starter

I have a evinrude 50hp.The starter motor spins but does not engage when trying to start.The solenoid makes a loud clicking any ideas thanks spudcoer.

Re: starter

Welcome to iboats.

Make sure you are using a known good, fully charged battery And clean all your connections, one a t time is best so you don't mix up any wires, if it still doesn't work jump the solenoid top to bottom with a heavy wire, if it still won't engage doing that you probably have a bad starter.

Re: starter

Another possibility is that the bendix isn't popping up because the starter shaft needs to be lubricated. Try a few drops of oil on it and see if that helps.

Re: starter

If you are getting 12.65 volts at the starter while cranking yet she still wont engage, time to get the starter rebuilt/replaced.

If your voltage is shy, time to backtrack. Ensure the battery is fully charged and load tested as mentioned. Clean tight connections. Dont just look at them, take them off, polish to a shine, then re tighten. This includes ground. Ensure cables are not rotted internally. A crunching sound when you flex them is a sure sign of inner corrosion. Voltage drop testing is an ideal method for troubleshooting this.

Let us know what you find. There are a few other possibilities if this checks out.

As a side note, if you do oil the bendix, be sure that it is a light oil, like sewing machine oil or 3 in 1....and only a little.

Re: starter

Dumb question. Your battery isn't in backwards, is it ?

Re: starter

Most common cause: undercharged battery, or loose/corroded connections. When you lubricate the bendix threads, use just a couple drops light oil (I use 3in1); no grease - that'll attract dirt, and don't spray it with WD40 - the friction clutch will slip and it'll never work right after that.

Hightrim's procedure will lead you to the solution -- I just have one question:
When you say "the solenoid makes a loud clicking" do you mean one loud click when you turn the key to "start"? That's normal. But if you mean "click-click-click-click", then something else is wrong.