Re: 1985 85 hp ignition help
You will get a low reading across positive and negative of the starter and this is normal as the starter is a motor which is just a coil of wire creating a magnetic field which in turn, spins the rotor. But if you have the starter disconnected from ground and you put a lead to the positive and one the the motor ground it should read high as when you disconnect the negative from the starter you are disconnecting the circuit of the starter armature. So if you test with the negative disconnected and you still get a low reading, it is down to earth on the armature side therefore faulty.
Are you talking about the small negative attached to the starter from the rect/regulator? Either way replace it, It may have been your crossed wiring on the High tension leads that caused this ( unsure ) or a loose ground wire. Check all your terminations and retighten them, won't hurt, just don't over-tighten and snap one.
Have a look at the picture I posted and you see a black wire from the rectifier to the starter, it may have come loose causing high current draw. From what I can understand of these starters, they have a high current draw at start and they are getting their negative/ground from the bolts going through them, if there is a high resistance in the circuit from a loose wire it will melt them, especially small gauge like the negative. I would get your starter tested from an auto mech, it doesn't cost much for piece of mind. I am an electrician by trade but I don't work a lot with DC voltages and I am unsure how the starters are wound. If you are still having a problem with your wiring after checking the starter, recheck all the connections for correct termination. As you have seen it isn't hard to confuse the HT wires, even easier to put the 12v cables in the wrong terminals. End of the day Check tightness, and correct termination.
Can I ask, has the starter given you any indication of bad starting by being slow? or draining the battery when starting??
