1998 150HP O/B (J150EXECD) stopped cranking- assume starter went bad?

[six50joe]

I've had very little trouble with this motor for almost 10 years now, got a little bit lax on giving it a thorough tuneup over the past 3 seasons, which may have come back to bite me. Over the summer it's been starting a little harder from cold than in previous seasons- maybe needs a new fuel filter, but haven't checked into why yet, it eventually starts and then restarts and runs fine for the day. Yesterday I cranked it for a particularly long time, knew I was taking a risk but had gotten away with it until then. Eventually the cranking slowed and quickly stopped. I thought for sure I drained the battery. I charged it fully overnight, but no-go. Just a click when I turn the key.

My thought is it must be that I killed the starter, but I have no other symptoms or diagnostics. Unfortunately I won't be able to diagnose it for another 2-3 weeks because it's at a vacation home that I'm not currently at. My predicament is that I either need to get it running at the dock, or pay a pretty penny to get it towed to the marina where I will need to remove it for the season in a month's time. If based on my description it's 75% chance or better it's the starter, I'd be willing to take the chance order a replacement and install it when I get up there next. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[ondarvr]

Could be one of three things, bad starter, bad connection, bad solenoid. Replace starter=$$$$, replace solenoid=$, check connections=free.

If I had to bring everything with me, diagnose and fix it at the dock in one trip, I'd try to see if they will let you return the starter if you don't take it out of the box or packaging, they typically won't let you return a solenoid, but it shouldn't cost much.

Check all the battery cables and connections and put in the new solenoid, you can bypass the solenoid, but if they aren't going to let you return it you might as well install it. If it starts you're back up and running, if not you can replace the starter.

And for the hard starting, a fuel filter won't have any affect on it starting if it runs fine after it starts. More likely a problem with the primer (enrichment) system or something similar, your methods, spark advance, etc.

 

[emdsapmgr]

You can perform a simple test. Put a set of automotive jumper cables onto the starter and a known strong battery. If the starter cranks normally, the starter is probably ok. Then have a look at the solenoid. Not much expense involved in this testing..

 

[Faztbullet]

Put a set of brushes in the starter....

 

[six50joe]

​I checked with iboats.net, they don't allow returns on electrical parts. So, given the symptoms leading to the problem: particularly hard starting, cranking for half a minute straight, then nothing but clicks after full battery recharge-, it would be unlikely to be anything other than one of the three ondarvr mentioned, right? While I would definitely not rule it out, I think my wiring and connections are probably good, I didn't have my tools with me that day so I couldn't check voltage drop.

I haven't rebuilt a starter before. Is it a straightforward job that doesn't require special/precision tools? The blow-up diagram on iboats doesn't seem complicated, although I see a spring in it which normally gives me some hesitation. I would assume that when a starter 'burns out' it's normally the brushes that go bad?

 

[ondarvr]

A local shop may let you return a starter if you explain the situation, sort of depends on how well you know them.

Starters aren't hard to rebuild, just a little harder to do on the dock.

 

[six50joe]

I made it up to the boat over the weekend, prepared to check voltage drops at every step, spent a while reading the troubleshooting chapter the night before I n the Chilton book. But when I got there I decided to try emdsapmgr's suggestion first. Sure enough, juice directly to the starter terminals did not have any effect. It would have been good enough to stop there, since my goal was just to identify the problem during that visit. I stopped by the local marina to see if they thought that was conclusive enough. They've never let me down in the past for advice, or just having unusual parts in stock. To my disbelief they actually had the replacement starter. I went back and carefully switched it out. Primed the motor well with the bulb, then gave it a try. Started right up! Almost the instant I put the cowl on, it began to pour. Man was it a lucky day, makes my whole month. Thanks much for the advice!