Thread: Now my starter went out!

The battery may be weak and fooling you into thinking it's the starter. Sometimes a battery can have an issue where when a big load is thrown on it the voltage drops so much the starter bendix won't engage. And it can be real inconsistant...sometime seems okay...sometimes not...keep you guessing. If you don't have them get a set of muffs for the motor so you can run it on a hose at home. Charge the battery fully. And try to start the engine a couple times to draw some amps on the battery....if it does not have a good 12.6 to 12.7 volts after that measured with an accurate meter...your battery is suspect. Or take the battery and have it load tested.

It can also be a problem with the starter bearings being dry and the starter being worn a little. A really hot battery may still make it engage but a weak battery won't....so it could be sort of a dual problem.

If you have a good starter alternator shop in your area they will break it down for you and maybe rebuild it or just fix a part. Some won't if the starter is not real expensive.

You can always poke around for a loose connection or something. You can check your bendix gear and flywheel at the same time.

Sorry I ain't an outboard mechanic just tinkered around some.

Yes, you have a relay for your starter. Find it and jump around it and see if starter motor engages. If not starter motor is probably worms out from all the cranking. Doesn't take much to overheat and burn up those motors. If you jump around relay and motor engages good then replace the relay. Thinking the buzzing you were hearing is the relay. Any time working on out board with cover off, be really careful to not get fingers in flywheel. It will make short work of finger tips.

I agree with "Cray" on the solenoid/relay.

I was hoping it was the battery, but I charged it overnight and just now went out and it won't do anything. Was just trying to briefly bump it, not start it. I know not to do that, lol. In the quiet of the morning, I could hear the sound as more of a click and not a buzz, lol.

I am going to check for a bad connection but where does one buy parts for motors if it gets to that? And heck, this is Saturday!

Thanks for help.

EDIT: This has nothing to do with the starting problem but my squeeze bulb squirts a little fuel out sometimes. I will see if it is the connection, but if I need to replace it, where do I buy this? I can buy them at Academy but it will be Atwood brand. Somebody said that is not good?

Also, would you say odds are this is the solenoid or the starter? Anyone have a clue about how much a solenoid would cost? I was thinking I could try that. If it doesn't cost much, it might be effective to do that versus taking it to the mechanic and have to pay him the service charge. Also, this is just a 40hp motor, do you think rebuilding a starter is the way to go or just buy a new one?

I wrote this for i-Boats some time ago. See if it helps.

Probably95% of all starter problems is electrical. Is the battery fullycharged? Check all your connections. They must be very clean andtight. Check the lugs very closely for any signs of corrosion. Theycan corrode inside where you can't see it and cause the problem youare having. If you know how to do a voltage drop test you could checkthem that way. Another way would be to temporally substitute thecables with jumper cables. If all the cables have been confirmedgood, try jumping the starter solenoid. Just because it clicks doesNOT mean its good. If you are sure the solenoid is good have yourbattery load tested, regardless of age. This brings you to thestarter itself. Remove it and have it tested by your local autoelectric shop. They can rebuild it for you if needed and save yousome money. Let us know

Take your cowling off of your motor....find where the negative battery cable bolts to the engine block for ground....un bolt it...clean block area good and clean cable end good....then clean bolt..put back on and tighten bolt good. Then try it. A lot of times you can have a bad ground there and get just enough to make relay hum but not enough for everything to work. This has happened to me twice and even though everything looked clean .....it still needed a clean up....it also helps to put a star washer under the bolt head.

G, that ground cable that you are talking about was the problem on my 60 hp mercury 3 cly. also I found a good source to get parts from. MarineEngine.com. good prices and great service. Jimmy