starter, slave solenoid problem or both?

[bigred55]

I have a 2005 3.0 mercruiser serial #: OW380726 when I try to crank it there is a single click. I've had my wife turn the key while I feel for the click and I found that it is coming from the slave solenoid. So then I touched the 2 bolts on the slave solenoid at the same time with a wrench handle. The engine made a loud sort of popping noise like it was trying to start. After 2 or 3 times it sort of quit doing this. Then I tapped on the starter with the wrench and then touched both bolts on the slave solenoid and it made a better sound of trying to start the motor. Would this be a problem with the starter motor, slave solenoid or both? Thanks

 

[matth121]

using a multimeter set to dc voltage- black probe on starter body- red probe on yellow/red wire on small terminal of starter solenoid- check for 12v when key is turned- if theres nothing- slave solenoid. if you have 12V its probably the starter solenoid- test the solenoid by using your wrench on large bolt connected to battery and small bolt with yel/red wire- it should engage the starter- if not it's the problem

and please be careful- the wrench is probably not the best choice for the job- if you happen to touch ground accidentally with the wrench while its connected to voltage.. it's gonna hurt at the very least, worst is not even something you wanna think about

 

[slag]

Take them both off. I had a very similar issue this Saturday. It would just click click click. I ended up taking the slave solenoid apart and cleaning up the carbon tracing, putting it back together, and it worked fine. I couldn't jump the connectors though and make the starter turn over. I also took the starter off and took it apart and cleaned up the commutator shaft with a bit of crocus cloth to remove carbon. It was about a 2-3 hour job for me.

 

[Bondo]

I have a 2005 3.0 mercruiser serial #: OW380726 when I try to crank it there is a single click. I've had my wife turn the key while I feel for the click and I found that it is coming from the slave solenoid. So then I touched the 2 bolts on the slave solenoid at the same time with a wrench handle. The engine made a loud sort of popping noise like it was trying to start. After 2 or 3 times it sort of quit doing this. Then I tapped on the starter with the wrench and then touched both bolts on the slave solenoid and it made a better sound of trying to start the motor. Would this be a problem with the starter motor, slave solenoid or both? Thanks

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... If the starter sounded Better, After ya beat on it,.... I'd start there,.... It could just be bad wirin' connections elsewhere,....

 

[cecho]

I'd hate to hijack a thread, but then again I'd also hate to create a new thread when I have the exact same problem on my 1979 305 powered Mercruiser.

I'm getting 9 volts at the slave solenoid output to the starter solenoid when I crank the starter. When I apply full 12 volts to the output wire while turning the start key my starter solenoid still clicks half the time and starts half the time. Wire connectors seem fine. I'm guessing there's corrosion or carbon inside the slave solenoid? I'll try taking it apart.

I also appear to have a bad starter solenoid as well since applying full 12 volts to the yellow wire off the slave solenoid doesn't let the engine start each time.

I know this is somewhat boat dependent, but is it at all common to have to remove the exhaust manifold to get to the starter? I don't have a whole lot of room under the manifold, but I imagine I could remove the coolant hose coming from the outdrive for more room.

 

[bigred55]

using a multimeter set to dc voltage- black probe on starter body- red probe on yellow/red wire on small terminal of starter solenoid- check for 12v when key is turned- if theres nothing- slave solenoid. if you have 12V its probably the starter solenoid- test the solenoid by using your wrench on large bolt connected to battery and small bolt with yel/red wire- it should engage the starter- if not it's the problem

and please be careful- the wrench is probably not the best choice for the job- if you happen to touch ground accidentally with the wrench while its connected to voltage.. it's gonna hurt at the very least, worst is not even something you wanna think about

I checked the voltage and it shows nothing when i hold the black probe on the starter body (silver metal part) and the red probe on the bolt with yellow/red wire. The starter solenoid did not engage the starter either when I used the wrench. Is that because of the bad slave solenoid or bad starter solenoid? Also I used the wrench test on the slave solenoid again. it would just give a small spark at first, then after tapping on the starter it would actually give a little bit more of a jump, but not a lot.

 

[Fun Times]

I'd hate to hijack a thread, but then again I'd also hate to create a new thread when I have the exact same problem on my 1979 305 powered Mercruiser.

Sorry cecho, but the hosts of iboats would prefer you to start a new topic of you're own vs taking over someone else's. While you may have the same symptom's as this topic, you have a completely different engine model than bigred55, so the work procedure is going to be completely different. It will make things very confusing with trying to help two or more members at the same time. Please see iboats "Help Tip" at the top of the forum page for more details about the hosts wishes of hijacking. Thank you, iboats Moderation team

 

[cecho]

Sorry cecho, but the hosts of iboats would prefer you to start a new topic of you're own vs taking over someone else's. While you may have the same symptom's as this topic, you have a completely different engine model than bigred55, so the work procedure is going to be completely different. It will make things very confusing with trying to help two or more members at the same time. Please see iboats "Help Tip" at the top of the forum page for more details about the hosts wishes of hijacking. Thank you, iboats Moderation team

Oops, sorry, I was actually joking about hijacking. That's a backwards rule from most of the forums I frequent and the help tip at the top was cleverly disguised as an advertisement. :embarassed:

 

[bigred55]

Anybody?

 

[matth121]

ok, theres only supposed to be voltage on the yel/red when key is turned to start so if you didnt have someone holding the key on start, then thats why it was no voltage. if the key was held at start and you have nothing there, then you have a bad slave solenoid. but if you jumped from large positive terminal on solenoid to smaller post with yel/red and it did nothing- then your starter solenoid is bad. if you jump from large term to the other large term that connects to starter- the starter will spin as you mentioned before/ sounds like you need a starter solenoid at the very least, maybe a slave too if you were holding the key when you tested it.

one more test you should try to be sure you have a good ground is set you meter to ohms, one probe on starter body(silver part) and one on negative battery terminal- as long as it doesnt say OL you should be ok, if it's a high number you may have a bad connection to ground

 

[bigred55]

ok, theres only supposed to be voltage on the yel/red when key is turned to start so if you didnt have someone holding the key on start, then thats why it was no voltage. if the key was held at start and you have nothing there, then you have a bad slave solenoid. but if you jumped from large positive terminal on solenoid to smaller post with yel/red and it did nothing- then your starter solenoid is bad. if you jump from large term to the other large term that connects to starter- the starter will spin as you mentioned before/ sounds like you need a starter solenoid at the very least, maybe a slave too if you were holding the key when you tested it. one more test you should try to be sure you have a good ground is set you meter to ohms, one probe on starter body(silver part) and one on negative battery terminal- as long as it doesnt say OL you should be ok, if it's a high number you may have a bad connection to ground

Yes I had someone holding the key in the start position when I checked it. And are you referring to the starter solenoid or slave solenoid that turns the starter? When I connect both terms on the starter solenoid I get nothing. On the slave solenoid I get a pop or a pop and about one or two seconds of trying to turn over.

 

[matth121]

starter solenoid is on the starter, slave is the small one by the circuit breaker at front of engine. is that the same thing you mean or are you calling the starter solenoid the slave solenoid "On the slave solenoid I get a pop or a pop and about one or two seconds of trying to turn over." in any case- the solenoid on the starter works like this- if you put 12V on the small term with yel/red it should activate the starter solenoid, cause it to fire the starter gear out so it engages the flywheel and starts the starter motor to turn over the engine. if you put 12V on this and it does nothing you have a bad solenoid. if it does what ive described- your starter is fine. if you apply 12V to the large terminal across from the main battery connection, the one that goes to starter motor, the starter will spin but the starter gear is in so it will not turn the engine over, just spin the starter.

now the slave- it's job is to detect when the key is turned to start, it sees 12V from key and activates to provide 12V to the yellow/red wire of starter... if you jump the 2 terminals on this and the starter attempts to work, then this solenoid is not actuating when it's supposed to.

can you please explain, based on what ive told you here, what exactly is going on?

 

[bigred55]

Yes I am referring to the slave solenoid as the solenoid above the starter solenoid. What I can explain is, nothing happens when I connect the 2 terms on the starter solenoid. When I connect the two terms on the slave solenoid I get a reaction. Nothing also happens when I touch the term with the cable from the battery with the yel/red wire. It also shows 0V when touching the black probe to starter body and red probe to yel/red wire with key turned. Sorry I'm not much of a mechanic just a po boy trying to learn. Lol

 

[matth121]

ok, what about the ground test- set to ohms- one probe on starter body(which is supposed to be ground) and one on neg battery terminal- if that checks out ok, and you did apply 12v to the yellow red and nothing happened- then i'd say your solenoid attached to the starter is bad- what exactly is the reaction you get when jumping across the slave? does it try to turn over? are you willing to unbolt the starter? it is a PITA but much easier to test on a bench with a set of jumper cables- the slave solenoid is the same as the 2 trim solenoids if you wanna try the swap for known good method. or you could pick one up and try it, always good to have a spare anyways.

 

[bigred55]

The ground test stayed at 1 the whole time. Never changed. This is a stupid question im sure but How am I supposed to apply 12 to the yellow/red wire (on the starter solenoid?) I bought and replaced the slave solenoid today. Still just a clicking. It clicks in the slave solenoid when you turn the key and when you let go of the key it clicks in the starter solenoid. I still get 0V when putting black probe on starter body and red probe on yel/red wire. It can't be because of a bad slave solenoid because I just replaced it. I went ahead and ordered a new starter motor. Can anybody give me a step by step process to take the starter off? I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for all the help thus far

 

[Fun Times]

one probe on starter body(which is supposed to be ground)

Might want to keep in mind that his starter may be painted so he might not be getting a "good" ground for this test. Thanks for walking him through this though.

It clicks in the slave solenoid when you turn the key and when you let go of the key it clicks in the starter solenoid.

Sounds like your starter is not turning properly.

This test should help you here. http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...-troubleshooting-your-engines-starting-system

The safest/easiest way apply 12v is to use a Remote Starter Switch like this for example, http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-remote-starter-switch-35448.html