Bad starter?

Kraus2

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Jan 29, 2022
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I'm not sure if the starter is bad or not. The pinion doesn't make contact with the fly wheel what the ignition is turned over. When it does make contact it starts perfectly.
 

flyingscott

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Use brake/carb cleaner and clean the pinion shaft off. Might just have old oil on it and be sticky.
 

racerone

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Charge the battery ??------Starter needs to sin up fast to make pinion rise.
 

Scott Danforth

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And clean all connections from the battery to the block to the starter
 

racerone

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What motor do you have 6 HP or 200 HP ?? ----Missed the 3 battery thing in post #1 here I guess.---Sorry.
 

dingbat

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Spray pinion with penetrating oil and work by hand to loosen it up.

I put a shot a lithium grease on mine as PM
 

Chris1956

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Carb cleaner has solvents that dissolve varnish. If any of it gets onto starter windings, which are insulated by varnish, it will short out the starter.

Wipe the bendix clean without any solvents, and oil it. Make sure starter cables are clean and tight. if motor is older, corrosion can occur under the insulation on the cable, most anywhere,
 

flyingscott

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Carb cleaner has solvents that dissolve varnish. If any of it gets onto starter windings, which are insulated by varnish, it will short out the starter.

Wipe the bendix clean without any solvents, and oil it. Make sure starter cables are clean and tight. if motor is older, corrosion can occur under the insulation on the cable, most anywhere,
Have you ever seen carb cleaner dissolve the varnish on the windings? If so what kind of carb cleaner were you using?
 

racerone

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Take the starter apart.----Do ohm check on armature.----Should read infinity from commutator to the shaft.----Possibly new brushes.
 

Chris1956

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Your kidding right? Carb cleaner is designed to dissolve varnish in the carburetor. It is essentially a weak paint remover.

Try it on your starter windings and see what it does.
 

flyingscott

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Your kidding right? Carb cleaner is designed to dissolve varnish in the carburetor. It is essentially a weak paint remover.

Try it on your starter windings and see what it does.
I have done it more times than I can count and has no effect on the varnish. I have seen no adverse effects at all. I was just wondering if you had used some that did. That is not like gas varnish residue. I just picked up a 1993 evinrude 70 hp that I am going to clean the starter right now. I have sprayed it directly on the windings no effect.
 

Chris1956

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I suppose that there are carb cleaners that don't clean very well. I think I had a gallon can of a carb soak product that didn't clean anything.

However, products like Gumout and Chemtool contain toluene and acetone. Chemtool also contains methanol. Simply add methyl chloride to them and you have paint remover.
 

flyingscott

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I suppose that there are carb cleaners that don't clean very well. I think I had a gallon can of a carb soak product that didn't clean anything.

However, products like Gumout and Chemtool contain toluene and acetone. Chemtool also contains methanol. Simply add methyl chloride to them and you have paint remover.
Try it once. If you get an old starter that needs to be replaced , take it apart and spray it down. The new carb cleaners are basically dust removers.
 

racerone

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I know that the real carburetor cleaner from years ago would take the varnish off the magnet wire.
 

flyingscott

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I know that the real carburetor cleaner from years ago would take the varnish off the magnet wire.
That was a long time ago before the EPA got involved. The new stuff is hardly worth the money but it does make a good dust remover.
 
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