starter hesitation

[jeremyeasen]

I have a 1990 Johnson 115 and it has a distinct hesitation when the key is turned. The battery is new and fully charged, i tested the starter off the motor with cables and its fine. I have checked every connection to and from the starter. I have correct voltage at the starter. Like i said all connections are brand new and the 20amp fuse is good. Is there an impedance test or something i can do to rule out the solenoid? That is the only thing i can deduct. The motor starts, but the starter engages, hesitates, and kicks back in at full capacity. thank you all.

 

[steve forsythe]

Re: starter hesitation

I know some motors have a saftey feature that makes sure they are not in gear when trying to be started. Maybe yours is hesitating to see if it is gear before starting.??????

 

[DJ]

Re: starter hesitation

Montauk,<br /><br />Did you remove and clean the negative battery cable on the engine block?

 

[jeremyeasen]

Re: starter hesitation

I cleaned every connection from the battery to the starter on the positive and negative side. I the brushes are getting worn in the starter motor, what would be the sympotoms? does it just quit working or does it slowly get worse? also, is the solenoid a "it works or it doesnt" part? can i test continuity or voltage on it to see if its going bad?

 

[DJ]

Re: starter hesitation

Montauk,<br /><br />The solonoid is a go-no-go type of component.<br /><br />It's possible your starter could be dragging. An amp test would verify that.<br /><br />Also, have you lubed the starter drive bendix.<br /><br />Just rotate it by hand while spraying the shaft with WD-40 or a light lithium grease.

 

[jeremyeasen]

Re: starter hesitation

ok, so i have rechecked every connection and lubed the worm gear on the starter. now the gear engages, makes contact with the flywheel and the starter spins freely. the starter is spinning with full power but the gear that turns the flywheel stays still. what the heck happened?

 

[jarob]

Re: starter hesitation

My guess would be either the spline on the starter shaft is stripped (this you would see easily), or the spline on the inside of the starter gear is stripped.

 

[OBJ]

Re: starter hesitation

Montauk....you may have over did the lubing of the bendix shaft. Inside the starter gear cup is a rubber bushing that drive the gear. If any kind of slippery stuff gets in there, it will cause the rubber clutch to slip. Looking at your prvious posts, it is possible that the starter needs disassembled, the comutator cleaned and new brushes installed. Kicking out like it did may mean the stator of the starter is not getting full amps because the comutator is dirty. Please keep us posted.

 

[jarob]

Re: starter hesitation

does the shaft of the starter spin and the gear stays still or is the shaft not spinning at all

 

[bubbakat]

Re: starter hesitation

Take some w/d 40 and spray the worm gear if that don't take some of the slip out replace the bendix

 

[jeremyeasen]

Re: starter hesitation

for someone that is fairly mechanical, is it easy and worth the hassle of new parts and disassembling the starter, or should i just shell out the $189 for a new starter? is it a pain in the neck to rebuild a starter? and Outboard Jim, there are other connections inside that could be killing my power to the starter? since i cleaned/replaced every other connection, that was a thought i had, that something in the starter was hurting my connection. i called the shop to get a price, and he suggested i put the starter on cables directly to the battery, and if it spun fine the starter was good. that didnt completely satisfy me because there isnt a load on the motor. its like the outboards that perform well in the driveway but once under load they give out. to me its completely different when any motor is under load. hopefully this will be over soon, should i just get a new starter or rebuild it?

 

[jeremyeasen]

Re: starter hesitation

Jarob, the shaft of the starter spins, but the gear connecting to the flywheel does not spin.

 

[jarob]

Re: starter hesitation

So on start the starter motor spins, the gear on the shaft moves up and engages the the fly wheel gear . the starter shaft is still turning but the small gear on the starter has now stopped. It has to be the starter gear is stripped and is spinning on the stater worm. Diconnect the starter Two large cables and two bolts and its off.Take it to a car electrician. He will have to pieces, under cut the commutator if its needed, put it on a growler to check the windings, put in new brushes and have it together in 30 minutes if he is on the ball. I believe you now have two problems, your original non starting problem and now the starter has stripped.

 

[Spidybot]

Re: starter hesitation

Agreed. <br /><br />Before spending the first buck find out if it is the starter shaft. This one will be reused if a rebuild is done so you'll end up with a perfect running starter that slips when it should crank the motor! Then the $189 bill is coming..<br /><br />As the bendix is replaceable there will be no problem if only the shaft is OK. Then a rebuild by a car electrician followed by a new bendix (by you) is what it takes. Pure bolt-off bolt-on work on your part.<br /><br />Remember to tell the electrician that it is for marine use..

 

[jarob]

Re: starter hesitation

Thanks UU I can't believe I missed to point out to check the shaft before getting the overhaul done Jeez I am getting old.