2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

[lp142]

About 2-3 months ago, the engine 1979 Johnson 140HP was starting fine, each and every time. 3 weeks ago, the starter started getting hot and would not turn the engine over, I checked everything (I hope),. I went ahead and ordered a new starter, it came in, I installed it and it started fine the first couple of times, then it died, I could not even jump it, I replaced that one with a new one, same results. Something in the electrical system must be causing the shorting of the starter, yet, the solenoid seems to be working fine. Please help me at least to get on the right track.

 

[bgbass.1]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

It sounds like you have a bare wire touching trace wires fron ignition switch back to starter and make sure all connections are clean.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

Have the battery load tested to be sure it is good, While it is out clean the terminals shiny clean with a wire brush. Inspect the lugs at the ends of the cables very closely. ANY signs of corrosion, replace them. They can corrode inside where you can't see it.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

How did the starters fail? Electrical, mechanical?

What is/was the battery voltage when the engine was running at 1000 rpm's or better?

How hard is it to spin the engine? With plugs out, in Neutral, can you grasp the flywheel with your bare hands and turn the crankshaft?

Mark

 

[z86roc28]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

me and my friends used to build smallblock chevys, whenever someone kept blowing through starters it was a shimming problem

 

[jtexas]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

Just to be clear - how did you determine the starters were faulty? Have you measured the voltage at the starter terminal, starter disconnected and solenoid engaged, and got within half a volt of battery open circuit voltage, with a known good fully charged (at least 12.7 volts) battery? If so, z86 is on to something - make sure the mounts are good and true.

 

[lp142]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

Just to be clear - how did you determine the starters were faulty? Have you measured the voltage at the starter terminal, starter disconnected and solenoid engaged, and got within half a volt of battery open circuit voltage, with a known good fully charged (at least 12.7 volts) battery? If so, z86 is on to something - make sure the mounts are good and true.

it was very easy to determine the starters went bad, after they worked once and then died, I simply disconncted them from the engine and applied the + lead from the battery to the + post and the - lead from the battery to the ground of the starter, the starters would not even turn over.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

If the starter is getting that hot its because its drawing too many amps. You need to determine why. It can be bad cables or binding as mentioned. To check for binding manually rotate the bendix up. It should engage the flywheel smoothly. You may have to manually turn the flywheel just a hair to check. Seems like I had to shim one out because it wasn't engaging properly but I can't remember what motor it was.

 

[Bozol]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

I'm having a very similar problem with my 90hp 1992 Johnson. I had to have a starter bolt retapped into the block (totally stripped from the previous owner; not the problem here however) and when the boat came back the starter doesn't even raise or anything anymore. We tried using a power pack but to no avail and while I don't have a volt meter, the battery was charging for a solid 2 hours before I reconnected it and it lifted the tilt on the engine no problems. I can hear the solonoid clicking, so I'm assuming its ok. And the starter itself was a little warm (not hot) during all of this, making me think it might be pulling a load from the battery (now its unplugged).

I think one of three things is going on:

1) The starter was on its last legs and when the mechanic took it off, he knocked something around that has caused some wires to cross or touch or something - does this mean the starter is buggered?

2) He rewired the starter incorrectly from the solonoid

3) The solonoid is done

A mechanic suggested taking the power line from the solonoid to the starter off and seeing if it sparked when touching metal - if this is the case (i.e. there's power being drawn from the battery) what does it mean? New starter? New solonoid? Rewire?

Any help appreciated,

Bozol

 

[moterboat]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

bad or too small of a battery,(car batterys don't work)starter may have paint on the mounting part of it causing a weak or intermitting ground. same symptons,different starters, not a starter problem..

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

i have probably posted this 200 times. 90% of starter problems are bad connections. remove and clean both ends of the battery cables, so that they are shiney, also the cable from the solenoid to starter. check for nicks in the cables. and make sure the connectors are on the wire good. the cable tend to corrode from the inside out, if nicked, corroded wires, and connections, heat up and cause resistance to the follow of electricity, thus the starter doesn't get enough. you can also take jumper cable pos battery post to large post on starter. with a good connection, the engine should spin. then if the starter is good clean everything and retest. then trouble shoot solenoid. starters can be rebuit at a starter/alternator shop, much cheaper than a new one.

 

[JustJason]

Re: 2 dead starters, what could possibly be?

you NEED to do a voltage drop test across all the lines, the battery, and the solenoid... and throw an amp clamp on the pos wire. that's the only way to diagnose a starting system