Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

bjarnold1

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Nov 12, 2005
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I bought a late 50's Evinrude Lark 35hp with electric start and I was wondering if I can take a marine battery and hook the ground to the frame of the motor and hook the positive directly to the starter and see if it will start
 

tashasdaddy

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Nov 11, 2005
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Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

sort of Yes, connect ground, then touch the bolt on the starter. what is the model # on the motor? did you get the wiring harness and Transom junction box? if not we will have to make a solenoid circuit. does it have the generator opposite the starter? did you get the 2 line pressure fuel tank?
 

F_R

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Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

Agreeing, the motor should start and run by hand cranking it with no electrical hookup at all. Or, jump start it with a battery as suggested. The 1958 and 1959 Lark models had a fuel pump and single hose tank.
 

larky

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Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

I would use two sets of jumper cables. one set connected to the outboard and one connected to the battery. that way you can make the connection in the middle away from both the battery and the outboard. less chance of fire
 

tmcalavy

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Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

The battery jumper cables will overheat if you use the positive wire to go from the battery to the starter post, and the threads on the starter post will get buggered from the heat, too. Put a long positive battery cable on the starter post, like 3 feet long, put the battery well away from the outboard, ground the black jumper cable to the battery and the engine block, touch the red wire from the starter post to the top of the positive battery terminal. It'll disfigure the positive battery post, too, but you can clean that up with a file or a post cleaner tool.
 

bjarnold1

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Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

I looked up the serial number it was made in 1958. I wired up a battery to it today and it turn's over fine as long as the spark plugs are removed. When the spark plugs are installed the motor barely turns
 

F_R

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Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

Weak starter. They were almost marginal to begin with on that model. Later ones were more powerful. May need brushes, or it may be fried. Take it to a starter rebuilder guy.
 

tmcalavy

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Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

If you know the battery is strong/stout, it's either a weak starter...or dirty connections. I had the same experience on a 58 Johnson RD19S 35 hp that I've been playing with in the shop. Cranked great with plugs out, hardly at all with plugs in. I pulled the starter and cleaned all the points where it connects to the engine, made the surfaces good and clean. Reinstalled and it cranks like a champ.
 

samo_ott

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Jun 18, 2006
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5,125
Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

I would not attach the last positive wire to the starter bolt or the top of the battery. Both are bad. Especially the battery. You never want a spark beside a battery as they can explode! And if the bolt it will fry the thread. The best way is to get a cheap remote starter. But if you don't have one, connect the positive first on both ends and then the neg to the battery and make the final connection from the neg wire to the engine ground away from the carb (fuel)
 
Joined
May 21, 2008
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Re: Evinrude Lark 35 Wiring

ok, I don't seem to be able to start my own thread, so I'll sorta hijack this one, as it relates to my motor. I've also got an old 35 evinrude lark, with 5 wires only. two thick ones, one going to what appears to be a makeshift starter solenoid, and another to to the block. Then three small ones, one to the front of the motor up under the pull start, another to the rear of the motor, up under the pull start, and a third to the starter solenoid, I'm assuming that's the starting wire for the solenoid. So.. my question is, other than wiring the positive and negative thick battery cables to a good battery, what do I do with the other two wires going to the motor, before I touch the start wire and try to crank this thing. ??????
 
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