70hp Johnson - Won’t crank....

random_guy

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May 5, 2019
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29
Hey everyone, went to start my pontoon for the first time tonight and just got a click of the solenoid...... Took the starter off and tested with a battery and it spun right up. Put it back on and tried it again, same result. So I put a meter on it. I’ve got 12V to the solenoid, but not out of it when the key is turned. So I took of the solenoid and bench tested it. When I energize the switch terminals, I get continuity across the big lugs. In other words, bot the starter and the solenoid seem to be working when bench tested, but I get no cranks when it’s all connected, just the solenoid click.

What am I missing?
 

tblshur

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Aug 24, 2011
Messages
688
random , i would take jumper cables connect negative black to battery then to starter bolt try to start again if that dont help connect red positive jumper to battery positive then to positive big nut on solenoid try to start no start , solenoid bad hope this helps be careful of sparks and rotating fly wheel:joyous:
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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Jul 23, 2011
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47,297
clean every battery terminal and cable connection. by clean, they need to be clean and shiny enough your mother or wife would eat off of it. this includes the mounting pad for the starter
 

tblshur

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
688
random, i forgot to mention you have to have a good battery , you said you have 12 volts a battery that just reads 12 is discharged or bad have load tested at auto parts store.
 

racerone

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Dec 28, 2013
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36,033
Sure sounds like a battery / cable problem.-----Get the battery LOAD TESTED.----Often a free 5 minute service at most customer oriented shops.
 

random_guy

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May 5, 2019
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29
Thanks guys. After I came in for the night, I thought about taking off the cable from the output of the solenoid to the input of the starter and cleaning it up. I’ll try that today. I just charged this battery the other day and it took a charge, so he should be OK. But that’s another good thing to try. I’ll throw another battery up there and try that too. Will post back later. Thanks again.
 

random_guy

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May 5, 2019
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Well, no good news. Tried it again this morning after reassembling and just got the solenoid click. So I tried another battery next, with no change. Took off the heavy cable between the solenoid and the starter and cleaned it up. Checked for continuity and it was great. Put it back on, no change. I’m starting to wonder about the ground lug on the starter.... It’s pretty well tucked away sort of on the back side of the starter. Will have to take it back off and try that this afternoon/evening. I’ll probably check in with my father in law as well, who is a former boat guy and a retired electrician. If he can’t get me going, I’ve got real problems...... 😜
 

racerone

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Dec 28, 2013
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The starter is elegantly simple ( My opinion only it seems ) to take apart / inspect / clean.------You can not go wrong doing that.-----Well worth doing and you will learn.----Why is the lug at the back of the starter on yours it should not be ???
 

random_guy

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May 5, 2019
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29
There are two bolts holding the starter on the port side of the engine, then there’s one smaller bolt on the front side behind the breather housing. I guess I’m just assuming that this one is the ground because there are no other connections other than the hot lug. I’ll shoot a pic of it when I take it off later today. And I’ll probe around the engine too just to make sure that the boss has continuity to some of the other terminals that are grounded to it.
 

random_guy

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May 5, 2019
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Also, when I took it off and bench tested it, the starter ran like a top. I don’t have a ton of experience with starters but everything felt nice and turned easy. Seemed like it did it’s job well. I should have thought about cleaning off that front mounting boss on the engine before I put it back on.....
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
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Dec 28, 2013
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36,033
???----That starter grounds through all 3 bolts that hold it on !!!---But I guess 12 volts is still VOOODOO to some folks ----Sorry.
 

random_guy

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May 5, 2019
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No voodoo and nothing to do with DC/AC or the fact that it's 12V. I noticed that they had back spotfaced the mounting hole on the single mounting lug after paint, but I hadn't noticed that they had done the same thing on the two-bolt side of the housing for those bosses. Yes, you're right, ground connection through all three points. And all three were apparently dirty enough to not connect. I took it back off, cleaned up the starter housing and probed it to make sure I got an "easy" buzz from my meter at all points. Then did the same with all three bosses on the engine. Reassembled and she cranked, and pretty quickly fired right up and ran with muffs for a minute or so. Ready to get 'er wet.

As a side note, once this was done, I went to fix some wiring issues on my trailer. There were some short runs of exposed wire to some side lamps that got mouse chewed. So I got some bullet terminals and butt splices and set out to fix things up. Then I found that both of my tail lights and both tubes were totally nested. My harness is a complete loss since they chewed it off so short that I can't even pull it out of one side. It's broken off in the tube. So I guess I get to tackle that next once I can get a hold of a new harness.

So my feel good over the starter victory lasted for literally about 20 minutes.

Thanks for your help everyone!
 
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