Starter solenoid

I am just getting ready for season and I have just installed a replacement power trim unit. However, once I installed the unit and attached the battery, I had smoke coming from the bottom starboard side of the motor. I think it is the starter solenoid. I unhooked the wires to power trim unit just in case I hooked it up wrong ( I doubt because I took a picture before disassembly). It stilled smoked after disconnecting the power trim unit until I think it fried completely. I reconnected the power trim and it appears to be working fine. Now the starter spins but will not engage the flywheel. My guess it is that the solenoid shorted out. Any other opinions? By the way, it is a 1987 115 HP.

Re: Starter solenoid

If the starter spins, the solenoid is obviously working. Do you by chance have the battery cables reversed. If the starter spins the right direction and the bendix doesn't engage the flywheel its because the battery is either weak or bad, the bendix itself is bad, or the grooves on the starter shaft are gunked up and need to be cleaned. Poor battery cable connections and/or bad cables are another cause.

Re: Starter solenoid

Yup, I screwed up and hooked the battery up backwards. The motor now starts fine. The question is where did the smoke come from? I have been looking at other postings and I see "rectifier", "stator" or "voltage rectifier" as possibilites. I know that the stator is buried under the flywheel, but what about the rectifier and voltage regualtors. The only smoke that I saw appeared to be coming from the bottom starboard side of the motor and the only thing I see down there is the starter solenoid, which is working! I know that the next thing that I should check is the charging system. What range should the volts be in and at what RPM? Lastly, how do I figure out what I cooked if it is not charging correctly?