1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

[motor boater]

SORRY FOR THE LOOOOOOONG POST! but I just want to make sure I give you all as much info to my problem as possible.


Is my starter a gonner?

I'm not too mechanically inclined to begin with, and this will be the first outboard I do any work on, other than changing a spark plug or impeller.

I have this 1982 40HP "electric start" Mercury outboard (2 stroke) serial # 6086269 that I purchased a few months ago (approximately 6 months ago) and have just now been able to get it mounted to test run it (due to having work to do on the boat and trailer). I got it mounted and wired yesterday with a BRAND NEW interstate deep cycle marine battery (SRM-27 with 600 CCA and 750 MCA) that I made sure had a full charge by placing on a trickle charger for a day. I just changed the impeller and the gear oil and after putting everything back together I connected the water ears and gave it a go.

I turned the key and it was like the battery was dead. It did turn over, but extremely too slow to get it started. not knowing what it could be and wanting to make sure that the battery had enough cranking amps, I connected a portable charger to it and tried again, unfortunately with the same results. I then double checked if it was in neutral which it was not and then placed it in neutral and tried again (I did make sure by checking that the prop spun freely). I kept trying over and over, with and without the choke and then all of the sudden it had a burst of energy and started. I let it run for about 1 minute then shut it off and tried to start it again. this time it spun really really slow also, but it started back up. I did this two more times with the same results.

This morning at 5 am I took the boat to the lake and as soon as I tried to start it, it just would not start. I tinkered around and tried over and over and it just wouldn't start. I then decided to try the emergency pull rope, which I did not have so I used a nylon rope that I had, tied it around the fly wheel and gave it a pull. Now, I have had other outboards in the past, a lot smaller (5 hp and 8 hp) and I don't remember it being soooo difficult to pull the cord to get it started. I pretty much had to use both hands to pull this rope (after wrapping it around my dominant hand to get a good grip), and I still could not get it started, and now my hand hurts pretty bad from trying repeatedly (don't know why?).


I have done a lot of reading online and have heard everything from bad grounding brushes, to bad bindex, wet spark plugs etc.

PLEASE HELP.... I'm sooo close to being in the water after waiting sooo long, and now this. I'm losing motivation and am beginning to feel defeated. Today was just a disappointing day out on the water :blue:

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

You did make sure and choke it didn't you? Now don't laugh, I am an experienced boater and I forgot to choke my merc the other day and ended running around the lake with my electric trolling motor, then after we came back in I looked around the motor to see what might have been wrong, and then it was a real big "DOH!" I had not been out since last summer and forgot about the darn manual choke! Put it back in the water, flipped the lever and fired right up!

 

[motor boater]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

Yes, I tried it with the choke on as well as off. I just took my starter off and im about to take it apart to clean it up

 

[motor boater]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

ok, so after opening my starter, I immediately noticed that one of the 4 brushes was not where it should have been. and the cable which is soldered/welded on to the starter brush housing is detached from its brush. could this be the cause for my issue? can just one brush not in the right place cause my engine to not crank fast enough to start? here are some pics.

also, I know I've read about brush repair kits, but with this one being where it is and being one of the welded/soldered ones, is it repairable?

 

[bcisme]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

"I then decided to try the emergency pull rope, which I did not have so I used a nylon rope that I had, tied it around the fly wheel and gave it a pull. Now, I have had other outboards in the past, a lot smaller (5 hp and 8 hp) and I don't remember it being soooo difficult to pull the cord to get it started. I pretty much had to use both hands to pull this rope (after wrapping it around my dominant hand to get a good grip), and I still could not get it started, and now my hand hurts pretty bad from trying repeatedly (don't know why?). "

Try pulling the plugs & spin it using the pull cord. If it's hard to spin you've got something binding/seizing inside.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

Go to the iboats store and order a new starter, it will probably cost you just as much to rebuild that one as it will to get a new one. Yes, it can be rebuilt, but I found out a long time ago, it is not worth it in reliability to rebuild starters, I just buy a new one, whether it be on the car or on my boats.

 

[motor boater]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

the flywheel spins a whole lot easier without those plugs in. how could I go about attaching the cable to the brush again? Could I just use a soldering gun? this way I could check and see if it starts and if it does I know that is the only thing I have wrong with my motor.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

Yes, you can solder it back on, to test it out, but I would not rely on it out on the lake, a resolder job is not going to be reliable and I have found them to be quite brittle in actual use.

 

[motor boater]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

So could something this small really be the reason my motor wont start or cranks too slow to start?

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

So could something this small really be the reason my motor wont start or cranks too slow to start?

Yes

 

[tinkerr]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

I have a 1984 35hp Mercury and I attempted to pull start it just for shxxs and grins. After two attempts I was quickly dissuaded of that idea. I would have to be in dire straits to try that again(a person could get hurt). I was standing in my driveway trying to pull it and was lucky to get a full revolution. The motor starts and runs fine, hope I never lose the electric start.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

I agree, I have a pull start 40 horse Evinrude and it needs to belong to someone quite a bit younger than me. It runs great when you get it going, but my god, it is a beast to get started with the pull start as the only option!

 

[motor boater]

Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury OB, wont start

Update:

instead of buying a new OEM starter for $433.00 or an after market which I found from $170 - $260, I decided to purchase the brush repair kit for $21.53 and try that out first. I just changed all the brushes and springs yesterday and got it all put back together. Then rolled it down the drive way and hooked up the water ears & gas tank, turned the key and VOILA!!!! :whoo: it started right up. Quicker than a car starts, approximately 1/8 of a second before the outboard is running on its own.

Thank you all for your help. I will be taking this baby to the river with my 6 year old daughter next Friday to do a little fishing with her on the Colorado river here in Las Vegas, NV.

I'm made a quick little video of the results that I will post on youtube here shortly. I will post the link on here when its done.

Again, thanks guys.