Starter not working

[silverknight]

Hi all,

I have a 1989 Mercruiser 5.7. I was on the lake on Saturday, and noticed that my voltage was non-existent on the gauge. I brought the boat to idle and then shut it down. When I tried to restart, I got a clicking from the engine area. When I was able to test the slave solenoid (by having someone hit the key and using a test light on it), it appeared to be bad. So I replaced it. Made no difference. So I thought to check for a ground on the Yellow/Red wire. I traced this ground all the way to the starter itself. Is this supposed to be that way?



Any ideas before I have to take the starter out.

Thank you for any help.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Starter not working

Before you go any further have your battery load tested. Regardless of age. And check all connections. They must be clean and tight.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Starter not working

No voltage, check your charging system. Check your battery. Check your wiring connections. Check for parasitic draws.

 

[rickryder]

Re: Starter not working

Alternator... check if your charging your battery.... should have about 14v output

 

[silverknight]

Re: Starter not working

Before you go any further have your battery load tested. Regardless of age. And check all connections. They must be clean and tight.

I will have the battery tested. I went through the connections and cleaned them.

Should there be a ground showing at the terminal (on the starter) with the Yellow/Red wire?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Starter not working

I will have the battery tested. I went through the connections and cleaned them.

Should there be a ground showing at the terminal (on the starter) with the Yellow/Red wire?

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,.... There would be a load at that terminal, but No grounds at the starter, other than the housin',...

Don't really understand yer question,...

 

[silverknight]

Re: Starter not working

Before you go any further have your battery load tested. Regardless of age. And check all connections. They must be clean and tight.

Thank you for the advice on the load testing. I had it tested and it was too far gone to use.. So I bought a new one. Now, when I hit the key, I can hear the starter spinning. It does not appear to be engaging the flywheel. Is it possible that the starter mounted solenoid is bad?



Also, the ground issue is not an issue. So I am good with that part.

 

[silverknight]

Re: Starter not working

Okay...Thank you all for your help. I have figured it out. There was one wire that had some corrosion on it. Cleaned it up and it tried to start. I will know for sure when I get the exhaust back together.

Thanks again.

 

[BRG25]

Re: Starter not working

You should perhaps read up on your electrical system so you understand it a little better. It sounds like you might have a couple issues. Like it was mentioned above, you should see 13.5 - 14 volts at the battery, at idle when the engine is running and alternator is charging. If you don't see any voltage on your dash gauge, then verify at the battery itself with a volt meter.

When they load test a battery, what they do is draw approximately the same current (amps) as the starter motor would and measure the voltage drop. If the drop doesn't fall withing specs, your battery is bad. A charged, unloaded battery should show around 12.5 volts however this does not necessarily indicate the health of the battery as you can show voltage until the battery is under load, and then it will die (hence the reason to have it tested).

Once I had a wire come loose from my alternator so my battery wasn't charging. After a few times out, my boat wouldn't start and I got a jump. Once on the lake, if I tried to adjust the trim, the engine would stumble because the battery was basically dead, still wasn't charging and the trim motor was drawing more current than the battery had available. The voltage would then drop too much to keep the engine running.

On to the starter, the slave solenoid allows a small current from the ignition switch to close a set of heavy duty contacts which will allow the starter to then draw the high current needed to turn over the engine. If all you hear is a click (from the solenoid) when you go to start your engine, then it could be a low (or bad battery), corroded wire or a bad solenoid.

 

[Biggredd]

Re: Starter not working

My first day on the water this year I was on for 10 minutes and my starter went out. I wasn't sure what it was at the time but had to get towed in. Fun!!! I took my battery in and it was fine. My neighbor, a mechanic, took my starter out and used some jumper cables to hook from the battery to the starter sitting on the ground and then starting the engine to confirm it was my starter that was actually bad. that may not be your case but it may help. I'm up and running great now.

 

[BRG25]

Re: Starter not working

My first day on the water this year I was on for 10 minutes and my starter went out. I wasn't sure what it was at the time but had to get towed in. Fun!!! I took my battery in and it was fine. My neighbor, a mechanic, took my starter out and used some jumper cables to hook from the battery to the starter sitting on the ground and then starting the engine to confirm it was my starter that was actually bad. that may not be your case but it may help. I'm up and running great now.

Right, but was it your starter or the slave solenoid that was bad? You can bypass the solenoid to get the starter to turn. How exactly did you start the engine with the starter on the ground? That's how your post reads.

 

[silverknight]

Re: Starter not working

Right, but was it your starter or the slave solenoid that was bad? You can bypass the solenoid to get the starter to turn. How exactly did you start the engine with the starter on the ground? That's how your post reads.

This ended up being a combination of a bad battery and some corrosion I missed during my cleaning of the cables.