1958 35 hp Return to Service after 15 years

[Trackbolt]

I am about to complete the restoration of my father's old Alumacraft Deep C and the 1958 Bigtwin 35 (25936). I seem to have an electricial issue that keeps it from cranking. During the restoration I rebuilt the carb. removed the head to inspect the water jacket and cylinder head gave the motor an over all scrubbing and paint. Looks nice. I was very careful to mark and photo all wiring as I moved or replaced deteriorated wires with new. I installed a new OMC new old stock ignition switch in the dash and carefully removed each wire from the old switch to the new one by one. I installed new battery wires from the battery to the junction box and all wires in the junction box were installed according to the color coded diagram.
I took the battery from my pickup truck which is a known good battery and tests for 14 volts and connected to the 35's battery wires. With the switch in th on postion I pushed the choke button and the choke worked well. When I turned the key to the start position all I got was a solenoid chatter. Then the choke quit working. If I put 12 volts directly to the starter the starter spins the motor. I have something going on between the junction box and the switch. The 50 year old wiring harnesses were showing signs of insulation deterioration and I replace or re insulated what I could. Any corroded wire was cut out and replaced. Any suggestions on a good trouble shooting path?

 

[pn]

Re: 1958 35 hp Return to Service after 15 years

well its your solenoid, or the wire to your ignition or the wire going from your starter to your battery. sometimes the wires get so corroded from the inside that theres too much resistance for electricity to pass no matter how pretty the outside is. id start with replacing wires