1996 Force 75 HP starter problem.

[txcrobbob]

Due to drought in Texas last year, boat stayed in garage. Water up this year charged up batteries put unit in tank, started right up did everything it was suppose to. Took to lake, started up, ran up to fishing hole shut down. Fished and trolled for about 3 hours. Went to start motor to head in, would not start, acted like battery was low on charge. Bumped ignition a couple of times and it caught and started. put boat back in garage bought new battery, no start, bought new starter seeing how the starter is original, and a new solenoid, New starter spins but won't engage flywheel. Not the brightest tack in the box when it comes to mechanics. any help appreciated.

 

[bentle]

Re: 1996 Force 75 HP starter problem.

Any chance you got the neg. and pos. Switched or backwards on the starter?
Not sure if this is possible but I have heard of it happening.
Go back through connections from solenoid to the starter and make sure they are in the right order.
May need to replace starter. The cheap ones are not always the best option.

 

[swick]

Re: 1996 Force 75 HP starter problem.

How clean are all of your connections? Its possible that there was nothing wrong with the first starter or battery. If the connections aren't clean it can act like a loss of power or dead battery. I started using wire brushes on the end of my dremel to clean the connections and it makes them like new again, never any power loss or dead-battery-syndrome anymore. 2nd possibility is you either bought a junk starter or maybe no installed correctly. I would start by cleaning your connections real good, even if they already look clean, could be the easiest fix.

 

[Eazzy]

Re: 1996 Force 75 HP starter problem.

See if bendix is stuck to the armature in down position if so remove bendix and look on armature shaft at where the worm gear stops at bottom of the armature you may need to use a file and remove any burs on the edge of shaft . Had a new one do this to me just recently.

 

[txcrobbob]

Re: 1996 Force 75 HP starter problem.

Thank you gentlemen for all your help. Back up and running. Was a combination of things but mostly me not being a real good mechanic and a bad set of eyes that just don't see clearly anymore. Sure is nice to know there are helpful people out there in this old world. Again thanks !!

 

[swick]

Re: 1996 Force 75 HP starter problem.

Glad to hear that you got it all figured out. I've learned really well in the past few years that iboats really is the best place to come when you have any kind of boating question. Its probably the best place to start. Enjoy the boat!