Does this sound like the starter is bad?

[TacomaTom]

I have a 302 and a Die Hard platinum PM1 $260 batter that i had tested and was good. But even after an all night charge the engine only cranks over a few times and the batter goes limp. (Really makes it hard to diagnose a non starting engine haha)
Im thinking the starter is just drawing too much amps

What you guys think?

 

[Don S]

Re: Does this sound like the starter is bad?

Have the battery load tested after you get it fully charged? Even expensive batteries fail.

 

[TacomaTom]

Re: Does this sound like the starter is bad?

Um yes i thought i mentioned that i had it tested, and it was good

 

[rjwoodrome]

Re: Does this sound like the starter is bad?

Sounded like a dead battery. have the starter checked good luck..

 

[Don S]

Re: Does this sound like the starter is bad?

Um yes i thought i mentioned that i had it tested, and it was good

Most have them checked with a volt meter or a hydrometer and call it good. Either one of those tests will show good on a newly charged battery. A load test is completely different, it checks to see if the battery can hold up under a load, like the starter.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Does this sound like the starter is bad?

Take the battery to a Sears Auto Center and make sure they verify the battery is darn close or above it's rated cranking amps. As Don said, using a load test. If the battery is good and your engine is not mis-timed ( too much advance=too much compression for the starter to overcome) you probably need a starter due to too much draw.
Some good auto electric shops can bench test the starter draw to confirm things for you. If you get it rebuilt it MUST be done using explosion proof marine methods.

 

[TacomaTom]

Re: Does this sound like the starter is bad?

Sears is where it was tested. I was also wondering if it was because the boat sat for two years, you know maybe no oil in the moving parts of the engine, but after cranking on it and turning by hand while looking for tdc ,it doesn't seem that hard to turn.

I was looking on ebay and I can get a marine starter for about $67 shipped.

 

[billy4hp]

Re: Does this sound like the starter is bad?

Sears is where it was tested. I was also wondering if it was because the boat sat for two years, you know maybe no oil in the moving parts of the engine, but after cranking on it and turning by hand while looking for tdc ,it doesn't seem that hard to turn.

I was looking on ebay and I can get a marine starter for about $67 shipped.

Quick test you can do yourself is to put a volt/ohm meter set on volts and hook it up to your battery. Crank the engine and watch the meter. If it drops below 9.0 volts or so then you likely have a battery issue...

If the battery tests good, I would then check the resistance of the cables from the positive post of the battery to the starter and the negative post of the battery to the engine block. You should have less than 6 ohms of resistance at 0 amp draw max (no load) if all connections are clean and no cable issues.

Next I would check the voltage on the starter when cranking...

Remember the starter gets it's ground through the mounting surface to the block and the starter mounting bolts. If the starter is slightly loose or if the mounting surface is dirty / corroded / rusted it will not have a good ground and won't crank properly...


Ask any marine service tech, about 80% of all starting problems are related to corrosion problems not a failed starter...

JMHO...