96 Mercury 130hp - Starter turns but won't engage the fly wheel.

[Striper-man]

I just recently bousght a 21' w/ a 96 130hp Mercury o/b. The boat cranked and ran last fall ('05) and cranked as recent as a few days ago. (I "bumped" the key to see if it would turn). Since then I have tried starting it with "ear muffs" and after a few cranks (and ups and downs with the throttle) the starter quit rising to engage the fly-wheel but continues to spin. Did the starter go out? I haven't checked the neutral adj. but I didn't think that would be a problem due to the fact it spins. What's up?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 96 Mercury 130hp - Starter turns but won't engage the fly wheel.

dirty connections, weak battery, bad battery cables. spray a little WD40 on bendix. these are all common reasons.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: 96 Mercury 130hp - Starter turns but won't engage the fly wheel.

Could be low battery of course.Or bad starter.Or dry starter shaft keeping the drive from rising. Had one boat come in with the cables wrong polarity at the battery.All can do the same thing.<br /><br />DHP

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 96 Mercury 130hp - Starter turns but won't engage the fly wheel.

All of the above. Have Autozone do a load check of your battery. Remove all the high current terminals between the battery, the starting solenoid, and the starter and shine them up, reinstall and insure that they are tight. If you see a cable with damage at the terminal, replace it.<br /><br />Once cleared, things have to be different....guaranteed.<br /><br />Mark