89 3.0 mercruiser starting issues

[Jaysalman]

Recently bought a 3.0 mercruiser 1989 and the guy I bought it from stated he put a new starter in fast forward to now and I noticed that sometimes when I try to start it just clicks after a couple tries it would work but recently I tried and it’s not working anymore so I bought another starter same one that was on witch I think is not the original the guy said that they don’t make the original anymore and the new one now does the same thing I noticed but I was certain the old one went bad because I had it tested and I also tested it my self so I’m trying to figure out what is goin on here
also when I pulled the older starter it loooked as if the flywheel had scraped a piece of the lower lip off
this also happend to the new starter as well

 

[shaw520]

Check ground cable at rear of block,..remove and clean all cable connections.

 

[Jaysalman]

I checked grounds they looked good and solid
I cleaned the slave solenoid posts couple days ago they had a lot of black stuff on them looked like rubber or something

 

[alldodge]

Check the slave solenoid. Cross the top 2 contacts and if it cranks over when before it didn't then its either wiring or key issue, or most likely the slave is dying 89-96054T

 

[Jaysalman]

Thing is sometimes the starter just clicks and sometimes it will work even with old one that completely stopped working also I tried crossing the top points on the slave on first starter nothing happen so I assumed it was bad I took it out and tested it was bad so I got the new one but I say still same thing is happening

 

[Grub54891]

also when I pulled the older starter it loooked as if the flywheel had scraped a piece of the lower lip off ​

this also happend to the new starter as well ​

Let's get a pic of the starter damage. I'm guessing its an improper starter for that motor. And has to be a marine rated starter.

 

[alldodge]

Then you have some major wiring problems.
The bat is connected directly yo the starter. Jumping the slave is just like crossing the small post on the starter to the large post. Only difference is the length of wire. So try to cross the two points on the starter with a screw drive and if it still doesn't work, its bad battery, cables or starter

 

[Jaysalman]

Here are pictures of the starter that I pulled out of it originally this one don’t work at all anymore the one that’s in the engine now is the same thing but I just filed the lip down a little

 

[Grub54891]

Well that does appear to be a marine starter. Is it from Sierra? I haven't had much luck in the past with their electrical stuff.
Or as stated above, you have some electrical issues.

 

[Chris1956]

I chased a similar problem om my 4.3LX. I would normally buy rebuild marine starters, and it seemed that the starter solenoid had to travel down a cylinder to pull the starter gear into the flywheel. I think it would get stuck in the cylinder.

I eventually bought a new starter, and the issue disappeared. Could be coincidence.

 

[Jaysalman]

They are DB electric starters

 

[alldodge]

IMO DB is not good

 

[Grub54891]

They are DB electric starters

What is a DB starter? I'd like to know for reference.

 

[alldodge]

What is a DB starter? I'd like to know for reference.

search "db electrical starter" on google

 

[Jaysalman]

Here’s the link to the starters
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Starte...wJaAd~1:sc:ShippingMethodStandard!56560!US!-1

 

[Grub54891]

Here’s the link to the starters
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Starte...wJaAd~1:sc:ShippingMethodStandard!56560!US!-1

Ah.... E bay. No wonder it acts funny. Something like that I would never buy at e bay. That might be a step below sierra. Ugh.

 

[Jaysalman]

Any way I can test the power with a multimeter coming to the starter I feel like something is burning up the solenoids in the starter

 

[Grub54891]

All electrical connections must be totally clean, the correct sized wire. You can simply put the meter on the starter and see if you get 12 volts. A clamp meter will show you how many amps it's drawing when cranking. Once you know the amps, then you can figure out the wire size it should have. There are wire sizing charts online, just google it.

 

[Jaysalman]

I feel like something is burning up the solenoids any way I can check that

 

[Jaysalman]

Do you know what the amperage should be when cranking?