1999 Johnson 115 starter issue

[ehill888]

I have 1999 115 Johnson outboard on my pontoon. I've owned it for a year. It has run fine this summer, except this past weekend I had a starter issue. When I went to start it, the starter spun but didn't engage the motor and turn it over. I tried a few times over ~10 minutes, and eventually it finally engaged and started right up. I had the same problem the next day. I checked the battery, and it is fully charged. Later in the afternoon, it didn't have this problem. Is this likely a bad starter, or is there a switch that could be going bad?

 

[jakedaawg]

Have battery load tested. Clean all battery connections. Tighten with a wrench. Lube bendix.

 

[ehill888]

Thank you jakedaawg. I cannot see the bendix within the starter -- do I just need to take the flywheel cover off to access it?

 

[oldboat1]

Do you have an offset starter -- bendix gear/starter gear offset from starter motor? There is probably a cone covering the bendix -- should come off together with the starter motor. In any case, it would be useful to take off the starter and clean it. Use one of the iBoats parts diagrams and take it apart. Use electrical cleaner to clean it up, and check the brushes to see if they should be replace.