New starter not disengaging

rhonda41

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Jul 5, 2008
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3.0L volvo penta 4cyl. Purchased new starter for boat yesterday. It is now sticking. What could be causing this? Puchased started at O'rielly's and is made for a boat.:confused:
 

a70eliminator

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Re: New starter not disengaging

You solenoid may have gotton a workout from the failed starter and now it's going bad.
 

Don S

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Re: New starter not disengaging

Look at where the main battery terminal attaches to the starter. Bet the battery cable terminal is touching the outside small terminal of the solenoid.

A would be touching D

StarterSolenoid.png
 

rhonda41

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Jul 5, 2008
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Re: New starter not disengaging

Thanks, we are checking the A and D connections now. The new started came with a new solenoid.
 

rhonda41

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Re: New starter not disengaging

Ok, A and d checked out ok. Any more suggestions? We are at a loss. Even took it back and had new starter checked to make sure it wasn's bad. Sometimes that happens.
 

a70eliminator

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Re: New starter not disengaging

My OMC has a slave solenoid it looks like the typical fender mounted unit you see on Fords. That is the one that feeds the solenoid on your new starter, if it's stuck closed then you have a starter thats engaged all the time.
 

Don S

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Re: New starter not disengaging

My next guess, is that you bought a cheap aftermarket starter or a reman in order to save a few bucks, and it needs a shim or 2.
Volvo (or Mercruiser) haver never used or needed shims on there starters and I NEVER had to uses shims in 15 years of starter changes where I worked in Alaska. But we always used OEM parts.
Now that I work where they think aftermarket stuff is king, I get to pull aftermarket/reman starters 2 or 3 times to shim them so they will work.
Customers don't want to spend an extra $50 for an OEM starter, but they spend an extra $150 from me to screw with shims on an inaccessable starter. But, they do complain about the extra labor involved and wonder why.
 

rhonda41

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Re: New starter not disengaging

It wasn't the cost, the reason we bought the one we did. We were on the lake in the middle of no where, when we broke down. That was the only place we could find one. All the boat dealers had to order and now we wish we had done that, but now we have this one, and he is not sure how to put on the shims.
 

Lone Duck

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Oct 17, 2007
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868
Re: New starter not disengaging

Also make sure the start switch is returning to the run position and not stuck in the start position. I burnt a starter out that way.
 

SuperDaddy

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Jun 30, 2008
Messages
34
Re: New starter not disengaging

100 bucks says it's the slave solenoid.
 
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