1997 115 Johnson Starter Motor

[salty dawg 1961]

My battery has 12.35 volts, yet after turning the motor over about 10 or 12 revolutions it slows to a crawl, as if the battery has died. I tried to jump it across the celenoid and it still drags. Afterwards I tested the battery and suffered no significant voltage loss. Is the starter shot? If so what is the rough damage to my wallet upon replacing it. If it aint one thing it;s a hundred. Salty Dawg 1961

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: 1997 115 Johnson Starter Motor

First go through all your wiring to be sure good contact at both ends. I'd take the connections apart one at a time (after disconnecting the ground from the battery), clean them with a wire brush, add some dielectric grease and put them back together tightly.

Charge the battery overnight.

All of the above is free (except the grease, but it's cheap).

 

[Vic.S]

Re: 1997 115 Johnson Starter Motor

12.35 volts is a long way from being fully charged about, 65% so should be OK for starting but you should not leave it in that partly discharged state. Charge it fully as soon as possible.

When checking the wiring do no neglect to check the negative (ground) connections as well.

With the battery recharged monitor the battery volts ... directly at the battery posts ... when you next try to start. If it falls below 9 volts while the starter is energised the battery is no good. You dont really want it to fall below about 10 volts.
If the battery is OK measure the volts at the starter. Any sigificant difference will be due to bad connections

Very rough guide to state of charge of battery based on volts:
Over 12.7 volts ... near enough fully charged
12.2 volts ... about half charged
Below 11.7 volts ... just about fully discharged.
All readings taken after the battery has rested with no charge or discharge for at least 12 hours

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1997 115 Johnson Starter Motor

weak amps in battery, dirty or corroded cables, reduce the power getting to the starter, they heat up and zap power.

90% of starter problems are bad connections. remove and clean both ends of the battery cables, so that they are shiney, also the cable from the solenoid to starter. check for nicks in the cables. and make sure the connectors are on the wire good. the cable tend to corrode from the inside out, if nicked, corroded wires, and connections, heat up and cause resistance to the follow of electricity, thus the starter doesn't get enough. you can also take jumper cable pos battery post to large post on starter. with a good connection, the engine should spin. then if the starter is good clean everything and retest. then trouble shoot solenoid. starters can be rebuit at a starter/alternator shop, much cheaper than a new one.

also have the battery load tested at the auto parts store, free, i've had new batteries go bad