Outboard Starter Issue

Mulv80 · #1 03-27-2006, 12:37 PM

The starter on my 1984 Evinrude 115 doesnt seem to be as strong as it was last season. I tried 2 different batterys and a jump box. All had the same result, the starter would pop up and turn just didnt seem to have the torque to start the motor. Does this sound like the a bad starter or something else?

reelapeelin · #2 03-27-2006, 01:23 PM

Mulv, check all connections 1st...if all are solid, take the starter off and have it rebuilt...doesn't cost much..had mine done on my '86 Rude and worked great after!!...

There should be several starter/alternator rebuild shops around...mine did it while I waited...took about 15 mins.!! :o

Geekie1 · #3 03-27-2006, 01:38 PM

Hi Mulv,

I had a similar problem the boat before the V20. I had a 18' Hydrasport with a Merc (Mariner) 90. The problem looked like yours. The starter cranked the engine slower and slower and got fairly hot without too much cranking. I took the starter to an electric motor shop for a checkout. They replaced the brushes and could not find anything else wrong. I put the starter back on the engine and had the same degraded result. I then got out my DVM to check resistances to the starter. Resistance to ground looked good. I then checked the hot side of the starter and discovered that someone spliced the hot side cable that went to the starter. The splice had a high resistance which was the culprit. The splice was located in the cable from the hot side of the battery to the engine and was obscured under the engine box. Fortunately I had the Mariner shop manual which led me to the problem quickly. Ever since then when I buy a new boat or new engine I routinely put out the $50 or so bucks for a shop manual. I know that I can't do the major repairs that are in the manual, however, I am sure that I have always saved the price by referring to it and doing repairs that were within my limited scope.

Ed G.

Mulv80 · #4 03-27-2006, 01:45 PM

Ed, I have the OMC shop manuals for this motor. All the connections look clean and tight. When I used the "Start" position on the battery charger I got the most promising result, The starter would spin the flywheel with the necessary torque it just couldnt sustain the load for more than a few seconds. I also noticed that the starter itself was hot.

Franco · #5 03-27-2006, 03:16 PM

IT SOUNDS LIKE IT HAS HIGH RESTISTANCE IN THE BATTERY CABLES, THAT CAUSE IT TO PULL MORE AMPS WHICH CAUSES THE HEAT. CLEAN THE CABLE CONNECTIONS AND RETRY IT. IMHO

Geekie1 · #6 03-27-2006, 03:21 PM

Mulv,

Sounds like your starter motor has a problem. I know you live in the Philly area. I would take it to an electrical motor shop before replaceing it. The place I took my starter motor was:

Torodyne Rebuilders
Swamp Rd.
Rushland PA
(215) 598-3105

That was about 5 or 6 years ago. Rushland PA is north of Philly and is out in the boondocks between Doylestown and Newtown. The only other bigger business in Rushland is an animal feed mill!! I don't know if Torodyne will still take a walk-in, but they did at one time. Ive' got the impression they knew what they were talking about and they only charged me for the brush replacement!!!

Check EBay. They have alot of new and used outboard electrical stuff. I bought an entire Yammie 150 electrical system from a 150 that was running fine until throwing a rod. It included 6 good coils, CDI unit, oil controller, stator, flywheel, wiring harness, etc. I checked out the CDI unit on my 150 and it is fine. A new CDI unit from Yamaha is almost $500!! I paid $60 for all of it!. I also bought a set of carbs (3) with the intake manifold and reed assembly for less than $80 including shipping. The carbs I bought look alot better than the carbs currently on my engine!!

I hope this helps!!

Ed G.

bigshrimpin · #7 03-27-2006, 03:49 PM

Mulv - check your battery harness while your at it. Run a bend down the length of the cable and check for hardspots (corrosion). The cables can get smokin hot too if there is corrosion in the wires and cause the exact same starter behavior that you describe.

phatdaddy · #8 03-27-2006, 10:40 PM

You might want to make sure the starter is grounded to the engine block.l had one that when it was off the engine, it checked out fine but lagged when on the motor. I cleaned the surfaces and the problem went away.

Skools Out · #9 03-27-2006, 11:00 PM

check the starter relay/silonoid they are pron for this on OMC's try starting it with heavy jumper cable directly to the starter.

deshet · #10 04-01-2006, 02:07 PM

Removed the starter and take it to Auto Zone or Advanced Auto they will check the starter for you for free.

My starter did the same thing and the problem was bad cables. Don't waste money on getting the starter rebuilt if you don't need to.

NOW SOMEONE HELP ME OUT WITH MY PROBLEM PLEASE