MerCruiser 470 starter

[dn010]

My starter for my MerCruiser 470 has a tooth chipped off of the gear...Can the gear be replaced or am I looking at having to replace the whole thing? Thanks for any help. ---Dani

 

[Don S]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Yes, the gear (aka Bendix) can be replaced. Also check the flywheel ring gear for damaged teeth, or you could end up damaging the new Bendix.

 

[dn010]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Before I ask where I can get one...I have the old school starter ('78 with no solenoid attached) that used a drive that slides outwards and locks into position with the steel balls until the started engine kicks it back into position...Can this one also be replaced? I'd love a brand new starter with Bendix but not at 300 bucks...

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Pull it and take it to your local starter / alternator shop for a rebuild. it will save you money and its a better starter than the cheap knock offs from China you'll find in the local auto parts store.

Not like your gonna find a Chinese Prestolite knock-off in an auto parts store...

 

[stonyloam]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Actually when I brought my 470 starter into my local auto-electric place to be rebuilt, they sold me a cheap Chinese knock off starter (part# 2-2591-DR-2) for less than the rebuild price. What sold me on it was that it was 2/3 the size of the Mercruiser starter. If you have ever struggled to get a 470 starter out or in past the exchanger you know what I mean . Seems to work fine, but I do keep two OEM starters on the shelf, just in case. I only hope that I never have to try to cram one of them back in there again.

 

[dn010]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Well I decided to purchase this starter you recommended. Got it today, installed it with ease since it so much smaller, hooked up the wires-turned the key and clunk-the starter engages the flywheel but doesn't crank. Must be a bad wire so I took it out and tomorrow I'll go wire hunting. I bench tested the starter and it runs with the proper voltage on the proper terminals so I know it must be my wiring...

 

[dn010]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

The wiring turned out to be fine...but the starter will only crank from time to time and only after I jump the actual motor terminal on the solenoid...Does this indicate a bad solenoid? Should I be using a slave solenoid?? Thanks for any info!

 

[stonyloam]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

You should have a slave solenoid bolted to the side of the engine, with a red/yellow wire going to the starter. The slave could be your problem. If you jumper from the red/purple to the red/yellow large terminals on the slave the motor should turn. Good luck.

 

[dn010]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

I had a solenoid on the side but it was a main since I was using the original Prestolite starter with just a sliding/direct drive and no solenoid attached to the starter. Since I got the new one it has the solenoid built in with the magnetic plunger that moves the Bendix. So I removed the original solenoid and wired everything to the one on the starter...The starter solenoid needs 3 wires in order to work so I'm a bit confused on how to wire it up with a slave...

 

[stonyloam]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Oh! I am most familiar with the newer set up with the slave. Is there a red/yellow wire. That should be from the ignition switch and will activate the solenoid. The other wire I am guessing goes to the coil, and is the resistance wire bypass (maybe purple/yellow). Is there a "S" terminal?

 

[dn010]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

These are the terminals on the solenoid... 1-Large post for positive battery cable and other non-switched positive power. The second large post of course goes to the starter motor itself. 2 small posts that are not marked so I had to test to see which was which. The one post has the yellow wire which feeds positive current from the ignition "Start" position thus engaging the bendix into the flywheel when the key is turned; and a second post which has a brown lead going to the coil for switched positive current when the ignition key is in the "on" position as well as "start". The only way I've found to get this to work was to jump the two large posts on the solenoid with a screw driver for a few moments and then try the key. The key would then finally work to engage the bendix AND crank the engine, not just engage the Bendix. I jumped the terminal that has the brown wire straight to the battery and I have the same results. Tested the yellow wire for positive current when the key is pushed to "start" position and it tests fine. I am scratching my head with this one...makes no sense to me at all.....-----Dan B.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

It is beginning to sound like a defective solenoid.

 

[telstar1]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

A couple of thoughts
1.You may have the brown wire and the red yellow reversed on the solonoid. try reversing them.
2. You may not be getting enough juice thru the long wire from the key to engage the starter mounted solenoid. This is not uncommon.Try wiring the key activated red yellow to a new independant solenoid much like your old starter had, and power the starter mounted solenoid from the large terminal on this new solenoid.(Other large term. on new solenoid should go to battery positive with a good size wire)

 

[dn010]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Ah, so try a slave solenoid - excellent notion. I wouldn't doubt it being a lack of power (wouldn't doubt it being a bad solenoid for that matter either) because I just tested it being only 11 volts going through to the posts. I believe I tried reversing the brown and yellow wires but I will try it again... I'll post an update this evening after I try these ideas (if it's not raining!). Thank you guys for your posts and ideas!!

A couple of thoughts
1.You may have the brown wire and the red yellow reversed on the solonoid. try reversing them.
2. You may not be getting enough juice thru the long wire from the key to engage the starter mounted solenoid. This is not uncommon.Try wiring the key activated red yellow to a new independant solenoid much like your old starter had, and power the starter mounted solenoid from the large terminal on this new solenoid.(Other large term. on new solenoid should go to battery positive with a good size wire)

 

[dn010]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Just wanted to post a reply and say that the below method has worked to fix my starter issues (In case anyone is following this thread with the same problems). Believe it or not I haven't had time to wire it up until today and it starts every time now! Thank you very much for the advice!

A couple of thoughts
2. You may not be getting enough juice thru the long wire from the key to engage the starter mounted solenoid. This is not uncommon.Try wiring the key activated red yellow to a new independant solenoid much like your old starter had, and power the starter mounted solenoid from the large terminal on this new solenoid.(Other large term. on new solenoid should go to battery positive with a good size wire)

 

[telstar1]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Glad to hear it worked assume you are talking about adding a solenoid?

 

[dn010]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

Yes, adding the slave solenoid was what did the trick

Glad to hear it worked assume you are talking about adding a solenoid?

 

[dccordell]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

So do the new starters with the solenoid on them require more power from the ignition switch to close the contacts? Is that why it requires a slave solenoid?

Thinking of doing this on my 470... just trying to wrap my head around it.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

If you have the old style starter with a remote solenoid, you should be able use that solenoid to energize the solenoid on your new starter. That solenoid is the same part # as the slave solenoid on my 87, that has a solenoid on the starter too. If you have the fuse, you should be able to remove it and run a wire directly to the start terminal on the new starter. Take a look at the PMGR starter (part# 2-2591-DR-2) should work nicely for you. Small and powerful. Easy to install.

 

[dccordell]

Re: MerCruiser 470 starter

That sounds great. If I end up replacing the starter, that is definately the route I will be taking. Thanks for the great info!