Hello everyone, hoping to get some advice on a starter issue I’m having. I have a 92 Mercruiser 3.0L with the alpha one gen 2 drive. With in the last few days I’ve replaced the gimbal bearing, u joints, bellows and finally got the engine lined up and the drive back on the boat. Issue is I can’t get the engine to crank now; just a very loud click from the starter. I jumped from battery to the motor input and the engine cranks but very slowly; wire gets hot. I’m going to clean all the connections tomorrow but can the drive possibly bind the engine? It slid in very easily but those new u joints are definitely stiffer. The starter looks like the original to be honest.
Howdy,
Welcome aboard!
It'll help if you post your engine/drive serial number so everyone can be on the same sheet of music!
You're on the right track though. If the wire gets hot, it's for 1 of 2 reasons. You're drawing enormous amounts of current or you have a very bad connection in either the "plus" wire going to the starter , (both) battery cables or connections.
If it's connections, usually it's the (corroded) connections themselves that get hot and not the wires themselves.
If your jumper cables are getting hot, the wire size may not be big enough (but still shouldn't get hot just turning the engine)
Did you turn the drive by hand before installing it and did it turn easily?
If you suspect the drive, remove it and see if the engine cranks normally. The drive (input shaft) should turn easily by hand in neutral or in either gear. The U-joints would have no bearing on how easily the drive turns.
Let me also add that if the starter is unknown, it may be "bad"
Depending on where you live, you can remove it and take it to some autoparts stores (like Autozone or Napa) and they can test it. My choice would be an auto electric place and if it's really bad, they can actually rebuild it for you for probably less than a new one.
In addition, if it is indeed "bad" and you choose to replace it, you must replace it with a similar type Marine starter. automotive starters are not safe to use in a boat.
