58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

My husband and I are first time boat owners. My husband is great with mechnical things (getting degree now for auto mechanics)and I do okay. We couldn't pass up a great deal on a '58 17ft fiberglass boat w/ a '58 (we think) evinrude 50 hp motor and trailer. The owner had just put in a new ignition but didn't have any wires hooked up to the solenoid; all the wires there and he played with a few and got it to start. We get it home and we can't get it to start, my husband played w/ the combo's for a while and we'd get a click in the solenoid maybe 1/2 the time. Once I got it to turn over, but that's all. We replaced the solenoid and nothing, I redid all the wiring from the ignition to the solenoid and nothing, we find out today our starter is bad. Two questions as we're in new ground. Is it better to get a new starter or rebuild it? Getting all the new boat owner things (i.e. life jackets for us and kids, first aid kit, other safety things) and the work we've already done on it got a little spendy so we're trying to find an economical way to do this right. Two: should I be concerned once we redid the wiring we only got a click part of the time? Would it not click if the starter is giving out?
Any help is very greatly appreciated! I really want to go out fishing and spend some time on the water

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

Hmm.. good questions..... and here are my $.02

1) I had a similiar problem. I opted to buy a new starter. I noticed a small crack in the top cover of my starter ( and I figured after 30 yrs the copper windings were oxidized too badly).. I also noticed that there were "brush screws" on the side of the starter as well and did not want to deal with an archaic brush system.

2) Well, there is one way to find out. Get yourself a voltmeter and check for voltage when you have the key in the "on" and the "crank" settings. If you are getting voltage through the solenoid and to the starter wire then chances are that your starter was the culprit and that your current wire settings are correct enough to make the activate the bendix on the starter when the solenoid and starter were working in unison. My starter went bad and the solenoid only sometime clicked and sometime didn't. After changing it, it still did it, but I found that the culprit was the lack of AMPS in the battery (the battery would show voltage of 12V, but there was not enough amps to energize the solenoid...etc.) I am not a pro, just letting you know what my experiences were the last month or so with starter/solenoid/coil/ignition

Perhaps the more experienced members can give a more comforting explanation and diagnosis

Hope this helps,
Dom

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

I would check my wiring thoroughly before springing for a new or rebuilt starter. Make sure all the connections are CLEAN and SHINY. Solenoid not clicking doesn't necessarily mean it is bad. Have you tried jumping the starter directly? There is also a mercury switch in there which prevents the solenoid from activating if the throttle is set too high. Make sure that circuit is good and the switch is grounded to the powerhead. If there is not a good ground between that switch and the powerhead, motor won't start (I know from experience!)

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

We've jumped the started and it's a goner for sure. The casing is in really good shape, if I can find a rebuild kit I'll do that. Right now they are quoting us 400 to rewire the motor which is almost what I paid for the boat, motor, and trailer. I'm a bit confused by that since I don't know why it would need to be rewired, but my husband talked to them so it could have been all through the conversation. They are saying about 250 for the starter, they could only find one on the east coast (we are west coast).
Thanks for the advise. I'll try that on the wiring to make sure I'm getting enough volts through.

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

Take the starter apart and clean it up. I find I can resurrect almost all old starters this way. Lightly sand the commutator/stator and brushes. Make all the connections good inside and if the wiring is good, it should run. I do work mostly with engines of the same age or older but none that big. My starters are for 18's and 25's. But they should be similar.

And look at it this way., You have nothing to lose if you are looking at replacing it. And if your hubby is looking to be a mechanic, it should be easy for him to do.

BTW, there is also a provision to pull start that engine I think by wrapping a rope around the flywheel! (But it would be hard)

BTW2, that engine will be a real gas guzzler!

BTW3, Sounds like you got a great deal on the boat. Hope it works out for you.

And... Post pictures!

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

You may be able to find a used starter on Ebay. Also, try to locate an owner's manual or service manual - those will have a wiring diagram. Clymer's generic Evinrude/Johnson (1.5hp-125hp - 1956-1972) manual has a wiring diagram.

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

Post the 6 number Johnson/Evinrude part number ( or any part number) that you find on the starter (make sure if it is NOT a Johnson/Evinrude number that you let you know any brand name). $250.00 sounds VERY high for it. There is a GREAT place in Tennessee that sells replacement starters. I bought a new one for my 1970 60hp for $107.00. If you post the part # we can ensure the year/model of the motor/starter and find you a replacement, probably cheaper than $250.00. I was looking in their store and stores like then on Ebay and they look like they go between $88.00 - $110.00

Hope this helps

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

I have the pdf parts manual for a '58 Johnson 50hp, they are extremely similar if you want it, PM me your email address and I'll email it to you.

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

JMU, The wiring is real simple on that motor. $400 to rewire it is crazy. $250 for a starter is also nuts. A starter shop may rebuild it for you if necessary, and for less.

You need a 5 wire wiring harness for that motor. One wire to energize the choke solenoid, one wire to energize the starter solenoid, one wire to ground the distributer wire and kill the ign, and a +12V wire and a ground wire. Install a double pole double throw switch (DPDT)and two push buttons in the dashboard. When the switch is up +12v should go to the push buttons. One pushbutton for the starter solenoid, one for the choke solenoid. When the switch is down, ground is connected to the distributor wire to kill the spark. You do not need an ignition key, as no one will steal it.

You do have the transom mounted starter box? Does the motor have a generator and voltage regulator? If so, and they work, connect them directly to the battery to charge it. The motor used to have a dash mounted ammeter, but this is a PIA and unnecessary.

The wiring on that fat fifty is the asame as the sixties electric start 35 and 40 horse motors. A library may have a service manual for them.

PM Joe Reeves and ask him if you can run that motor on a 50::1 gas oil mix. If he say yes, I recommend you do it.

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

First I have to say thank you, you all have been great in your reply's and offerings of help! I've been reading like crazy and was feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere. We went and got the manual as soon as we could (everything closed Memorial weekend). It makes some sense to me, but more to my husband.
samo_ott: We haven't tried cleaning it up, but it's worth a shot first; any idea how long it could make it last? I'm sure that's not something anyone can really answer. Only reason I ask is my hub is scared of it dying out in middle of the lake. He had shoulder surgery earlier this year and is doing great, but it will take a long while before he's all the way up. He knows if we are stuck eventually we'll find someone to haul us in, but we may need to row till then and he can't let me do it myself and I'll kill him if he hurts his shoulder again. Either way thanks for mentioning it. It does have a pull start, which is a royal pain, but no kill switch and since the wiring wasn't connected we have no way of knowing if the ignition will stop it.
domwebhost: I agree, 250 is outrageous! Here's the weird thing, it doesn't have a 6 number part number. Only number on it is 4003M, the whole thing reads AUTO-LITE MDO-4003M-12V. I'm not 100% on the MDO. Wow though now that I have it right under my nose there is some major rust around the outer bolt. The motor serial number is 50514-08758 if that helps at all.
Chris1956: my husband says he understands what your saying and thanks, I don't have a clue. Sorry all this is brand new to me! I can change the oil, headlights, tailights, and little things like that in my car but that's as far as I've ever gone.
I was wrong on the 400 for wiring, it was 400 to rebuild the carb and go through the whole motor checking everything. I have no idea where I got wiring from. A couple of you have suggested having it rebuilt and we were going to do that, but we can't find a shop in our area who will do it; we've also been looking for rebuild kits on line and my hub will do it, but the only one I found so far was at my work computer and I can't find it again. All we've seen have been 70's or newer.
Again thanks so much for the advise and help!! You are making this a much easier experience for us!

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

Just so you know, That motor is real easy to pull start. Your Hubby could do it with his good shoulder. You can likely pull start it as well. A two hand "snap to the chest" is all it takes.

Re: 58 evinrude 50 HP bad starter

Ok,

So, I tried to cross reference your starter and came up with this.. Verify that this one is the one that looks like yours ($49.95 is sweet)

http://www.billphil.com/product_inf...-99hp&osCsid=b2fddc9eb5ea1ae5039a1dade26751bd

It is rebuilt, but at that price ...

You can always mail me the extra $200 j/k

Enjoy!