Electrical Info

[Nutt]

I am new to boating and want to know the difference in a marinized starter and a regular starter ie from napa. Any help would be great.

 

[mkast]

Re: Electrical Info

You can get a marine starter from NAPA, ask for it.
A marine starter is spark shielded.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Electrical Info

I am new to boating and want to know the difference in a marinized starter and a regular starter ie from napa. Any help would be great.

Ignition protection, KABOOM, and Lawyers is the big difference. (the ones that sue YOU for killing one of the neighbor kids when it blows up.......AND believe me, the insurance companies are ALL OVER THIS)


If your starter is bad either take it to an auto-electric place to have it rebuilt or get yourself one on ebay. They're not that expensive.


Regards,


Rick

 

[Nutt]

Re: Electrical Info

Ok so not to sound too dumb but how do they protect the starter from "exploding" when there is a fuse in the circuit. Are you talking about shorting out do to water? My ignition fuse is blowing and I think that the original owner put a automotive starter on. Do you think that could be causeing my problems?

 

[mkast]

Re: Electrical Info

You misunderstand. The starter doesn't explode in this example. A marine starter is spark shielded. Anytime a fuel leak appears on the engine installed in a boat, the fuel/vapors, being heavier than air will drop the the bottom of the bilge. Where is the starter located? At the bottom of the bilge. Vapors present, starter engaged, spark in the presents of vapor, can lead to a bad day.

 

[Nutt]

Re: Electrical Info

I understand what you mean now. I will look into this further. Is there any real way to tell if it is a automotive vs marine? It does not appear to have any markings.

 

[mkast]

Re: Electrical Info

The starter would have to be disassembled and inspected to verify if it is a marine starter. All the modifications to a marine starter are internal, the outside physical appearance of the two are the identical. Anytime you have a brush on a moving commutator sparks are created. Sparks have a tendency to travel in a straight line. Placing a piece of metal in that path will defuse the spark. Depending on the appliance, the shielding can take different forms. The alternators used on older Ford engines had a screen on the back of the alternator case, yes looked just like a round screen off a door, among other modifications, to satisfy the USCG requirement.