Starting 1981 Evinrude 35hp

[jhallbuckeye216]

I bought a 1981 35hp last week when I bought it we turned it over with a battery straight to the starter and everything went good and compression was great 145psi in both cylinders. I went out to try and get it running today and tried to start it the same way from the huge and new battery in my SUV and it would engage and turn slowly a few times then stop. The starter switch is missing thats why I needed to jump it. The cables were heating up fast and I noticed smoking so I left it alone. Ground on the engine ground and positive to the starter terminal is the right way? ELCIG is the model

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: Starting 1981 Evinrude 35hp

Hot cables = loose connection, OR tight but dirty connection, OR cable is corroded internally.

Whichever cable is hot is at fault in one of the cases above.

 

[bonzoscott]

Re: Starting 1981 Evinrude 35hp

Cables are not the way to try and start a motor. They help with a boost to the vehicles battery but if that is your sole source of power, there's not enough contact area with them tiny teeth on the cables - creates resistance - heats up. You need to have a good battery for the boat, and clean tight contacts.

 

[likitvi]

Re: Starting 1981 Evinrude 35hp

I can say from experience that you should be able to start that engine with good jumper cables alone. But you will need to ensure that the cables have good connection, and also that the positive cable is not shorting directly to starter body, or elsewhere engine block.

 

[F_R]

Re: Starting 1981 Evinrude 35hp

Some other things that cause cable to heat up are excessive current flow (short circuit), seized starter or engine, or el-cheapo cables (skinny wire in them).