Starter motor, turns over then hesitates turns, stalls, then fires up engine

[FishHog]

This is a new issue this season, after bringing it out of storage. Batteries test fine and are fully charged.
Looking for trouble shooting ideas. Battery cables are tight and clean, starter cables are tight and clean.
Seems to only be on the first start of the day, but I've only done that twice since I've had it out. Been cold mornings heading fishing. But restarts fine.
1999 4.3L Mercruiser

appreciate any ideas.
thanks
FishHog

 

[alldodge]

This is a new issue this season, after bringing it out of storage. Batteries test fine and are fully charged.
Looking for trouble shooting ideas. Battery cables are tight and clean, starter cables are tight and clean.
Seems to only be on the first start of the day, but I've only done that twice since I've had it out. Been cold mornings heading fishing. But restarts fine.
1999 4.3L Mercruiser

appreciate any ideas.
thanks
FishHog

My first guess would be the slave solenoid

 

[airshot]

Sounds to me like you may have a bad spot on the armature. I would pull it and take it to a qualified rebuilder so I would be confident for future use.

 

[Watermann]

Sounds to me like your starter is needing replaced. It will only get worse until one day when it doesn't work.

 

[FishHog]

Sounds to me like your starter is needing replaced. It will only get worse until one day when it doesn't work.

Kind of what I was thinking also, but hate to throw money at it if that isn't the problem. I'll do a bit more testing today and order a new one if I don't find anything abnormal.

thanks guys.

 

[gm280]

Sounds like it's time for some starter maintenance. Remove the starter and open it up. Clean the armature and check the brushes or replace them and check the end bushings or bearings. It isn't hard to do and well worth your effort. Also make sure the bendix is easy to move forward to engage the flywheel without any issues. Then even make sure your starter solenoid is working perfect too. A lot of starting issue occur with the starter solenoid. While it clicks in and passes voltage to the starter, the contacts inside do get charred over time and its ability to pass a lot of current starts falling off. You can tell that by jumping around the solenoid and see if there is a difference. If the starter spins faster by jumping, change the starter solenoid... Happy boating.

 

[mr 88]

Excatly how did you test your battery ? If you just took a voltage reading and did not use a actual load tester I would revisit the battery as being the issue.Before I went digging into the starter motor with the info you gave I would grab another battery and try that.IF your battery is weak,once you fire it up in the morning it takes the charge from the alternator so it fires up quickly for the rest of the day. Then when it sits it over time it loses the charge.Not saying any of the above advice is wrong but I would double check the actual condition of the battery.

 

[FishHog]

appreciate the advise guys. Actually have 2 batteries. One is brand new, one is a year old. Same thing happens on 1, 2 or both. Both test full voltage even after sitting for a week, so I'm pretty sure its not them, but have a load tester at work, so will give that a try also just to be sure.

 

[Watermann]

I've had a number of starters in my GM vehicles that start to fail and begin doing the same exact thing. The starter on my Merc 4.3 with brand new cables and battery all of the sudden started to have a slight delay between when you would hear the power hit the starter from the solenoid and when it would start turning the motor over. It would also on the first shot of the day even in warm weather it turned the cold motor over slower as well for the first few seconds and sort of gain momentum. The starter was just old and getting weak is all. A starter is something that wears out over the years and isn't tough to replace with a new OEM Merc starter at under $180.

I do agree with not throwing expensive parts at something to fix it so if you have any doubt about terminal connections, the battery or even the old cables having corrosion inside them then do the checking first. Nothing like having a nice new strong starter that really spins the motor for fast and reliable starts.