on the output side, this is the large lead to the battery that you took off the starter, and see if there is power going to the starter motor when you turn the key. Solenoids are prone to failure, they are usually sealed, a bath shouldn't affect them, but you can replace the outboard solenoid with an automotive solenoid for about 25% of the cost if you can find one that fits in the motor. Swapping parts will void a warranty but will not affect the motor.

3) once you have determined there is power going to the starter you have narrowed down the problem. I doubt that the starter is the problem.

4) the next step is what we usually do first in the real world. This is not recommended, and will make our friendly dealer grumpy. You turn the key to the on position and take screwdriver or a wrench and short the solenoid. Shorting the two heavy posts on the solenoid should make the starter go because it completly bypasses the solenoid. This is the instant test to get the motor started and see if the starter motor is working and to see if the battery is charged. Or, if you want to back up one step , just disconnect the key wire at the solenoid, and attach a small wire to the connection that comes from the key, touch that small wire to the hot side of the solenoid, this is what the key is doing, and it should make the solenoid click and make the starter go.

5) There are variations, of these steps, you can burn yourself and damage components if you don't use care. If there is a fuel leak and you start shoving a wrench into the solenoid, then things can get interesting. You can add a spare solenoid and a key switch to your tool box, the solenoid doesn't even need to be inside the motor, it just needs to be where the leads are protected and it can't short out. Taking it to a dealer to fix is the easy way, and rugular way to do it but this will likely result in two things. One is that you will not learn a thing to help you get home if a similar problem occures while you are out boating someplace, so you must learn how solenoids and other parts work for your own safety. The second thing, is that you don't need to buy new parts for a whole system, a dealer may not have time to trouble shoot, and shop time costs more than parts, but throwing away good parts wastes money, is bad for the environment, etc.Cheers.

 

[JB]

Re: tohatsu 40hp 07 bad starter

Nothing wrong with the starter. Probably nothing wrong with the solenoid.

You have corrosion in a connection of a battery cable, probably the ground cable connection to the engine block, but could be elsewhere in the high current circuit for the starter.

You can track it down by doing the troubleshooting in "Outboard won't start" in the Engine FAQs.