'73 Evinrude not starting - battery or starter?

[f4igrad]

Took out our boat last week for the first time of the season and it fired right up and ran great. Didn't do a thing since then, and went out today and she won't start. I turned the key and it cranked about one revolution and then nothing. Now it just makes a "click" sound. The battery has about 12.35 Volts across the terminals while sitting, so I am going to put it on the trickle charger. Here is the weird thing...the + and - posts were REALLY hot after trying to start. So hot that a little bit of the - post surrounding looks to have melted a little. The - connection was a tad loose, so I tightened it down very tight and tried to start again but nothing changed.

The starter was rebuilt 3 years ago and the boat is used an average of once a month, so the starter hasn't been used a whole lot since it was rebuilt.

Thoughts?

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: '73 Evinrude not starting - battery or starter?

Make sure all those connections are CLEAN and TIGHT. Look for any signs of corrosion at the base of the cable lugs. If you see any replace them. They can corrode inside where you can't see it.

 

[ezeke]

Re: '73 Evinrude not starting - battery or starter?

Heat in the connections tells you where the resistance is and what you need to fix. You might want to consider new battery cables.

Your battery is basically dead at 12.35 volts, so you have to get cables that will allow your charging system to keep the battery charged or, keep recharging the battery. Bad cables can cause the rectifier to fail, so you probably should test it.

 

[f4igrad]

Re: '73 Evinrude not starting - battery or starter?

the entire engine was rebuilt about 4 years ago, including all new wiring. the battery cables are almost brand new. when we took the boat out last weekend, we only ran it for 5 or 10 minutes, not enough time for the rectifier to work (or not). I guess I will get the battery load tested tomorrow and if that isn't the problem I will start looking at the starter.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: '73 Evinrude not starting - battery or starter?

The cables may be relatively new but the connections are as old as the cables. Make everything clean and shiny, test the battery and try again.

 

[nanastew76]

Re: '73 Evinrude not starting - battery or starter?

You might try to jump the starter directly after checking all the grounds it should turn over if it dont spin.Then i would tear down the starter and ckeck connections and brushes.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: '73 Evinrude not starting - battery or starter?

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.

also have the battery load tested at the auto parts store, free, i've had new batteries go bad