2001 Mercury 115 hp starting problems

[Del Coronado]

Starter spins but bendix will not go up and engage. Installed a new battery and same result. Replaced the bendix, spring and cap and same result. Starter is spinning in a counterclockwise direction. Is this right or could a wire be reversed? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[j_martin]

Re: 2001 Mercury 115 hp starting problems

The starter has to get enough juice at start up to provide enough accelleration so the inertia of the relatively light drive will cause it to ride up the spiral shaft of the armature.

Check the voltage at the starter when cranking. Troubleshoot weak battery, bad battery, connections and cables.

hope it helps
John

 

[Del Coronado]

Re: 2001 Mercury 115 hp starting problems

John,

Thanks much for the reply. The battery is brand new and up to full power. I'll start checking the cables, etc.

Del Coronado

 

[SingleShot]

Re: 2001 Mercury 115 hp starting problems

I have the 125 "same motor", your bendix gear needs replacing. I did mine last year $24. It's a poor design when you look at it. The gear rests on a steel shoulder (shaft) but when you look at the shoulder size it is quite small. What happens is when the gear slams home or disengages it slams against this shoulder. The begining threads make this contact and eventualy just chip off. You are left with a gear where it will actualy ride over the shaft shoulder by a few .001's. Just enough to cause it to stick and not fly out to engage the fly wheel. All the grease and lube will not fix it. It is a simple repair and takes but minutes to pull the starter and swap out. Look for small pieces of brass, those will be the first most beginnings of the threads in the gear. I just purchased another gear to keep in my box. It is quite a pain when your at the ramp when it decides to go. Fortunatly a got a few years out of mine before this happened. Merc needs some type of shock buffer for the gear to rest on after disengaging the fly wheel.

JIm

 

[Del Coronado]

Re: 2001 Mercury 115 hp starting problems

Thanks to everyone for the replys. I checked the wiring and found a loose connestion in the wiring harness. All is running fine.

Del Coronado