lark 40hp starter cranking over slowly

I have a lark I have been tinkering with; with a new fully charged battery, jumping direct with jumper cables, I only have enough 'electric power' to slowly crank over the motor. Compression is good - I am no muscle man but I can pull crank the motor over OK, maybe 3 or 4 revs per manual pull.

So, is it common that the starter is weak? My experience they are all or nothing. There is no visible corrosion on this engine, so I think connections are clean - I moved both pos and ground around with no change in cranking power.

thoughts?

Re: lark 40hp starter cranking over slowly

Jumping direct to where, Steve? Where you hook them up is critical.

Weak starters are very uncommon, but bad connections in the starter circuit that "look good" are very common, particularly where the battery ground cable bolts to the engine block.

Re: lark 40hp starter cranking over slowly

I am going from pos battery post to positive cable post on the bottom front of the starter; negative battery post to clean unpainted ground metal on the outboard. I would be delighted to be wrong - this motor is super clean and I am hoping to avoid taking to the shop to get it up and running again.

Re: lark 40hp starter cranking over slowly

90% of starter problems are bad connections. remove and clean both ends of the battery cables, so that they are shiney, also the cable from the solenoid to starter. check for nicks in the cables. and make sure the connectors are on the wire good. the cable tend to corrode from the inside out, if nicked, corroded wires, and connections, heat up and cause resistance to the follow of electricity, thus the starter doesn't get enough. you can also take jumper cable pos battery post to large post on starter. with a good connection, the engine should spin. then if the starter is good clean everything and retest. then trouble shoot solenoid. starters can be rebuit at a starter/alternator shop, much cheaper than a new one.

also have the battery load tested at the auto parts store, free, i've had new batteries go bad

Re: lark 40hp starter cranking over slowly

I am going straight from a battery - fully charged - pos batt post to the pos post on the starter, neg batt post to a clean metal ground. Starter acts like a weak battery - just grunts over a couple revolutions, slowly. I am unaware of a starter that gets weak....?

Re: lark 40hp starter cranking over slowly

starters are made with a center winding, and brushes on the outside that contact the windings. when the contacts and brushes get worn, they create, resistance, thus not delivering full power. at this point the windings get hot, and damage them selves. yes, starter, like any other electrical motor get weak, and finally give up. if you are using jumper cables, for ground you probably are not getting good ground.

Re: lark 40hp starter cranking over slowly

Did you ever fix this problem? if so, how?
I'm dealing with it now

Re: lark 40hp starter cranking over slowly

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