Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

[aamyot]

I recently had a trouble with the starter and replaced it, thinking 35 years was asking too much of it.
I got a new aftermarket starter and I'm having the same problems.
Slow to turn over (not enough to start), drawing a lot of heat on the wiring.
Here's what I've done:

Cleaned every connection from battery through the solenoid to the starter. Sparkling bare metal!
Checked for resistance on every cable, found none.
Opened up the new starter and found nothing but clean brushes and solid wiring.
Tested with 2 known working (only 4 mos old) marine batteries that do well to start my 87 Johnson 40.
Tested with jumper cables directly to the starter, same result (guessing this rules out corroded wiring?).

Engine turns over smoothly by hand.
What am I missing here?
I'm headed to the parts store to have the batteries load tested, but I'm expecting to find them in good shape.
Can this be a dud starter?

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

How did you connect the ground while jumping?
Have you tied it with plugs out?

 

[aamyot]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

I had the negative jumper from the neg of the battery to the engine block. Was that right?
With plugs out, it spun pretty quick, but not as fast as I would expect.

 

[Fed]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

Test under load with a volt meter.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

Id try neg jumper straight on to starter, just in case you have a bad ground. I always clean the bolts and threaded holes up after unbolting a starter

 

[aamyot]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

Id try neg jumper straight on to starter, just in case you have a bad ground. I always clean the bolts and threaded holes up after unbolting a starter

Would I gain any useful information by testing the starter with jumpers while its removed from the engine?
I'm sure it will spin, but I'm not sure if I could recognize if it was performing correctly.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

Would I gain any useful information by testing the starter with jumpers while its removed from the engine?
I'm sure it will spin, but I'm not sure if I could recognize if it was performing correctly.

Probably not since you say it spins with the plugs out anyway.
Have you a car with a battery in it you can use?

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

Trying to understand what you are saying. I think you said that you used automotive jumper cables from a known strong battery-to jump direct to the new starter and it still cranks slowly-is this correct? Red jumper cable lead to the (red) side post on the starter and the black jumper cable lead grounded to the starter. Is this the test you did? And the starter still spun slowly? If somehow, your testing still involves using the key switch-going through the starter solenoid on he block, that could be the problem. Not unusual for the internal solenoid contacts to get burned over time-when that happens the contacts won't transfer enough current to spin the starter properly.

 

[aamyot]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

Yes, I used the jumper cable from the battery directly to the starter. Pos from the battery to the terminal on the starter. Neg from the battery to the engine block. I didn't go through the solenoid or use the key switch. Makes me wonder if my ground contact is a problem. I cleaned its contacts with the block, but I'm going to go try to clean the bolts and the threads and see if that helps.

 

[racerone]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

I would first dismantle the starter and inspect it.------Likely a product of questionable quality.------The " bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price is forgotton "

 

[Lone Duck]

Re: Starter barely turns engine over, tried the usual culprits. 78 Johnson 115

i would first dismantle the starter and inspect it.------likely a product of questionable quality.------the " bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price is forgotton "

yup!!!

 

[Onja]

I have a 1997 Johnson 90 that is doing same thing. Took starter off an 2 starter shop to inspect. Good. Put back on, same thing. Bat checks out at 12.9v. Starter comes up to top then stops. I have to wiggle flywheel for starter to drop down. Am at wits end.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Couple of things to concentrate on. The starter solenoid can cause problems in a normal outboard circuit. With age and high number of start cycles, the solenoid will get to the point where it won't pass enough current to activate the starter normally. Most folks replace the starter, when it's just a $ 25 solenoid. Old, original battery cables wear out. The wires break internally (not visible) and when really old, they won't pass enough current to start the engine. (Sometimes you can see wire damage right at the lugs at the cable ends.) When this happens the wires will get hot to the touch when cranking. Also, in your engine's case, it may cause similar problems with power cables to the old-style trim box. You may need to run a new set of battery cables from the engine to the battery. Make sure the battery cables are the right gauge. If you have say, battery cables from a 25 hp electric start engine on your 85 hp, they may not be large enough for the current load required to crank the engine. Guess it's always possible the new starter is an incorrect one for your application.

 

[jbcurt00]

Again, Onja, please refrain from posting to inactive topics, this one is over a year old.

Start a topic about your motor and starter trouble in the Johnson motor forum. Those guys will help uou get YOUR motor sorted out.

Thanks

 

[WIMUSKY]

I have a 1997 Johnson 90 that is doing same thing. Took starter off an 2 starter shop to inspect. Good. Put back on, same thing. Bat checks out at 12.9v. Starter comes up to top then stops. I have to wiggle flywheel for starter to drop down. Am at wits end.

Again, Onja, please refrain from posting to inactive topics, this one is over a year old.

Start a topic about your motor and starter trouble in the Johnson motor forum. Those guys will help uou get YOUR motor sorted out.

Thanks

Onja, welcome to the forum. You should take a little time and familiarize yourself with the forum rules. Thanks.....

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/forum-rules-and-guidelines/407734-forum-rules

WIMUSKY