1988 Force 85 hp Starter Question

[Rob.Boone]

Tried to start engine and Starter engauges flywheel, turns flywheel about a quarter turn and Stoped, tried again and held key a little longer, Starter engauges flywheel, turns flywheel about a quarter turn and Stoped but as I continued to hold the keyswitch it then turns the flywheel around 1 revolution and hangs up at about the same spot. This continues until I let go of the keyswitch, It's as if the starter doesn't have enough torque to turn the flywheel properly.

I took the starter off and dissasembled it to find the bottom shaft bearing worn out, went to the boats place and bought a good looking used starter for 85.00, he tested it in front of me with a battery on the counter under no load (seemed ok) , I put it on my engine and it does the same as the other one. (even though there was an obvious problem with the other one).

so I cleaned all connections from battery to starter and all ground connections, and got a new Heavy duty Starter Solenoid, to check that, Made no difference, Checked Battery Voltage while starter is running and voltage never droped below 12v.

Stumped, except for maybe the starter (Used) was no good, It has a 30 day exchange, but the guy said the new one was 160.00. The question is do I get another used one from the pile, or do I spend the difference to get the new one or is it going to do the same thing?

am I missing something? Is there a super heavy torque version I can buy?

Someone said it may be the exhaust port clogged making it hard for the compression to exit the engine and therefore the flywheel harder to turn than the starter can handle?

Can this also maybe happen in the reed valves?

Thanks for any help?

 

[JB]

Re: 1988 Force 85 hp Starter Question

Hi, Rob.

Welcome to iboats.

You have overlooked one of the first rules of troubleshooting. Always explore simple and free fixes before tearing anything apart or spending money. It is the very best way to avoid "fixing" what ain't broke.

Prime suspect for your symptoms is resistance in the circuit that supplies current to the starter motor. Take off all connections of big wire from battery to the solenoid and engine block and from solenoid to starter; both ends. Check the wires for weak or swollen spots. Clean the connections as though your life depended on it and reassemble.

If that doesn't fix it, have your battery load tested.

Good luck, and let us know the outcome.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 1988 Force 85 hp Starter Question

Remove the plugs.Spray some WD-40 in each cylinder.Turn it over.Then do a compression/spark test.Compression should be within 5% of each other.
Then check the lower unit for good oil/water.I bought a boat and it was doing the same thing on one motor.The lower was full of water and all the bearings were rusted.Turned over real slow.J

 

[Rob.Boone]

Re: 1988 Force 85 hp Starter Question

Checked cables and they appeared to be fine,

Took Starter motor back for the 30 day exchange and got another "used" one,

Installed it, lifted and spent the bendix to make sure it would line up and realized the shaft of this one is ever so slightly bent, maybe an 1/16 inch of whoble. But It Works to spin the flywheel around and around without any trouble.
Will this cause me failure soon after the 30 day exchange is over? if so should I continue exchanging until I get one that works and is straight?

So now I know the first "used" one was just to weak to do the job, even though it appeared to be clean and brand new.

Another thing I noticed is the Positive terminal on this starter was positioned on the bottom pointing down while the other was at the bottom pointing out to the side,
Does this mean anything about the amp / Torque rating?
I could still get to it to tighten it in my aplication but it got me wondering:

why do some Force starters say they will work with say, a 85hp to 115hp range and apear to be mostly the same with little differences, do these differences mean a certain type will be stronger, You would think that a 115hp cylinder compression would be harder for a starter motor to turn than say an 85hp. If this is true, that would be important to people like me buying used out of box stuff to say " this one has the positive post on the bottom and therefore it came from a 150hp and will be stronger than another but still mount the same.

Valuable or Way off?

Thanks again for now and I will update again as I continue working to check gear oil JerryJerry

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 1988 Force 85 hp Starter Question

The starters are all the same.The bottom mount or side mount are the same.It's designed that way to make it easier to mount on some motors.
It makes no difference if it's for a 85 or 125.it's the same starting motor.J

 

[Rob.Boone]

Re: 1988 Force 85 hp Starter Question

Well I stopped being thrifty and Paid $160.00 for a new starter motor and the problem is solved, I have attempted starting many times so far without any problems, Thanks for the help.

 

[JakeEddie]

Re: 1988 Force 85 hp Starter Question

Just bought an engine with the same problem. Its a 1988 35HP. Took it apart last night and noticed the copper commentator was very black from the brushes and a lot of dust in the cap. Hoping that cleaning all this up will get to crank as it should.

Did you try doing any of this to yours? Just wondering.


Thanks,
Jake