Bad starter? Bad Solenoid? Or, both?

[BobPhoenix]

Hi all,
I have a 1978 Chris Craft 17 foot Lancer - Stinger "barn find". (Got it last Monday!)
It is powered with a Volvo-Penta 305 C.I.D. motor, matched to a V.P. AQ-280 (not dual prop) out drive. The hour meter reads 135 hours and it has been sitting for at least 10 years!

After cleaning up the boat, I checked the engine and found it had been fully winterized with RV anti-freeze in the block, new oil change and filter, all the fuel lines were disconnected... as a matter of fact, the fuel pump supply line was fitted with a outboard gas tank connection, (hopefully for winterizing and not because it has a bad gas tank!).

After completing all my cleaning and survey, and being satisfied with my engine findings, (BTW: It was reported by the seller that, he was told, one cylinder was low on compression...) I decided to put a 1000 amp (800 Cold Cranking Amp) battery in it (fresh from the store...) and see if it would turn over... Well, it did! But, barely!!!

The solenoid was buzzing like an old transformer and the motor barely made two revolutions before the battery cables started glowing and smoking...! I let them cool down and then started to "jog" the starter switch, thinking that maybe the solenoid contact ring was covered with crud. I did get the engine to spin about three times, but the cables started smoking again and I just shut everything down for a while.

So, after all of that, here's my question(s)...
Do I have a bad starter, solenoid, cables or a combination of all three? AND, is it worth my while to fiddle with them by taking them apart to see what is going on, or just replace them right off the bat?

TIA
Bob

 

[alldodge]

Hot bat cables in most cases is bad connections. Can also be from a shorted starter, but would start by removing both ends of the + and - cables and make them shinny metal

 

[Bob_VT]

LOOK for green corrosion. Corroded cables and electrical connections are the enemy. As stated above - make all your connections shiny metal regardless of how small.

I would also pull the plugs and spray in a bit of oil and try to turn the motor over with the plugs out.

 

[BobPhoenix]

Thanks for those suggestions!

Well, I found the loose battery cable connection at the solenoid input side... (I moved it with my hand!) So, there's one electrical problem cured... I tightened it up and the engine turns over better, but still hard... And, I found the buzzing noise too... It is not the solenoid, as I suspected... Are you ready for this?!? The buzzing noise I hear, when I push the start button, is the hour meter!
When I hit the start button, the hour meter's minute wheel, spins like it's on Jules Verne's time machine... and, talk about noisy...!

Even with those fixes, I still I didn't get any indication that the motor would fire up. I couldn't get a spark out of number one plug wire... The points were closed (and no point grease on the cam...) But, after an "eyeball" adjustment to .020", the culprit seems to be the "ballast resistor"... It has 12.9 volts in and only a half a volt out!

When I put it on the ohm meter it starts out at 22 MEG-OHMS and descends to 14 meg-ohms over a 30 second test... I'm swapping that out today!

 

[alldodge]

tightened it up and the engine turns over better, but still hard

Did you remove a clean all the battery cables at both ends?

 

[kenny nunez]

Prestolite distributors have a reputation of wearing out the rubbing block on the points because the lobes tend to rust and become abrasive, cleaning the lobes is a waste of time. Once the pitting starts the rubbing block will wear out is a very short time and the points will close. The only solution is either replacing the distributor or converting the points to the Petronics electronic kit. The boat looks good and with more work, salvageable. I almost bought a Lancer years ago but it sat too long in the weather.