Starter pooped out

cfelton · #1 09-07-2010, 11:30 AM

I took the V out yesterday (second time this year, been really busy) and it ran flawlessly. I ran it about 2-3 hours with no problems. I came back to the boat landing and cut it off to wait to load it back up and when I went to start it up it wouldnt hardly crank, never got it started back up. I thought the battery was dead but after charging it up at home it barely started. The starter came from Advance Auto. Its only about 3 years old with very little hours on it! I learned my lesson about them. Does anybody know if theres an upgrade starter other than the Delco model? Maybe a new style geardrive or other. It goes on a Mercruiser 170 4 cylinder sterndrive.

Destroyer · #2 09-07-2010, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfelton

I took the V out yesterday (second time this year, been really busy) and it ran flawlessly. I ran it about 2-3 hours with no problems. I came back to the boat landing and cut it off to wait to load it back up and when I went to start it up it wouldnt hardly crank, never got it started back up. I thought the battery was dead but after charging it up at home it barely started. The starter came from Advance Auto. Its only about 3 years old with very little hours on it! I learned my lesson about them. Does anybody know if theres an upgrade starter other than the Delco model? Maybe a new style geardrive or other. It goes on a Mercruiser 170 4 cylinder sterndrive.

Sorry to hear of your problem... Some thngs to remember about boat parts in general and electrical parts specifically....
3 years is 3 years of corrosion.. it matters not if you used an item or not. Once you expose it to the marine environment (especially the salt water kind) things start to degrade... So don't be so quick to blame Advance (or any other store for that matter). Ocean air has a higher salt content in it than non-ocean area air... So even if somethngs been sitting for a while you still have salt doing it's thing...corroding anything metal.
That being said I'd look at all the contacts and the connections to that starter.....including inside the starter solonoid if it has one. If it's the starter chances are that's where your trouble lies. It's possible that your windings are fried, but since it had worked less than 3 hours earlier that would not be my first guess.

cfelton · #3 09-07-2010, 03:37 PM

This starter has been trouble since about the time the warrenty ran out (1 year). I had the solenoid hang up and had to replace that first, and last summer I took it apart and had to replace the bendix. Whoever rebuilds them for Advance uses cheap crappy parts! Looking around on the net I found a NEW replacement for about 160.00, plus S&H. I also found a different style replacement gear drive starter that I might call about. I'm not sure it will fit my motor though. I've checked all the wiring, all is fine, and I keep my bilge clean and dry so theres no chance for corrosion to ruin anything. I also spray my motor ocassionally with an industrial corrosion inhibitor. I think you're right about my armature or field coil windings being fried. I guess thats just part of owning an old boat! Haha!!

cfelton · #4 09-07-2010, 08:11 PM

I found my problem. I took the starter off this afternoon and took it apart. I would have never guessed it in a million years, but one of the countersunk screws that hold one of the four field coil poles on had come out and the pole piece wedged around the armature and almost locked it up. Ive been messing around with starters and generators all my life and never seen one of these bolts come out. I found the screw in the bilge and put it back in, using Locktight on the threads and tightened the crap out of it! I cleaned it all up, greased the bearings and put it back together. I bench tested it and it seems ok, sounds a little tight but it runs ok. I'm a little leary of it now. I guess I'll give it a try the next day I have off.

Destroyer · #5 09-07-2010, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfelton

I found my problem. I took the starter off this afternoon and took it apart. I would have never guessed it in a million years, but one of the countersunk screws that hold one of the four field coil poles on had come out and the pole piece wedged around the armature and almost locked it up. Ive been messing around with starters and generators all my life and never seen one of these bolts come out. I found the screw in the bilge and put it back in, using Locktight on the threads and tightened the crap out of it! I cleaned it all up, greased the bearings and put it back together. I bench tested it and it seems ok, sounds a little tight but it runs ok. I'm a little leary of it now. I guess I'll give it a try the next day I have off.

I don't think I've ever seen one of those screws come out ever.. !!!!!
Great you fouund the problem.. probably saves yourself several hundred.. although if this things been giving you problems for allthat long you might want to look into a back up unit.. Or better yet, get a new unit and keep this one as the backup. Either way, glad you found the problem.