I have a 1992 Mercury black max 150 that has been hard to start. It doesn't seem like the starter is spinning the motor fast enough. Today I turned the key and the starter didn't even engage on the first 2 tries. On the third try it engaged but would barely turn the motor over. I had just charged the battery and it had a little better than 12 volts. However, I thought maybe the battery wasn't holding under a load and so I tried another battery with the same result. I cleaned all the electrical connections on the starter and solenoid but it was still weak turning over. I measured the voltage from the positive on the starter to the ground on the starter (ground that goes to the block) with the starter engaged. The highest voltage I got was 7 volts. I checked the voltage on the input side (battery cable side) of the solenoid without the starter engaged and it had 12 volts, but I haven't checked it with the starter engaged yet. So, I guess I have 3 questions...<br /> 1) Could the solenoid not let enough power get to the starter?<br /><br />2) Are there any checks I can perform to be sure it's the starter before I drop a few hundred dollars on one?<br /><br />3) If it is the starter then would you recommend buying a new one or trying a starter kit? (I've seen these kits advertised for about $30 and it appears to contain new brushes etc...; not sure how difficult they are to install)<br /><br />Thanks in advance for any recommendations!
