chrysler starter trouble

hello. this is my first post on iboats. ive gotten plenty of info off this site and i love it. now i have something i cant seem to figure out. please help me. im supposed to take the family out tomorrow..

heres what i have. a 1959 dorsett boat.
1974 chrysler 45hp outboard motor, model number 456hf, serial 4157

a little history:
i bought the boat a few weeks ago, have taken it out three times with no trouble. always ran great. ive noticed it takes a little more time each time with the starter to get the motor to run. i figured no biggie.

last night i was getting her all ready to go out today (which i cant) and something is wrong.

the starter goes up and spins the flywheel and 90percent of the time isnt retracting. i tried it a few more times and it started smoking a little. i took it to get tested and one place said it didnt work at all. he said it didnt respond. he said if its not retracting the apendix (spring thing) isnt working. i took it home and put it back in the motor and it seemed to work fine. it pops up and spins the flywheel a little (kinda slow, im not sure..?) but it dosent retract. do i need a new starter? i checked all the wires, everything looks good. its getting 12 volts. i havent done anything to it since the last time it worked. i started it last night three times, each time harder to start. now it wont start at all...please help me.

dan.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

small update:

i went outside after doing some reading on iboats. i lubed the bendix gear with light oil, checked and cleaned all the connections. used a brand new battery. the motor just does about a half crank and stops. then it dosent disengage. i can easily disengage it with my hands, and it spins freely. i dont understand.

dan

Re: chrysler starter trouble

Take off and clean all connections of the battery cables. Let us know what happens.

Good luck.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

You need to 1, have your battery tested, 2) clean all the connections and grounds from the battery to the starter including the engine and starter grounds. Let us know what happens.

John

Re: chrysler starter trouble

so heres what i did

i changed the battery terminal cable connections
i cleaned every ground i saw from the battery to the starter
used a multimeter, battery read 11.59, solenoid the same
couldnt read the actual starter cause my wife wasnt home to turn the key over. so it didnt ready anything


when i turn the key on, it just hums like it wants to work

wierd thing is, yesterday i went out on the lake, pullstarted the motor and had fun. then for fun i tried the key, and it worked somehow. i turned it off and tried it again and it didnt work.

today it dosent work, no spin, just a hum.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

ok. so i guess i dont know how to read a multireader...

when the key is in the "on" position, it reads 11.59v at the solenoid. when my wife turns the key on like she wants to start it, it drops to 5volts.

exact same thing with the starter when i read it

Re: chrysler starter trouble

Use a set of jump wires and jumper from the battery side of the solinoid to the positive lug on the starter. You don't need to turn the key to do this. If it spins, replace the solinoid. If it doesn't, and you absolutely know that your battery capacity is good, replace the starter.

John

Re: chrysler starter trouble

i guess im a little confused, sorry.

so get a set of jumper cables, hook up only the power of the jumper cable to the power on the battery, have my multimeter hooked up to the solenoid, and touch the power to see what happens?

what do i do with the ground on the jumper cables? i guess if you could somehow make it even more clear my dumb mind it would help me lol.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

so i went out there, left the battery hookedup like normal. turned the key to the on posistion. used jumper cables, ground to ground on battery, positive to positive on battery, the other end went to the solenoid. the starter just hums and dosent move. then i put the cables on the starter, it just hums and dosent move. gave the starter a light tap with ahammer, then it spun a little. i wish i knew what the problem was..

Re: chrysler starter trouble

Positive to positive
Ground to ground

Other ground cable clamp to the engine block.
Touch the positive to the positive cable to the starter.

If it's the way you say it is, just hums, tap with hammer and spins a little..

Your starter is bad.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

i didnt have it grouned on the actual block. i had it grounded out to the solenoid, and touched the positive to the starter

does it matter

Re: chrysler starter trouble

Yes, ground to the block. Make sure you have a good ground connection. Not just clamp on a painted edge. If you can reach the actual ground of the motor, clamp on that bolt.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

its so tight in there, you cant get your clamp in there.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

ok so i grounded it to the block. hooked it up like you said.
for extra measure i hooked up my battery charger at the same time.
it spun and went up 8/10 times with the key/and or straight jump to it.

what does this mean? i had a brand new battery hooked up to it a yesterday. did the same thing so i took it back and im using my old one which works fine.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

it spun and went up, didnt retract fully, and didnt start the engine though. but it did go up and try to spin it.

Re: chrysler starter trouble

The starter is bad. By jumping to the starter positive lead and the engine block, it took all the other resistance out of the circuit. That is why it turned a few times. If you did this with a good starter, it would have been spinning fast and kept on spinning until you pulled the jumper off.

Get one of the starters off ebay. I have used several of them and find they work good for less money.

John

Re: chrysler starter trouble

the starter dosent seem easy to find. ive been looking online for it. its a prestolite mgd 4002b-12v

Re: chrysler starter trouble

Yes, that is not one that has been used for some time. Try these folks and also try Dixie Electric Inc. I don't have a number for them.

Many of the Prestolite divisions which manufacture distributors, contactors, and electronic ignition systems (distributors) were sold to Ametek in 2000.

Any questions regarding these kinds of parts should be directed to Ametek. Contact information can be found on their website at:
www.ametek.com

Ametek
37 North Valley Road Building 4
P.O. Box 1764
Paoli, PA 19301
Tel: 610-647-2121
Toll: 1-800-473-1286
Fax: 610-296-3412 U.S.A.

John