Bad starter, I think

[heyyou325]

I've got an 84 40hp johnson vro. It hasn't been used in 4 or 5 years as I was playing with another boat. My wife wants this one going again. The battery won't turn it over fast enough to start it, with it fully charged. All connections have been checked. With the spark plugs out it turns fine. I have 12.2 volts at the battery, ignition switch, and acc terminal on the ignition switch. When I try to start it, I have 4.8 volts at the starter terminal, 2.? at the choke (key not pressed in), and 1.8 on the ground wire. I seem to have good continuity thru the switch, and with the exception of start it's only where it's supposed to be. Motor turns over ok, started it with a rop a time or two, but was having fuel problems and it wouldn't run. That's fixed. At the solenoid, I have 12.2 volts from the battery, 4.8 from the switch, and nothing comes out the starter terminal at all. It takes a certain amount of juice to open the solenoid. With 12volt (jumper wire) going to the terminal from the ignition switch the solenoid still doesn't open. I can run 12 volt from the battery to the starter, and it turns fine with the spark plugs out, but barely turns with them in. With 2 fully charged batteries and a 10 amp battery charger it will start, and other than excessive smoke runs ok. Batteries are low when I turn it off, and the starter is not turning the whole time. I have the starter out to have rebuilt, as this has happened with a car in the early 70's to me and it took a new starter. It was shorting thru the starter and took a lot of juice to start. Does this sound plausible, as the problem, or do I need to try something different. I'm taking the starter to town in about 30 minutes so will have to wait after that to try anything new.

 

[Daviet]

It sounds like you have a solenoid problem. You should have battery voltage OUT of the solenoid when the key is turned to start. Remove the wire from the switch at the solenoid and check the voltage on the wire when the key is turned to the start position, you should have battery voltage there also. Do a voltage drop test on your battery cables to make sure they are good internally.

 

[heyyou325]

It didn't make a difference running a hot wire to the ignition terminal on the solenoid. I think it has to be a short somewhere, and not sure how a solenoid would short that way. The switch could cause that, and I really don't want to think about a problem in the harness. it would take 2 wires at the same place bare and not completely broken.

 

[heyyou325]

Been checking some other threads, and the solenoid could short out too. Guess It will be checking one thing at a time. I really don't like doing wiring, (I get frustrated too easily, then have to fix other things) and this is the same wiring that came with the motor so it's old. but I think I'll do the solenoid next if the starter doesn't check out.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

You might have your battery load tested. At 12.2 volts your battery is only 60% charged. A fully charged battery will read 12.6 volts.

 

[heyyou325]

True, but that was after a lot of attempts to find what was wrong. Another battery and the same thing happens, only I didn't check everything then. Battery I jumped to was brand new fully charged. My meter to test amp draw quit working a couple months ago and hasn't been replaced. I can only check ohms and voltage with the one my wife bought me. And I'm not brave enough to go buy another one yet.

 

[57 7.5]

I'll tell you I had same kind of issue wth my 72 Johnson 100HP and I had a bad safety switch and my battery cables were bad. Bought new cables and switch and it started right up. I was amazed at the difference with new cables as to how fast it turned the motor over compared to before. All the time I thought it was the starter.

 

[F_R]

4.8V at the starter terminal should tell you something. Assuming the battery is good, the starter is dead shorted or there is a big voltage drop somewhere between the battery and starter. Repeat the test at each step along the way, i.e both sides of the solenoid (big posts), both ends of the cable, etc..

 

[heyyou325]

I got the starter back late afternoon yesterday. New guy running the electrical rebuild shop. Took a lot of business to the other guy, he gave me good deals, a lot of freebies, and good advice. Got this guy talking fishing and river jets and he opened up. Said the starter was probably the problem, dragging bad, no short, but it would take a huge draw to run it. He said if it wasn't that try changing the battery cables, then the solenoid, those were the most likely culprits in that order. Got a few other things to do first, then I'll put it back together and try. I think I've got the stuff to build some new cables here if I have to. My volt meter, multimeter, and a bat charger with a meter on all say the battery is at full charge at between 12.3? and 12.4?. I forget the last number. It's a 1 year old deep cycle marine, charged on the deep cycle side of my charger.

 

[heyyou325]

My wife saw me near the boat, have other things to do now. The starter solved that problem, fired right up and idled for a good 5 minutes, now I've got another problem I don't have time to look at. The sediment bowl, or whatever that plastic piece is called between the fuel pump and carb almost ran dry. I turned it off with it still idling, cracked to top open and it overfilled of course, now it won't fire. One step at a time I guess. Haven't had time to check anything out yet, might have to get back in here, but for now I got it.