1970 Starcraft SS 16' w/70 Evinrude

[SigSaurP229]

Omc premium blend is the required gear oil. Drain the gear oil in it and replace it. Under the cowling on the starboard side down low there is a blue and a green wire there is a piece of black shrink wrap in the middle slide it back and expose the connectiom points. Use a jumper wire and apply 12 volts to both wires directly. You should hear a clicking sound in the lower unit. If you do not then you have shift solenoid issues. If you do that means the solenoids are probably good and your issue lies in the switch on the controls or the wiring leading to it. If you hear the clicking start the motor on the muffs use a jumper wire. Apply voltage to the green wire should put it in neutral. Apply voltage to both wires at the same time you should get reverse.

I hope this helps trouble shoot. The last switch I bought was $85 the last solenoid pack was 60.

This is of course assuming that when you pull the drain plug it isnt covered in metal shavings (Highly unlikely those motors were very gentle on clutch dogs).

If you get it working very important replace the water pump every two years. Those motors dont have a tell tale and you wont know there is a problem until its to late. There used to be a thread on Iboats on how to add one and the kit was like $20

 

[DLNorth]

Ya, I got that, I'm trying to learn when SC went from the S/N on the rating plate to the HIN on the back of the transom.
I have S/N's up to/through 1972, and it seems like in least in 1974 the HIN is used. But what about 1973? And note the difference in the numbers, the old S/N's are either 6 or 7 digits, the new HIN is 5 digits. Did they start over, and/or is there even any connection between the 2 sequences?

Dan
BTW, to us old guys, the standards back then were just stringent, just different. Actually I suspect the biggest difference is the Coast Guard forcing the manufacturers to conform to their federal ID standard.






Originally posted by DLNorth View Post
Can you read the S/N on the rating plate? I'm curious how the HIN and the S/N compare?

Dan
That HIN comes back as a valid 1974 Starcraft Super Sport, that means it is a 44 year old boat, the standards back then are quite a bit less stringent then they are now a days.

 

[MTboatguy]

The 73 Has the same HIN plate as the boat being talked about in this thread, I have a 73 sitting in my driveway right now that I am working on that I am hoping to splash in the next couple of days., was hoping to splash last Saturday, but didn't work out, so we are pushing for either tomorrow on Thursday.

But again, the HIN plate is the same as this boat has. If I remember correctly the HIN plate became a requirement in 1973 before that they were a voluntary item.

Just to add Dan, I am north of 60, so I am one of the older guys

 

[DLNorth]

OK, thanks, that makes some sense, as the newest S/N I have is for '72. I didn't pay much attention to newer boats as I was trying to ID ours, which is a '70.

As a "mature" guy you might get a kick out of this, I rebuilt the inside of our SS about 35 years ago, before some of the current project were even built. It still is "new" inside as it has sat in the garage unused most of the time. Actually I still need to put a windshield on it, but there just hasn't been time.

 

[Kassunmn]

Dlnorth: The plate is very worn out

 

[Kassunmn]

Thanks for all the great info. I popped off the cover and looked at the wires, found a lot of wires that have no connections. Particularly the ones with a blue tape on them. I’ll investigate a little more tomorrow when I have time.

 

[SigSaurP229]

The shift solenoid wires are on the other side of the motor a blue and a green wire down low.

 

[Kassunmn]

Thanks, Sig, I'll look for them this evening.

Last night I drained and changed the oil in the lower unit. Picked up the oil from a local boat dealer. I took a few photos of the oil coming out. I still have the shifting controls mounted in the boat and will hopefully get to fixing the transom sometime next week when money comes in .

I noticed that the previous owner had the lower unit out, and didn't match up the fin just above the propeller when he put it back together. So I'll add that to the list. I attached some photos of the motor. I'll post in the motor forum to see if those wires that are free are necessary or if there is a reason they don't go anywhere.

Thanks again all for all the advice and help. it is much appreciated!

-Kassun

 

[DLNorth]

The rating plate, ya, I couldn't make any number out, and it does look different then the earlier plates that have S/N's, so maybe they stopped putting a number on the rating plate when they went to the HIN.

 

[baldwibr]

The little fin above the prop is a trim tab. It's supposed to be offset like that so I wouldn't straighten it out. It counteracts the pulling to one side by the spin of the prop. My old Chrysler motor didn't have a trim tab and it always wanted to pull the steering wheel to the right. But on my newer Mercury, it has a trim tab and the motor doesn't pull the steering one way or the other.

 

[MTboatguy]

The rating plate, ya, I couldn't make any number out, and it does look different then the earlier plates that have S/N's, so maybe they stopped putting a number on the rating plate when they went to the HIN.

It didn't have a serial number on the plate, just the HIN on the boat.

Here is my plate from the '73 and it has no serial number on it.

 

[Watermann]

Thanks, Sig, I'll look for them this evening.

Last night I drained and changed the oil in the lower unit. Picked up the oil from a local boat dealer. I took a few photos of the oil coming out. I still have the shifting controls mounted in the boat and will hopefully get to fixing the transom sometime next week when money comes in .

I noticed that the previous owner had the lower unit out, and didn't match up the fin just above the propeller when he put it back together. So I'll add that to the list. I attached some photos of the motor. I'll post in the motor forum to see if those wires that are free are necessary or if there is a reason they don't go anywhere.

Thanks again all for all the advice and help. it is much appreciated!

-Kassun

The trim tab above the prop is adjustable for the purpose of counteracting torque steer force on the helm.

 

[DLNorth]

Thanks MT, that pretty much covers it.

 

[MTboatguy]

Thanks MT, that pretty much covers it.

No problem.

Looking up the engine on the OP's boat, it is a 72 electric shift and looking at the wiring, someone has played with the wiring abit on that motor, I am seeing splices that should be wires that hook to the terminal block strip. So something has been jeri rigged in the past.

 

[Kassunmn]

Posted on the motor forum and got the wiring diagram. Will look at fixing the wiring this week as time allows. Plan is to put a 5.5 kicker on the back and purchase a newer motor next year. I want to do some fishing on Lake Superior just a little off shore on calm days.

 

[SigSaurP229]

The gear oil color looks good and that is a very positive sign. The wiring has certainly been rigged the lower unit to those is sensitive about wiring it needs a full 12v to operate other wise will continuously default to forward gear. I bet she will work once the wiring is straightened out. In all those pics I still didnt see the shift solenoid wires. Run the test i previously mentioned, and you will know how hard to press forward on it.

 

[Kassunmn]

Sig- I hooked up my starter battery to the motor. Neg to motor ground and ran the positive wire to the blue and green wires. Touched the green and got a click, touched both and got a click, although I’m not sure if it was the combination of the two or just the green. I tried holding on green and then touching the blue with no result. Hope to get the Marie ply this week and get the transom in and remount the motor to do some further testing.

 

[Kassunmn]

Fixed the wiring on the motor this evening. Bus bar - purple yellow/thermal switch, purple white/choke selinoid, purple/thermal switch, bus at #6,7,8. Looks like the red/white wire they had was running to the choke on the control box. I watched a video wher a guy used a battery switch panel that he used to control forward, neutral and reverse. Will have to investigate more once I have to transom on. https://youtu.be/IR7or8FEUE4

-Kassun

 

[Kassunmn]

When I do my transom do I have to keep it one piece or can I do it in pieces as they originally did. 1 main piece for the motor and the wings on either side? Suggestions?

thanks, kassun

 

[SigSaurP229]

On a 16' its is one sheet of ply either way. I have never done wings or pieced a transom. It's more difficult to get things lined up right, and not as structurally sound (though obviously it's good enough)

Great news on the solenoids clicking. More than likely the issue is in the switch itself. But I would clean the contacts on the switch, clean the crud out of the switch as well I have had success bringing them back to life that way. Make sure the buttons are getting good contact.

The best place to find the switch is a certain very large auction site.

NOT just any switch will work it MUST be from a hydro electric assembly. I always just bought the whole control pack.

Now that you know you hear the clicks. Start it on the muffs, IDLE speed only do the same test and see if you get neutral and reverse.