bendix stuck

[roffey]

I'll give it a try, keep in mind I am a computer nerd. I'll keep you posted. Funny the way it works out. I was going to go out on the water today but the starter foiled that plan. We had the worst thunder storm and a tornado watch, I would have been out on the water most likely miles from the dock... and docking a big boat in the wind is not fun...

[spareparts]

sorry, i meant ceramic magnets. The later starters will not tolerate any banging. By the time you get around to hitting a starter with a hammer, the damage has probably already been done, its a last ditch effort to get it to spin to get you back home. If you had to go that far to get it to work, you need to replace it. I've beat on some older starters pretty hard to avoid having to be towed in, I replaced the starter before going back out.

Check voltage to the starter, check grounds from the battery to the block. Load test your battery if you have a tester(check your connections at the battery cable ends as well). With the key in the start position, check for voltage to teh yellow/red wire on the slave solenoid(either on top of the throttle linkage bracket or at the front of the exhaust manifold), check for voltage out of the larger yellow/red wire coming out of the slave solenoid. Check for voltage to the S terminal on the starter, check for voltage coming out of the bottom terminal on the solenoid on the starter itself. At this point, you should have it figured out. If you replace the starter, make sure the mounting surfaces are clean and unpainted before mounting, always buy new starter bolts when replacing the starter(use the reduced head type sold by Arco or Mercruiser, you'll thank me later)

[smokeonthewater]

yep we agree.... if you are stranded and know the starter is bad... sure, give it a whack....might save ya a LONG swim.... if you are at home and don't know what the problem is don't.... could go from a bad ground to a bad ground AND a busted starter

[roffey]

.. as I mentioned earlier I am a computer guy. I know enough about motors to get me in trouble. I have a mechanic friend who I help with his computer stuff. I am going to trailer the boat down to his place and we will fix. Just as a FYI, when I said hit the starter I was more meaning tap it to see if the bendix went back in, I think the solenoid is the problem so I did nothing other than get dirty. I did not know the starter motors were such fragile things, you have educated me.