Evinrude 25 HP Starter

cchildr84

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I have an 81 Evinrude 25 HP and can't get the starter to engage. It was working fine and then all of a sudden it wouldn't engage. So I ordered a "new" starter and got it installed and it does the same thing; just spins. Keep in mind that the battery cables are brand new, the battery is brand new and fully charged, the starter button is brand new, and the solenoid in brand new. The only thing that currently isn't new is the wire that goes from the starter to the solenoid, which I have a new one on order.

So with all that stated, do you guys have any thoughts as to what my problem could be?
 

racerone

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

Testing is the way to go.-------Not sure why money / time is spent without testing stuff.----At this stage It must be the cable from solenoid to starter as you have tested all the other possibilities with new parts.
 

cchildr84

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

Testing is the way to go.-------Not sure why money / time is spent without testing stuff.----At this stage It must be the cable from solenoid to starter as you have tested all the other possibilities with new parts.

Well this motor was a new to me motor and I had to by a battery for this one as my other motor was a pull start, so that's why the new battery. When I bought this motor the old battery cables were in pretty rough shape, so that's why the new cables. I've completely rebuilt this motor, so I don't mind having new components even if it's not entirely necessary. I planned on getting the old starter rebuilt as a back up any how.
 

steelespike

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

Check which way the the starter is turning. I Don't think reversing the cables would make it turn backwards.
But it might.Be sure of the rotation before messing with the cables.If they are reversed it may have damaged the charge circuit.
About the only other possibility is the bendix is stuck not likely on two separate starters.
 

tblshur

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

im sorry for even saying this im sure your battery cables are connected right.
 

F_R

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

I'm with steelspike. I'm pretty sure that a permanent magnet starter will run backwards if cables are reversed. If it is spinning backwards, it would not engage.

Extremely improbable with a new battery, but it is possible to charge a battery backwards. Just sayin.........
 

cchildr84

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

Check which way the the starter is turning. I Don't think reversing the cables would make it turn backwards.
But it might.Be sure of the rotation before messing with the cables.If they are reversed it may have damaged the charge circuit.
About the only other possibility is the bendix is stuck not likely on two separate starters.

It's funny you mention this, when I was home at lunch today I noticed that the starter was spinning clockwise, which if it were to engage the the flywheel would turn the flywheel counter clockwise which is obviously in correct. Howeve, the splines on the bendix would only allow for the gear to move upward in the clockwise direction. I've got everything wired on the same way I did when it was working, but I'll double check when I get back home.
 

F_R

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

A common error in thinking. Inertia is what makes the pinion rise. I believe that if you will hold the pinion from rotating, while you rotate the starter shaft, you will find that it rises when you turn the shaft counter-clockwise.

The starter should almost instantly rotate counter-clockwise when you hit the switch. The pinion wants to stay at rest. That makes it rise.
 

cchildr84

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

See picture below of how it's wire at the motor.

As you know the solenoid has (4) connection Posts. (2) Large and (2) small. In the picture starting from right to left the large black battery wire connected to the water bypass cover, the large red wire goes to battery and is connected to large post, the small solid red wire from start button connected to the same large post as positive battery cable, then theres the yellow/red wire from start button connected to the small connection post, then the small solid black wire which goes to the nuetral safety switch, then theres the large red wire connected to the second large post that goes to the starter.

Again this is how everything was connected at the motor when it was working. I'll double check the battery connection this evening.

Starter Wiring.jpg
 
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cchildr84

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

How would I go about checking to make sure its grounded properly. I mean where would i put my volt meter contacts, and what reading, in volts I pressume, should I be getting?
 

oldboat1

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

sounds to me like the bendix gear is not reaching up high enough to engage the flywheel. If that's true, it may be that the wrong starter is installed -- one with an armature that is too short for the motor. It may also be that the starter has not been installed/reinstalled in the correct location. There should be a horizontal bolt at the top of the starter bracket, as I recall, that attaches the starter in a flush location. Maybe it was left off.

I'm stretching here, because there aren't too many ways to go wrong in attaching the starter bracket -- possible, though, that the starter you have is not tall enough for your motor. Is the starter shaft tall enough to reach the flywheel ring gear?

One other off the wall thought -- Is it possible that the starter is properly engaging and spinning the flywheel, but that the flywheel is spinning on the shaft? This will happen if the flywheel key has been sheared (flywheel not sufficiently torqued down on the shaft).

just trying another angle or two....
 
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oldboat1

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

the starter itself is grounded to the powerhead by the bracket to which it is attached. You can check the ground by testing for continuity between the starter housing and the negative post on the battery (with the ground wire attached). You can also test for ground continuity elsewhere in the starter wiring system as well, and bypass with an extra ground wire if in doubt about any connection -- then retest starter operation. As I'm sure you are aware, the starter gear will snap into place at the top of the shaft with a lot of force if the system is good. If the gear doesn't make it up to the top of the shaft, its an electrical issue. If it snaps up to the top of the shaft but doesn't engage the flywheel, it's a different issue.
 
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boobie

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

Sounds like battery is in backwards or battery is charged backward.
 

cchildr84

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

sounds to me like the bendix gear is not reaching up high enough to engage the flywheel. If that's true, it may be that the wrong starter is installed -- one with an armature that is too short for the motor. It may also be that the starter has not been installed/reinstalled in the correct location. There should be a horizontal bolt at the top of the starter bracket, as I recall, that attaches the starter in a flush location. Maybe it was left off.

I'm stretching here, because there aren't too many ways to go wrong in attaching the starter bracket -- possible, though, that the starter you have is not tall enough for your motor. Is the starter shaft tall enough to reach the flywheel ring gear?

One other off the wall thought -- Is it possible that the starter is properly engaging and spinning the flywheel, but that the flywheel is spinning on the shaft? This will happen if the flywheel key has been sheared (flywheel not sufficiently torqued down on the shaft).

just trying another angle or two....

At this point the gear is not jumping up period. It's spinning in the wrong direction. As per your statement about the bolt, there are (4) bolts associated with the bracket and they are all in place.
 

cchildr84

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

Sounds like battery is in backwards or battery is charged backward.

I'm going to check this out when I get home this evening, but I've used this same battery for my trolling motor, and when connecting to the positive and negative posts as you normally would, the trolling motor works fine.
 

oldboat1

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

charged backwards???

anyway, I don't think I would worry too much about the spinning direction of the bendix gear. You can effectively bench test the starter while its on the boat, but it's gutsy. Wear a pair of work gloves, and connect the positive clamp from a jumper cable to the positive post of the battery, then touch the other positive clamp to the post on the starter (ground wire connected to battery in normal fashion). You will get some nasty sparking, and could get some blackening at the contact point, but the bendix should snap up to the ring gear of the flywheel. If the gear snaps up into the flywheel, you know that you have a wiring issue on the positive side of the starting circuit. If it doesn't, the starter is likely at fault (windings, bendix gear, or something) and needs to be examined/repaired/rebuilt, or the motor (and starter) is not grounded. Before going further, tuck the positive clamps of the jumper cable out of the way, and ground the motor to the negative battery post using the negative clamps, and try firing up the starter the regular way (key or button). If THAT doen't work, use the jumper cables to directly connect both pos and neg sides of the starter. If you do that and get no results, and you know for sure the battery is hot, you can be sure the starter is a problem. Remember to wear gloves, keep a cool head, and make positive jumper connections very carefully
 
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cchildr84

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

Ok, so I feel like a total dumba**. The cables were backwards on the battery. So the starter works fine. I probably didn't need a new starter, but like I said above I wanted a back up anyhow. I'm trying to collect some back up parts for this motor while they are still available so that I'll have them if I need them 10-20 years from now. Thanks all.
 

racerone

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

If the motor has the battery charging system installed you may need to check and see if it is still working.
 

cchildr84

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

If the motor has the battery charging system installed you may need to check and see if it is still working.

No, it doesn't have a stator/charging system, just the start function. I put the motor in a bucket of water last night and tested it all out. It starts immediately, with one touch of the start button.
 

boobie

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Re: Evinrude 25 HP Starter

You lucked out and saved some $$$$.
 
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