Starter wire missing

[CatriderF7]

I bought a boat today mostly because I wanted the trailer. Previous owner said it needed a starter, and they didnt winterize it. So I was counting on the engine being junk for the most part. But before I go pulling it and taking the hull to the dump, I figured id see if i could get it started. We noticed it has a brand new starter on it. The starter spins but doesnt engage. So I pulled the starter off to see what was going on and found that theres a wire missing on the solenoid. It has the power and alternator wire on the center like it should, a orange/black stripe I believe it was on one of the small terminals and nothing on the other terminal. When I touch a jumper cable to the one small terminal the starter kicks out. Strange thing is, I dont see any extra wires on the boat. The bundle of wires going to the starter is all wrapped in plastic and looks to be factory but theres no extra wire with them. Can I just jump this wire from another source if I cant locate the original?

Engine is a 1989 5.0L Mercruiser

 

[dubs283]

Re: Starter wire missing

if the engine was not winterized i wouldn't worry about the the starter engaging

but to answer your question, the primary start circuit wire is yel/red and is attached to the inside (closer to the block) primary stud on the starter, the other primary stud is for a purple (ignition) wire - some ignitions require this purple wire to aid in starting

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Starter wire missing

Just curious, what engine? If it is a 470 the engine is probably OK (freezewize) and worth something for parts. Just the heat exchanger would be damaged.

 

[dubs283]

Re: Starter wire missing

Just curious, what engine?

op says 89 merc 5.0L

 

[CatriderF7]

Re: Starter wire missing

if the engine was not winterized i wouldn't worry about the the starter engaging

but to answer your question, the primary start circuit wire is yel/red and is attached to the inside (closer to the block) primary stud on the starter, the other primary stud is for a purple (ignition) wire - some ignitions require this purple wire to aid in starting

Yeah I know. But I cant help but want to see if it'll start up. The boat isnt un-savable if the engine is useable. So the wire im missing is the purple wire. Any Idea where that one comes from so I can try to find out where it is?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Starter wire missing

Yeah I know. But I cant help but want to see if it'll start up. The boat isnt un-savable if the engine is useable. So the wire im missing is the purple wire. Any Idea where that one comes from so I can try to find out where it is?

Naw,... Ya need the yellow/ red stripe to go to the inner small terminal, from the slave solenoid,....

 

[achris]

Re: Starter wire missing

No purple wire anywhere near the starter.... You should have just an orange and a red on the same (large) terminal that you would hook the battery positive to... and a small yel/red on the S terminal. Nothing more required to get a starter spinning (apart from the obvious casing to battery negative )....

Chris....

 

[CatriderF7]

Re: Starter wire missing

So there should be one terminal with nothing on it? Maybe they had the yellow wire on the wrong side.

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Starter wire missing

The other small terminal is to power the coil with full 12v while the starter is cranking the engine over. When the key is released that terminal is dead.... It sends power out and is not needed to crank the engine over.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Starter wire missing

I believe the purple/yellow was there only for a points ign system, Thunderbolt eliminated that wire.
The yellow/red wire goes to the small stud closest to the block

 

[CatriderF7]

Re: Starter wire missing

Well I tested the starter myself, and took it to autozone and it engages fine. Reinstalled on the boat and it just spins, no engaging. Yellow/red is on the small terminal closest to the block. Where is the slave solenoid located so I can check for power there?

 

[achris]

Re: Starter wire missing

If the starter spins, it's not the solenoid. Check the teeth on the flywheel ring-gear...

Chris.....

 

[CatriderF7]

Re: Starter wire missing

I checked the teeth when I pulled the starter, they looks fine on the flywheel/flexplate and the starter is new

 

[achris]

Re: Starter wire missing

try turning the engine by hand just to get the flywheel in a different place... New start... Ummm, it is the right one? If you have a 12" flywheel and the starter is for a 14" flywheel, that would cause exactly this problem....

 

[CatriderF7]

Re: Starter wire missing

Thats what I was starting to think. My dad had a new starter for his 89 arriva with the same engine. I grabbed that one and im going to try it out tomorrow. I got the flywheel to move a little with a screwdriver. We'll see tomorrow. I got a good look at the block and dont see any external cracks. although Im pretty sure both exhaust manifolds are cracked from the freezing

 

[CatriderF7]

Re: Starter wire missing

Well the other starter worked and surprisingly enough the boat started right up. I ran it for a good 10 min. water dripping from each manifold and one of the cooling hoses but thats it. Obviously Ive yet to try it out in the water under load, but so far so good. Thanks for the help everyone. Never trust that a part someone else bought is the right part

 

[dubs283]

Re: Starter wire missing

might want to run it again, let it get nice n warm, shutdown for an hour or so, run it again and check the oil

 

[CatriderF7]

Re: Starter wire missing

I ran it a few different times and checked the oil in between. No water.