1993 evinrude 115 starter problem

[johnny be]

Hey everyone,

For awhile now, the starter just spins. I've done a search on this website and it seems that a low battery charge may cause this but my batteries are fully charged. Someone also mentioned that it needed to be lubed up but I don't know how or where to do this. I'm also gonna look at the leads tomorrow to make sure they're not corroded. Any other suggestions would be great.

Thanks for everything guys.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Hold the bendix (the gear on it with the teeth) and see if you can manually spin it up the starter shaft, if its got gunk in there it may just spin with the starter and not shoot up to engage the flywheel.
Also try jumping straight to the starter

 

[emdsapmgr]

As Bosun says, try a direct jump to the starter with a set of automotive jumper cables. If that works, check the starter solenoid. Sometimes the internal solenoid contacts get burned over time and won't provide enough current to activate the bendix and starter. A fairly cheap fix.

 

[wild n crazy]

I was being help up here by quite a few nice people. and last week I have a similar issue, and was instructed to take out all cables going from battery post all the way to the starter and clean up all connection. What I did was take them apart and buffed out all the contacted area to where it shines, reinstated all wire where it belong, and it started very strong. maybe you can try that

 

[racerone]

No need to guess here.---Take the starter apart for inspection.---Take an ohm reading from commutator to the shaft.----All very easy to do and no need to be afraid of taking it apart !

 

[wild n crazy]

No Title

This is what I modified to make putting back the bottom part of the starter easier.

 

[racerone]

They sell a special tool to assemble the starter.----Another way is to use a stiff paint scraper with a slot cut in it

 

[boobie]

I just had to ask. Is the battery installed correctly ??

 

[jakedaawg]

You say battery is fully charged, You really need to do a "Load Test" on the battery. Most parts stores will do this free of charge if you do not own a toaster. Just haveing 12 volts accros the termminals tells nothing.

 

[Fed]

This is just a FWIW, I've found that even if my battery is half flat and not able to turn the motor over at all the starter is still capable of accelerating fast enough to cause the bendix to rise & engage the flywheel with the expected CLUNK.

Clean & lube the bendix will take a couple of minutes & you don't have to pull anything apart.

 

[jakedaawg]

This is just a FWIW, I've found that even if my battery is half flat and not able to turn the motor over at all the starter is still capable of accelerating fast enough to cause the bendix to rise & engage the flywheel with the expected CLUNK.

Clean & lube the bendix will take a couple of minutes & you don't have to pull anything apart.

While this is true in some cases I think ,IMHO, that you are doing a disservice to this online community by stating such. I have had many people come into the shop with this same issue. Too many times have these DIY'ers tried to take their starter apart or the bendix off when all they really needed was a battery or a cable end.

With that said, it is possible and the next most common thing behind a bad battery, or a weak starter, that their bendix and starter shaft is "gummed up".

It is still easier to take battery to a shop and get it load tested for free than to try to remove bendix, clean, and reassemble without damage.

 

[Fed]

No removing, I simply turn & raise the cog by hand then give the twisted spline a spray with wd40, wipe & spray with my new best friend 'white lithium spray grease' Jake. Work it up and down until it's perfectly free.

What I meant by posting is that if the Bendix is nice & free then it doesn't take much to make it rise.

 

[jakedaawg]

I am always up for new methods. I have not lubricated in the past because lubricants attract grime. I have operated under the assumption that the dissimilar metals of the bendix and the starter shaft are, in a sense, self-lubricating. Meaning one is softer or whatever than the other and this assembly does not need lubrication or they would have put it in the maintenance or winterization portion of the manual. it's always nice to learn something new and I will take this into consideration.

 

[Fed]

My manual calls for General Electic Versilube OMC P/N 330615.
That's not likely to happen down here, I used to dab a bit of TCW3 on it but found the light spray grease works ok too.

 

[jakedaawg]

Yep, just walked down to shop and pulled manual. I stand corrected!

 

[V153]

My manual calls for General Electic Versilube OMC P/N 330615

Yep. That's what mine calls for.

Me I just use whatever it takes to free the sob up ...?