clicking, not starting

[jmatteo1]

Re: clicking, not starting

O.K. Today I tried to jump the terminals on the starter, still nothing, so I took out the starter & lost some skin on my knuckles! I only had time to partially take it apart, but it seems that the mechanical parts are moving freely. Do you think I should try replacing the solenoid or just have the whole thing rebuilt? Thanks again for all your help. Joe

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: clicking, not starting

Looking at Don's drawing above, if you ground the starter and apply positive voltage to terminal C the starter motor should turn, if not the brushes are most likely bad. If it does turn, then the solenoid is bad.

 

[jmatteo1]

Re: clicking, not starting

Gentleman,<br />Today I took the starter apart and gave it the once over with "PB Blaster". It was rusty and nasty inside. After a good cleaning, I put it back together and bench tested it. Lo, and behold, it worked! I put it back in the boat and it's working fine. After cleaning the plugs and trying for about a half an hour, I got her to start for the first time in 2 years. Now I've got to move on to address the shift cable and possibly the impeller. I had it hooked up to the hose with "earmuffs" but she wasn't circulating any water. Thanks again to all of you that helped and I look forward to your good advice on the other issues. Joe

 

[MrBill]

Re: clicking, not starting

If your starter is rusty and nasty inside, the brushes and / or armature are probably worn. If you've owned that '78 for a long time, when was the last time the starter was replaced?? Chances are the starter is more than 10 years old. Take a look at the brushes, if they're real nasty, dirty, worn, etc. ...a cheap short term fix is to replace them, but remember the armature probably has a lot of wear. You can rebuild, buy remanufactured starter, or buy new. New = about $225, Rebuild/reman = about $150

 

[lowshovel1]

Re: clicking, not starting

you may have a bad ground at engine-I would also check cables for corosion.

 

[trog100]

Re: clicking, not starting

starter motors that aint bin used for a while suffer from sticking brushes.. the wear on armatures is usally very slight.. partly cos starter motor brushes unlike motors that spin a long time or a great part of their life are made of very soft material..<br /><br />its the fact that the wear is so little and the brush movement virtually none existant that causes the brushes to stick in their holders.. they dont kinda get bounced up and down and vibrated about like more normal brushes.. all it needs is for a brush to get a little tight in its holder not press down hard enough to pass the large amount of amps that a starter motor needs and the motor appears totally dead..<br /><br />this is what the wack with a hammer trick does.. loosens the sticky brush.. sticky brushes is the common reason for starter motors not to work.. the cure is easy.. and cheap if u can get em apart..<br /><br />the reason that motor didnt work was a sticky brush.. nothing else.. all the rust and junk played no part at all in it not working..<br /><br />if a starter motor appears dead.. its almost always a sticking brush.. simple as that.. if the motor is old and bin stood unused for a while its to be expected.. a good wack with a hammer usually dislodges em enough to work.. but the real cure is to take the motor apart and clean out the brush holders..<br /><br />seems quite a common topic.. "all i get is a click" it usualy results in half the boats wiring being checked.. a new starter motor being purchased and all for bugger all.. <br /><br />trog100