Evinrude starter problem

[curapa]

96' E130TLDEM

The starter does not engage the flywheel on every occasion. I am assuming that the drive assembly is damaged as I see no wear on the gear protruding from the starter.

Is it probable that the drive gear is the damaged component and if so do I need to order the complete assembly with the spring and bushings included or just a new drive assembly?

This seems to be a pretty straight forward repair, correct?

 

[ezeke]

Re: Evinrude starter problem

96' E130TLDEM

The starter does not engage the flywheel on every occasion. I am assuming that the drive assembly is damaged as I see no wear on the gear protruding from the starter.

Is it probable that the drive gear is the damaged component and if so do I need to order the complete assembly with the spring and bushings included or just a new drive assembly?

This seems to be a pretty straight forward repair, correct?

My guess is that the model number is E130TLEDM. The starter unit is fairly easy to replace if that is the problem.

You could have weakness in the wiring which would cause the starter motor to run more slowly, or the shaft that the gear rides on may have been greased which could cause the problem.

Try cleaning the shaft and drive sassembly and lubricating with only a small amount of light machine oil - like sewing machine oil.

You can test the wiring and the starter solenoid as follows:

Voltage Drop Test

When there is resistance in a circuit, you can find it by touch (heat), or voltage drop.

So, put your positive voltmeter lead on the battery positive terminal and the voltmeter negative lead on the large incoming solenoid/battery terminal post and hit the starter switch. If the voltage meter reads more than .3 volts, the battery cable is bad, corroded or has a bad connection.

Next, connect the voltmeter negative lead to the outgoing large solenoid post and the positive voltmeter lead to the incoming large solenoid post while cranking the starter briefly. If the voltmeter reads greater than .2 volts, the solenoid is bad, corroded or has a bad connection.

Next, connect the positive voltmeter lead to the outgoing large solenoid post and the negative voltmeter lead to the starter positive post and hit the starter switch. A reading of over .2 volts indicates a bad wire between the solenoid and the starter.

Lastly, connect the negative battery post to the negative voltmeter lead and the positive voltmeter lead to the engine block and crank the engine. A reading of greater than .3 volts indicates a bad negative cable, corrosion or a bad cable connection.

The idea is that normally when you put both leads of a voltmeter on the same side of a circuit you should get no reading. If you have a reading, more voltage is passing through the voltmeter than through the circuit.

 

[bankerjohn]

Re: Evinrude starter problem

The bendix moves up the starter shaft by centrifugal force, to engage the drive gear into the flywheel ... two reasons for it not engaging:

• starter not getting enough amps (low battery, bad/corroded connections, bad/corroded cabling, etc.) ... and therefore not spinning fast enough to "throw" the drive gear all the way up the starter shaft

• starter shaft "crudded" up ... clean, then lubricate with a couple drops of light weight oil (like 3-in-1)

 

[F_R]

Re: Evinrude starter problem

The bendix moves up the starter shaft by centrifugal force, to engage the drive gear into the flywheel ... two reasons for it not engaging:

• starter not getting enough amps (low battery, bad/corroded connections, bad/corroded cabling, etc.) ... and therefore not spinning fast enough to "throw" the drive gear all the way up the starter shaft

• starter shaft "crudded" up ... clean, then lubricate with a couple drops of light weight oil (like 3-in-1)

Actually, it's inertia, but thanks for posting that. And ezeke, thanks for posting how to to a voltage drop test. I've been wanting to do that, but have been too lazy to type it all out. People should already know that stuff, right? Right.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Evinrude starter problem

90% of starter problems are bad connections. remove and clean both ends of the battery cables, so that they are shiney, also the cable from the solenoid to starter. check for nicks in the cables. and make sure the connectors are on the wire good. the cable tend to corrode from the inside out, if nicked, corroded wires, and connections, heat up and cause resistance to the follow of electricity, thus the starter doesn't get enough. you can also take jumper cable pos battery post to large post on starter. with a good connection, the engine should spin. then if the starter is good clean everything and retest. then trouble shoot solenoid. starters can be rebuit at a starter/alternator shop, much cheaper than a new one.

also have the battery load tested at the auto parts store, free, i've had new batteries go bad

 

[bankerjohn]

Re: Evinrude starter problem

Actually, it's inertia, but thanks for posting that. And ezeke, thanks for posting how to to a voltage drop test. I've been wanting to do that, but have been too lazy to type it all out. People should already know that stuff, right? Right.

Per Wikipedia:

Centrifugal force (from Latin centrum "center" and fugere "to flee") represents the effects of inertia that arise in connection with rotation and which are experienced as an outward force away from the center of rotation. In Newtonian mechanics, the term centrifugal force is used to refer to one of two distinct concepts: an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" force) observed in a non-inertial reference frame or a reaction force corresponding to a centripetal force.

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion. It is represented numerically by an object's mass. The principle of inertia is one of the fundamental principles of classical physics which are used to describe the motion of matter and how it is affected by applied forces. Inertia comes from the Latin word, "iners", meaning idle, or lazy.

Take your pick ... neither explanation is crystal clear to me ... guess I should have paid more attention in my high school physics class!

 

[curapa]

Re: Evinrude starter problem

Thanks guys, just what I needed to know.


Curt

 

[curapa]

Re: Evinrude starter problem

After taking a look I noticed a bit of corosion on the pos starter wire. I removed the nut, which was a bit loose, cleaned the terminal and re-installed.

Works great now.

Thanks again,

Curt

 

[F_R]

Re: Evinrude starter problem

Per Wikipedia:

Centrifugal force (from Latin centrum "center" and fugere "to flee") represents the effects of inertia that arise in connection with rotation and which are experienced as an outward force away from the center of rotation. In Newtonian mechanics, the term centrifugal force is used to refer to one of two distinct concepts: an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" force) observed in a non-inertial reference frame or a reaction force corresponding to a centripetal force.

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion. It is represented numerically by an object's mass. The principle of inertia is one of the fundamental principles of classical physics which are used to describe the motion of matter and how it is affected by applied forces. Inertia comes from the Latin word, "iners", meaning idle, or lazy.

Take your pick ... neither explanation is crystal clear to me ... guess I should have paid more attention in my high school physics class!

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion. The pinion gear's state of motion is stationary (not moving), and it resists changing to a moving state when the armature shaft suddenly starts spinning inside it. That causes it to "screw" its way up the spiral grooves on the shaft.

Tie a rock on a string and spin it around in a circle. The rock pulls the string tight. That's centrifugal force. The string breaks and the rock goes flying away (resists change in state of motion). That's inertia. The rock conks a bystander on the head and cracks his skull. That's inertia also (resists change in state of motion i.e. skull overcomes inertia in stopping the rock.