Bad starter?

[gregk9]

The starter on my ?91 70HP Johnson barley turns over. It?s acting like the battery is near dead but that?s not the case. The cranking battery is fully charged. My experience with bad starters is that they simply won?t engage at all. Is this yet another symptom of a bad starter or is there another component in line that could be malfunctioning?

This happened a week ago Thursday while on my fishing trip. The engine had been starting fine the whole week until then.

Thanks!

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Bad starter?

Most sluggish starters are caused by corroded wire, poor terminations or other high resistance conditions external to the starter. I would try first jumpering around the solenoid to eliminate that possible cause, then check the wiring, including grounds. The starter itself is the least likely cause of slow cranking.

 

[gregk9]

Re: Bad starter?

Thanks!

Here's an update:

I tried a known good battery last night and got the same symptoms. This time I got some smoke out of the starter or solenoid?

This is what I?m looking at.

The starter gear seems to be stuck - engaged with the flywheel. The fact that I got smoke and it smelled like wires melting?would that indicate that the solenoid if fried and maybe that?s been the problem all along and not the starter. I was gonna pull the starter this morning but maybe it's just a bad solenoid?

Also, the ignition switch makes a weird buzzing noise when I'm attempting to turn over the engine. This has been happening since day 1 of the problem.

 

[dirtdog38]

Re: Bad starter?

yes they can go bad and drag bad.pull power and turn slow seen it alot

 

[JB]

Re: Bad starter?

I don't understand why members will ask a question, get a good answer, then ignore it in favor of some non-productive exercise.

Take your battery cables out. Check for weak or corroded spots in the insulation, scrub the connectors shiny and reconnect.

I won't guarantee that wilde1's suggestion will fix your problem, but it will be free and eliminate the most common cause of your symptoms.

 

[gregk9]

Re: Bad starter?

I don't understand why members will ask a question, get a good answer, then ignore it in favor of some non-productive exercise.

JB - I was advised that a battery can indicate 'full charge' yet not be able to deliver the correct amount of current due to a malfunction of 1 or more cells. Seemed logical to try another known good battery first before I start pulling cables. Hardly a ?non-productive exercise?.

 

[V153]

Re: Bad starter?

As mentioned clean all connections. Personally I would remove the starter as well & clean the grounding points where it mounts to the block. Lubricate the Bendix while yer at it. Reinstall. Connect a known to be good battery. See if it'll start. If it doesn't jump the solenoid. If it starts you have a bad solenoid.

Does the motor have spark?

 

[gregk9]

Re: Bad starter?

V153, Connections have been cleaned, starter and solenoid have the correct voltages. I found the point where the smoke was coming from. See my new thread:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=515303

 

[JB]

Re: Bad starter?

JB - I was advised that a battery can indicate 'full charge' yet not be able to deliver the correct amount of current due to a malfunction of 1 or more cells. Seemed logical to try another known good battery first before I start pulling cables. Hardly a ?non-productive exercise?.

The advice you got was correct, Greg. Bad batteries can indicate good. The only way to accurately evaluate the battery is with a load test or a hydrometer test.

The reason I called it non-productive was probability. 90% of troubles with your symptoms are caused by corrosion in the circuit and less than 5% by bad batteries. The other 5% are bad solenoids or bad starters.

Wilde1's advice was the best you could get. At least you didn't throw a new starter and a new solenoid at it. That is what many do.

 

[gregk9]

Re: Bad starter?

The thing that happened JB, was that I failed to mention that I cleaned all the terminals prior to making that second post. Sorry for the miscommunication.

 

[Haffiman]

Re: Bad starter?

The thing that happened JB, was that I failed to mention that I cleaned all the terminals prior to making that second post. Sorry for the miscommunication.

Did you remove the ground stud from engine and clean out the threads?

 

[gregk9]

Re: Bad starter?

No time today, Haffiman. Hopefully tomorrow!