Possibly bad starter

[zippy83]

Hello all,

So this year is starting out with a bunch of problems. I own a 1973 50HP Mercury thunderbolt. Today I took it out for a spin and it was working great. when I got back to the dock I shut it off to pull the trailer in. When I got back to the boat I couldn't turn it on. When I try to turn it on I could hear a lot of clicking noise coming from the outboard. I pulled it in with my trolling motor and went home plugged in the battery to charge and waited 10 hours. Then I hooked up ear muffs and wanted to give it a go and nothing. Just the clicking noise. The battery wasn't fully charged only at 75% but usually it started with it being 75% full.

So I took the battery out of my car (only 6 months old) hooked it up and same result. the flywheel wouldn't even move. Just a tiny bit. So the teeth on the starter (on the very top) were aligned with the teeth of the flywheel, it was like that when I pulled the cover down so I took a screw driver and gently pushed the starter top part down to see if the starter would turn at all, and it did, however it is not kicking up when the key is turned. to my knowledge it should kick up and align with the flywheel right?

You can see the picture of the top part of the starter. Sorry I dont know what the name of that part is. I put the battery to fully charge. It is about 2 years old got it march of 2012... but I am now wondering why the car battery wasnt able to spin it.

Any suggestions?
Thanks
Zipp

 

[Big Fish Billy]

Re: Possibly bad starter

First thing is to check and clean all your connections, especially ground wires and ignition switch connections. Next you can jump the solenoid with a wire or screwdriver and see if the starter works normally. If so, your wiring between the ignition switch and solenoid needs to be checked, or possible the switch itself, or the neutral switch. If not, the solenoid and/or starter needs attention or replacement. If you can take the starter apart, I always clean out the cracks between the commutator (copper) components (where the brushes ride), usually the problem with many starters.

 

[zippy83]

Re: Possibly bad starter

First thing is to check and clean all your connections, especially ground wires and ignition switch connections. Next you can jump the solenoid with a wire or screwdriver and see if the starter works normally. If so, your wiring between the ignition switch and solenoid needs to be checked, or possible the switch itself, or the neutral switch. If not, the solenoid and/or starter needs attention or replacement. If you can take the starter apart, I always clean out the cracks between the commutator (copper) components (where the brushes ride), usually the problem with many starters.

Thanks for your reply Billy. I checked the connections and cleaned them out. This morning the battery was fully charged so I wanted to see if it would crank. Nothing.. the Starter just keeps spinning in place but the top part stays down it is not kicking up. I had a few minutes before I went out to work, I took the starter out and when i turned the top peace clockwise by hand it went right up. I cant tell if the top part was turning anti-clockwise when it was hooked up it is far away for me to see it.

 

[zippy83]

Re: Possibly bad starter

If it is a bad starter and needs replacement where do I find one? I was looking on iboats.com but I cant find anything for the serial number of my outboard. Serial number is 4073270 for a 73 Mercury thunderbolt 50HP. On the starter itself the only numbers I have are the following. American Bosch 0599424M030SM. I cant find anything out there to replace this part...

 

[oldman570]

Re: Possibly bad starter

You can get the starter rebuilt at a local automotive electrical shop or see the PM I have sent. JMO
Oldman570

 

[zippy83]

Re: Possibly bad starter

Update... I was able to grab a new solenoid and get it installed. Still got the same issue, the starter just spins in place never kicks up to to flywheel. When I manually kick it up and try to start the outboard I can hear a lot of clicking/grinding noise coming from the new solenoid, also when looking at my battery gauge on the console when turning the key (while the top part of the starter is engaged with the flywheel) the gauge goes from 12V to 0V.

I got a new starter on order and hope it will start to work again...

 

[highsider989]

Re: Possibly bad starter

Oh fun. I may own a mercury 50 soon,,

 

[zippy83]

Re: Possibly bad starter

Got an update. Today the new starter arrived installed it along with a brand new battery.. still having the same issue. The bendix gear stays down and spins in place on the new starter as well. I also noticed that it is spinning anti-clockwise. If it was spinning clockwise the bendix gear would jump up and engage with the flywheel??

So what is causing the bendix gear to spin anti-clockwise? So far I have installed a new solenoid, new starter, new battery, cleaned all connections that lead to the solenoid and the starter. What I am noticing is that when I turn the key my amp-gauge in the dashboard of the console goes from 12 to below 8.

What is my next step in troubleshooting? Any advise is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Zipp

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Possibly bad starter

The battery is hooked up backwards.

 

[zippy83]

Re: Possibly bad starter

From what I have been reading here on previous discussions it is turning the right direction but needs more current. I put the battery to fully charge. This battery has more cranking amps then the old one. If that doesn't do it then I might have some bad wires. I will have to check on that a little more in detail

 

[oldman570]

Re: Possibly bad starter

A look at the aux emergency pull start on the flywheel will tell which way the motor runs. Most starters do turn in the CCW direction and the motor runs CW. This being the case then the cables from the battery to the motor have bad connections or corrosion inside the cables or at the solenoid and to the starter. The 12- cable should be bolted to the starter mounting bolt and another cable from that to a bolt on the block. the 12+ cable should be on the solenoid post. Clean all the connections shinny of the wiring and make sure they are tight. The use of dielectric grease on the connections helps keep corrosion down and can be bought at most auto supply outlets. Use a known good set of jumper cables as temporary replacements for the cables from the battery to the solenoid and block will tell if the trouble is corrosion inside those cables, and need replaced. It might be that the bendix gear and threads need a cleaning and new light oil placed on them. JMO
Oldman570

 

[zippy83]

Re: Possibly bad starter

Issue resolved. Bad wiring harness from the battery to the starter. I should have checked those connections first.

 

[oldman570]

Re: Possibly bad starter

Time has a bad way of taking its toll on electrical wire on some outboard. Corrosion being the main one, and dried out rubber insulation on the wire another. The use of liquid rubber and or dielectric grease helps on the connections, but wire replacement is needed when the insulation is first noticed getting brittle. A new wiring harness is the best bet for the job as if one wire is bad, chances are others are not far behind.
Glade to hear that you have found the trouble, and gained a better understanding of just how and what a motor can do. Best of boating this year. Oldman570

 

[zippy83]

Re: Possibly bad starter

I agree with you. I have already placed an order for the wiring harness.

Thanks for all the help
Zipp