Third starter solenoid in 3 years

D

drum23

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
37
I bought my boat in Nov. of 2008. The guy i bought it from told me he had bought a new starter solenoid recently before I bought the boat. In Feb of 09my boat needed a new solenoid. Now, my boat is doing the same thing again it did last year when the soleniod went bad. I also had to replace the starter motor itself last fall. I've followed the troubleshooting guide on this site to diagnose the solenoid is bad, but I can't figure out what is frying the solenoid's. Anyone have ideas?
 
j_martin

j_martin

Admiral
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
7,474
Re: Third starter solenoid in 3 years

drum23 said:
I bought my boat in Nov. of 2008. The guy i bought it from told me he had bought a new starter solenoid recently before I bought the boat. In Feb of 09my boat needed a new solenoid. Now, my boat is doing the same thing again it did last year when the soleniod went bad. I also had to replace the starter motor itself last fall. I've followed the troubleshooting guide on this site to diagnose the solenoid is bad, but I can't figure out what is frying the solenoid's. Anyone have ideas?
Click to expand...

You may find it hard to believe, but the troubles you describe are the result of not enough voltage delivered to the engine.

Weak battery
Poor connections
Insufficient battery cables.

Explanation: A series wound motor has extremely low resistance, and the current is limited by a back EMF generated by the spinning armature. If it slows down for any reason, the current increases. Overload, or low voltage slows it down.

Heating and damage are a function of the current.

hope it helps
john
 
V

verado7

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
511
Re: Third starter solenoid in 3 years

what he said and it applies to any solenoid - same thing happened a month ago to the solenoid that runs the liftgate on my truck - poor ground -solenoid fused itself from low voltage .
 
D

drum23

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
37
Re: Third starter solenoid in 3 years

Thanks guys. Is there a better way than using sandpaper on the connections and how often does it need to be done?
 
j_martin

j_martin

Admiral
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
7,474
Re: Third starter solenoid in 3 years

drum23 said:
Thanks guys. Is there a better way than using sandpaper on the connections and how often does it need to be done?
Click to expand...

Whatever works. Sandpaper, pocket knife, whatever.

Usually if you had that much trouble, a poor connection would have become obviously smokey. How long, and what gauge are your battery leads? Have you had your battery load tested?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top