I don't have the usual "starter won't engage" type problem. Actually, it's the opposite.
1990 or 1992 Johnson 90hp - not exactly sure which it is.
Most of the time, the starter works fine.
Here's the problems I've had the last couple years - including an incident yesterday:
When starting the motor, the starter gear will stay engaged with the flywheel....
I know this can be a physical problem with the gear sticking up and not dropping - and I think I have had this problem in the past. I greased the gear last year and think that took care of that problem.
Yesterday I started the motor and shut it off a little while later and heard a humming sound - sort of like a lawn mower running in the distance (my hearing being not what it should be after playing in a band as a teenager). My wife, sitting at the back of the boat said that the sound was actually coming from my motor and it was doing it for quite a long time. When we were ready to fire up the motor again, the battery was nearly dead and I finally saw that the starter motor was spinning the whole time we were sitting there - with the gear not in the raised position, it was next to the starter motor itself.
Next (and the other problem I've run into the last couple years), sometimes the starter motor will stay running (as noted above) but with the gear engaged with the flywheel. If I can catch it in time, I can remove a battery cable and when trying to re-attach the cable, get a big spark and the starter motor immediately starting up and cranking the engine -- all with the key off. Also, pulling the emergency cut-off, it will still crank the engine.
Do I have a bad solenoid? Bad starter? Some other problem?
Most of the time it works OK.
Thanks for reading.
1990 or 1992 Johnson 90hp - not exactly sure which it is.
Most of the time, the starter works fine.
Here's the problems I've had the last couple years - including an incident yesterday:
When starting the motor, the starter gear will stay engaged with the flywheel....
I know this can be a physical problem with the gear sticking up and not dropping - and I think I have had this problem in the past. I greased the gear last year and think that took care of that problem.
Yesterday I started the motor and shut it off a little while later and heard a humming sound - sort of like a lawn mower running in the distance (my hearing being not what it should be after playing in a band as a teenager). My wife, sitting at the back of the boat said that the sound was actually coming from my motor and it was doing it for quite a long time. When we were ready to fire up the motor again, the battery was nearly dead and I finally saw that the starter motor was spinning the whole time we were sitting there - with the gear not in the raised position, it was next to the starter motor itself.
Next (and the other problem I've run into the last couple years), sometimes the starter motor will stay running (as noted above) but with the gear engaged with the flywheel. If I can catch it in time, I can remove a battery cable and when trying to re-attach the cable, get a big spark and the starter motor immediately starting up and cranking the engine -- all with the key off. Also, pulling the emergency cut-off, it will still crank the engine.
Do I have a bad solenoid? Bad starter? Some other problem?
Most of the time it works OK.
Thanks for reading.
