Weak starter 1996 115hp

[zing99]

Johnson 115hp 1996 J115SXEDR
I've got a weak starter took it apart and cleaned some black dust out, did not test continuity, put some 3in1 oil on the spindle. The bendix has given me problems in the past, I hit it with some liquid wrench to clean it up and then some 3in1 oil. This motor is a pain to work on as there is a timing / flywheel cover that has to be removed, reassembly requires a link/sync. You cannot even see the bendix when it's assembled and cannot crank it with the bendix in place without putting the cover back on. The regulator has been replaced a couple times and it's still giving no tach and shows charging at 16V while running - could that have fried the starter? starter runs fast and quiet with no gears attached.

Battery cable connections cleaned and Tight on both ends, no wingnuts. I'm beginning to think the cables are bad and might be causing the 16v charging or blowing the regulator due to high resistance.

I've got a few Questions:

1. How do you tell if the brushes are bad in the starter?
2. How do I bypass the solenoid to test the starter?
3. Possibly bad battery cables from console to engine. Can I put a short set of car cables on a battery near the engine to test and still use the key to turn it over?
4. Will a resitance test using regular ohm scale work to test a battery cable? Should see no resistance correct?
5. Can I just have the starter tested at an autoparts store like advanceauto?

Jim

 

[Haffiman]

Re: Weak starter 1996 115hp

1:Brushes may be burned down with reduced spring load as result. Most important is to keep the collector (part that the brushes contacts) clean.
2:You may go with B+ cable straight onto where the cable comes from the solenoid into the starter to 'by-pass'.
3: You will need a proper size battery cable between battery and engine, size slightly depending on distance.
4. Ohm testing of battery cables not practical. If the cables gets hot when cranking, they are 'bad'.
5: If they have an 'adapter' to put where the pinion normally should be.

 

[zing99]

Re: Weak starter 1996 115hp

Thanks for the reply,
I'll probably tear it down again and replace the brushes while it's apart.

what's the best way to clean the collector, just a brush?

What if anything should I be lubing the bottom of the commutator shaft and top seal with?

Jim

 

[Haffiman]

Re: Weak starter 1996 115hp

Shaft ends and the bearing in upper starter housing, thin grease.
The collector, use 1200 wet (sand)paper.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: Weak starter 1996 115hp

I'd run a set of jumper cables to the starter from a fresh battery. If the starter rotates the flywheel at normal rpm's you may have a bad starter solenoid. The contacts inside that solenoid can get burnt over the years and not transfer current properly.

 

[zing99]

Re: Weak starter 1996 115hp

Thank you all.
Now it's working, I don't trust it but it's working. I'm replacing the cables and rebuilding the starter.

I think the bendix is part of the problem so will replace that too.

Anyone have experience witht the Arco bendix or care to comment on the quality of their parts in general?

 

[RandyJ]

Re: Weak starter 1996 115hp

I've used plenty of Arco starters... I couldn't tell the difference.

 

[zing99]

Re: Weak starter 1996 115hp

I pulled the positive cable and found the insulation was very dark and the middle 5 feet of the cable was very stiff. I think the problem is a combination of resistance in that cable, maybe the brushes and also the pinion gear is acting up. I may have gotten some liquid wrench into the clutch portion, used brake cleaner last time, didn't have any handy this time.

Thanks for the help.

 

[GatorMike]

Re: Weak starter 1996 115hp

A trick I receintly learned made a huge difference with my starter. I was having the same kind of problems only I had receintly replaced my cables and had a brand new battery so I knew the starter was the problem. I tore the starter down and the brushes were like new, I cleaned and sanded everything shiny and put it back together with no improvement.

Then one afternoon I asked an old time outboard mechanic in the area and he showed me something that cured the problem. He explained to me that the screws for the two single burshes are not a good ground. He told me to take my starter back apart and this time make sure the brass electrical connector for those two brushes are touching the caseing of the starter to assure a good ground. It worked like a charm. My starter now has double the power it once did.