Starter does not engage. (Need Advice)

Joined
Apr 29, 2023
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Starter does not engage.

I have a 1967 Evinrude 60 HP four cylinder.

I tried to start the motor yesterday, the starter sounded like it engaged but would not crank. I thought the battery was low, so I let it charge overnight.

Today, with a hot battery, the starter motor would not engage at all. I then connected the boat battery to my truck with battery cables. Still nothing.

I next did the old tap the starter and solenoid. Again, now luck.

My thought is the solenoid is bad. I remember in the old days you could jump a solenoid with a screwdriver, but I don’t remember how to do that anymore.

Looking for some advice on how to test.

What part to change first.

Where to find part.



Motor details

Evinrude 1967

Serial Number - 60732 A

Model Number - E01033



Thank you in advance.

Shawn
 

racerone

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Your location?-----Does starter crank using booster cables ?----Checked a fuse ?
 

stresspoint

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sounds like the starter has an internal short , it happens with those hi torque starters all the time.

I'm not sure if there is a gear drive replacement , if there is that would be the best option .
 

brodmann

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Your starter solenoid has 4 terminals. Two big ones and two small ones, right? One of the big ones should have 12v at all times, also one of the small ones should have 12v at all times. Have someone hold the ignition switch in the "start" position and check for 12v at the other small terminal and the other large terminal. The easiest way to check the solenoid is to jumper the two small terminals. The easiest way to check the starter is by jumping the two large terminals.
 

oldboat1

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Clean all battery cable connections with sandpaper, until shiny. Start with the large battery cables.
 

F_R

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Your starter solenoid has 4 terminals. Two big ones and two small ones, right? One of the big ones should have 12v at all times, also one of the small ones should have 12v at all times. Have someone hold the ignition switch in the "start" position and check for 12v at the other small terminal and the other large terminal. The easiest way to check the solenoid is to jumper the two small terminals. The easiest way to check the starter is by jumping the two large terminals.
Respectfully disagree. Jumping the two small terminals can only destroy the safety switch, if anything at all. There should be no voltage on either small terminals until the key is turned to start position. Then there should be 12V on one and zero on the other. and the starter should run. If there is 12V on both small terminals with the key turned to start, the is a problem with the safety switch or the shift is not in neutral, or the throttle is not at a slow setting.
 
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Respectfully disagree. Jumping the two small terminals can only destroy the safety switch, if anything at all. There should be no voltage on either small terminals until the key is turned to start position. Then there should be 12V on one and zero on the other. and the starter should run. If there is 12V on both small terminals with the key turned to start, the is a problem with the safety switch or the shift is not in neutral, or the throttle is not at a slow setting.
Thank you
 

tphoyt

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If you use boosters cables directly to the starter + lug and a good ground what happens?
If no start you could pull the starter apart for inspection. Or replace it.
If it starts then it could be the solenoid or other wiring that needs looked into.
 
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If you use boosters cables directly to the starter + lug and a good ground what happens?
If no start you could pull the starter apart for inspection. Or replace it.
If it starts then it could be the solenoid or other wiring that needs looked into.
Not sure where to look for a starter. Any recommendations?
 

tphoyt

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Did you test yours?
Hate to see you buy one if you don’t need one. You may find one right here on this site. Hit the shop icon in the upper left corner. If not here there are many other sites to choose from. Just goggle your model number and take a peek at what’s available.
 

stresspoint

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i have a few starters here that have been fried internally.

the reason behind that is people don't realize they need a full head of voltage and lots of amps to get one of the Johnno's to crank .
yea , its all fine if they catch first off , but if they need to be cranked as they often do , this puts big draw on the connections etc, this starts a chain reaction as things get hot.
the weak points are the starter windings , brushes , and magnets.
once the starter gets a short its all over no mater how small the short is it gradually gets worse till the starter can no longer store enough amps to throw the drive to crank the motor fast enough to make it fire .

starter is dead , buy a new one. clean everything up shinny fit it and go boating.

edit , don't buy a cheapo china starter with a 2 pole set up, make sure you get a 4 pole quality one as the cheap ones burn up and need premature replacement.
 
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F_R

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Do you have a multimeter and do you know how to use it? Do you know what a voltage drop test is and how to do it? Don't buy anything till you establish what the problem is.
 

oldboat1

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I had good luck in the past (maybe 20 years ago) with ARCO starters -- inboard starters in my case. You might google them and get a look at their line. They may be able to do a quality rebuild on yours.
 

saltchuckmatt

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You want to test voltage at individual spots to properly test what might be wrong. Your looking for 12.6 volts or so so start at the battery and work your way around here is a short video of what I mean.

 
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