motor wont start

[eazye123]

I have a mariner tracker pro series 40 hp oil injected 2 stroke 4 cyl I don't know the serial number but it wont start when i turn the key it makes a clicking nose but thats it, I checked the solenoid and thats not it.. anyone know what else it can be? could it be the starter or maybe the switch?

 

[Maxz695]

Re: motor wont start

If the battery is fully charged and have confirmed the solenoid is good and all cables from the battery to the engine Pos to solenoid and Neg to block are tight then the starter is probably NG or needs to be taken apart and cleaned and checked for Brush wear and or damage. You can try hooking jumper cables directly to the starter to confirm if it is good or not. Just hook the ground to the negative and touch the positive with the positive jumper cable momentarily just to see if it spins and the gear jumps up and engages the flywheel. Do not keep the cable there too long. If the starter works like that then try crosing a screw driver or remote starter switch to the soleniod Pos starter to soleniod and the small terminal with the yellow wire with the BLACK stripe and that shoud engage the stater. Edit Wire collor correction from yelow red to yellow black on the solenoid

 

[eazye123]

Re: motor wont start

If the battery is fully charged and have confirmed the solenoid is good and all cables from the battery to the engine Pos to solenoid and Neg to block are tight then the starter is probably NG or needs to be taken apart and cleaned and checked for Brush wear and or damage. You can try hooking jumper cables directly to the starter to confirm if it is good or not. Just hook the ground to the negative and touch the positive with the positive jumper cable momentarily just to see if it spins and the gear jumps up and engages the flywheel. Do not keep the cable there too long. If the starter works like that then try crosing a screw driver or remote starter switch to the soleniod Pos starter to soleniod and the small terminal with the yellow wire with the red stripe and that shoud engage the stater.

How would I hook directly to starter would I use the same battery on the boat or use a different battery and which wires (+-) go to which wires from the starter? And im lost with what you said about crossing with a screw driver if you can explain any better would be greatly appreciated I took the starter out and inspected it, everything looked ok I think but I could be wrong and I checked the solenoid by taking it off and hooking a battery up to the small posts and testing the big posts with a meter

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: motor wont start

Let's back this thread up a bit before a starter gets needlessly replaced...

Let's talk about your battery first.
How old or young is it? Has it ever gone dead? If it's been dead, how long, and how many times before it was charged back to life?
I ask this, because lead acid batteries will die a horrible sulfated death if they have gone dead for long, or many times. When you charge these damaged batteries up, they may show acceptable voltage (around 12.6V), but will be gutless when it comes to available amperage. You need amperage to get the starter engaged and the motor spinning. If you're unsure about the condition of the battery, most auto parts stores offer free testing to confirm if the battery is good or a core. Even if the battery needs to to be replaced, keep reading...

Next...Battery cable connections.
Looks mean little.

Disconnect both of the battery cable lugs from the battery, and clean them up till they're shiny. A battery brush if you don't have one is a cheap investment, and makes this job real easy. Avoid the reamer type ones if you are shopping for one. They only remove good material. You want the wire brush kind. Check to make sure the cables don't have "green growth" (oxidized copper) around the battery lugs. This would indicate that the current, or a previous battery was leaking acid which wicked up the cables, and damaged them. If you find green growth, replace the cables. Next.. Take the battery cables off the motor, solenoid, and starter, and clean both ends of the connections with a wire brush till they are spotless. Re-attach, making sure the bolts/nuts are nice and snug. May want to spray them with a little of your favorite rattle can paint, or dab a little bit of dielectric grease on them. Anything to protect them from future corrosion.

Try starting the motor again.
Is it working? Open up a frosty adult beverage to celebrate, or even a soda/pop/coke if adult beverages aren't your thing.
Not so much? Well at least everything that could be questioned as causing the problem 90% of the time has been looked over, now it's time to check out the starter.

 

[eazye123]

Re: motor wont start

Let's back this thread up a bit before a starter gets needlessly replaced...

Let's talk about your battery first.
How old or young is it? Has it ever gone dead? If it's been dead, how long, and how many times before it was charged back to life?
I ask this, because lead acid batteries will die a horrible sulfated death if they have gone dead for long, or many times. When you charge these damaged batteries up, they may show acceptable voltage (around 12.6V), but will be gutless when it comes to available amperage. You need amperage to get the starter engaged and the motor spinning. If you're unsure about the condition of the battery, most auto parts stores offer free testing to confirm if the battery is good or a core. Even if the battery needs to to be replaced, keep reading...

Next...Battery cable connections.
Looks mean little.

Disconnect both of the battery cable lugs from the battery, and clean them up till they're shiny. A battery brush if you don't have one is a cheap investment, and makes this job real easy. Avoid the reamer type ones if you are shopping for one. They only remove good material. You want the wire brush kind. Check to make sure the cables don't have "green growth" (oxidized copper) around the battery lugs. This would indicate that the current, or a previous battery was leaking acid which wicked up the cables, and damaged them. If you find green growth, replace the cables. Next.. Take the battery cables off the motor, solenoid, and starter, and clean both ends of the connections with a wire brush till they are spotless. Re-attach, making sure the bolts/nuts are nice and snug. May want to spray them with a little of your favorite rattle can paint, or dab a little bit of dielectric grease on them. Anything to protect them from future corrosion.

Try starting the motor again.
Is it working? Open up a frosty adult beverage to celebrate, or even a soda/pop/coke if adult beverages aren't your thing.
Not so much? Well at least everything that could be questioned as causing the problem 90% of the time has been looked over, now it's time to check out the starter.

I took my 2 batteries to advance and they said they were both good and they never went dead or had to have been charged the motor recharges them by itself. I already took the solenoid off and tested that it was good also took the starter off and wiped off and visually inspected it, it looked ok. How can I test the starter if the boat wont start or turn over? it couldn't be the key switch could it? since it does make a clicking noise?

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: motor wont start

I took my 2 batteries to advance and they said they were both good and they never went dead or had to have been charged the motor recharges them by itself. I already took the solenoid off and tested that it was good also took the starter off and wiped off and visually inspected it, it looked ok. How can I test the starter if the boat wont start or turn over? it couldn't be the key switch could it? since it does make a clicking noise?

Did you clean all the cables?
How did you check the solenoid?

 

[eazye123]

Re: motor wont start

Yes I checked all the cables and cleaned them... I disconnected the solenoid took it off the outboard hooked the battery up to the small terminals and a multimeter to the big terminals and it checked out ok. How can i test the starter?

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: motor wont start

Yes I checked all the cables and cleaned them... I disconnected the solenoid took it off the outboard hooked the battery up to the small terminals and a multimeter to the big terminals and it checked out ok. How can i test the starter?

If you have a set of battery jumper cables, attach one of the cables to the positive side of the battery, and touch the other end of that cable to the lug on the solenoid that the lead from the starter is bolted to. If it cranks, the starter isn't the problem. If it doesn't, then either the starter lead, or the starter its self is an issue.

 

[eazye123]

Re: motor wont start

ok I get what your saying with the one cable but what do I do with the other cable should it be hooked to anything? Is there any other way to test the starter to be sure its the starter and not the starter lead?

 

[Maxz695]

Re: motor wont start

Ground the black negative to the starter casing as I explaned and the positive to the starter lead as I explained in my first post to check the starter. Nobody ever said replace the starter until it,s found to be No Good

 

[Maxz695]

Re: motor wont start

Here is a picture of a 40 HP That may be close to your set up click the picture to see details View attachment 178484 Ground negative anywhere on the starter casing then touch the positive jumper to starter positive terminal. Because you have a 4 cylinder you may have this type of solenoid This is a 70 3 cylinder style starter View attachment 178485 This is the other type of solenoid View attachment 178486View attachment 178487

 

[eazye123]

Re: motor wont start

that one in the picture is not mine it is a 1994 mariner tracker pro series oil injected 40 hp.. to test the starter should I use the battery im using for the boat or use a extra battery and I connect the negative to the starter housing and the postive to the starter lead is that the one from the battery which wire is that? and Maxz can I just take a cable and connect the positive of battery to the wire on the solenoid from the starter?

 

[Maxz695]

Re: motor wont start

You can use any charged battery with a set of jumpers hook black to neg and red to positive. Put the black negative on the casing of the starter and touch the positive red to the positive terminal on the starter and it should spin be carful it has alot of tourque. start with that then we can move to the solenoid

 

[Maxz695]

Re: motor wont start

I have dismantled a 1997 40 HP 4cylinder 4 stroke oil injected engine with a blown rod and I,m aware they are not the same just using the picture as a reference to the solenoids. I have added pictures of my 70 HP set up that may be closer to what you have

 

[eazye123]

Re: motor wont start

I already took the solenoid completely off the outboard and tested it with a battery and a multimeter it rang out fine im going to run out and go try and jump the starter I will reply in a hr or 2 and let you know what I find out

 

[Maxz695]

Re: motor wont start

If the starter dosn,t turn I can help you with a rebuild that will make the job much easier and a replacement starter may not be nessecary if all goes well.

 

[eazye123]

Re: motor wont start

I just tryed jumping the starter with jumper cables like you said and it would act like it wants to start engaging then it would stop I couldn't get it to actually turn on and after a second sparks start to fly so I broke connection what's next? lol

 

[Maxz695]

Re: motor wont start

If the starter spun then stopped that may be normal you werent clear as to wheather is spun or not. It should turn imediately when the positive cable touches the positive post terminal of the starter with the ground attached to the case. I would give it another shot to be sure. Then if no success Mark the top of the center case. (THE Black Part) and the bottom of it so you don,t get confused as to which end goes up when putting it back together. It must go the same way back on that it comes off. There are 2 screws in the bottom that hold the starter together and they must be undone to seperate the starter. You will more than likely find alot of crap stuck to the magnets and more than likely alot in the bottom where the brushes are. Remove it with a rag and some cleaning sulution be it carb spray parts clener etc then wipe all down. and spray some PB Blaster anti corrosion on the armature lightly but cover it. Give a quick wipe but don,t remove all of it. Greese the bottom of the armeture shaft (Just enough to cover the metal and this will let the starter spin like new when reassembled). The tuff part is getting the brushes and springs back in. I have a trick for that. Take an empty antifreeze bottle or something of the like and cut a piece bigger that the diamiter of the starter. You will cut out a slot the size of the shaft at the bottom of the armature to hold down the brushes while you slide the armature into the bottom retaining hole let the starter drop down onto the ready made handy dandy tool I asked you to make and then slide the tool out of the starter which will let the starter fall securely back into it,s resting place and replace the bolts test with jumpers. You should be good to go. I can post a picture of a tool i can make if nessecary if you get that far tonight. It will basicly look like a C with a U cut into it.
View attachment 178497 Here is a picture of what the tool would look like. I used wood but your gonna make it out of a piece of sturdy thin plastic. Cut with siccors. Again this holds the springs and brushes down while instaling the armatue and case to the bottom of the starter where the brushes are.View attachment 178498 It doesn,t have to be round it can be square. same with the inner cut.

 

[eazye123]

Re: motor wont start

Im going to try that tomorrow but if you can post a picture of the "handy dandy tool" your talking about that would help im kinda lost with that part

 

[Maxz695]

Re: motor wont start

Posted in the edited version of the last post View attachment 178500