Re: Engine won't turn over
Tommy,<br /><br />I don't have a wiring diagram for your motor , but here are the basics. <br /><br />The starter solenoid has 2 circuits, one circuit puts voltage from your battery to the starter motor. These are the 2 large gauge wires on the solenoid. One large wire comes FROM the battery to the solenoid, the other large wire leaves the solenoid and goes TO the starter. This we will call the HIGH amperage circuit, because it powers the starter itself.<br /><br />The other circuit is the control circuit ( these are the 2 small posts on the solenoid). Lets call this the LOW current circuit . This circuit controls the solenoid when you turn the key to the Start position.<br /><br />Low current (control circuit) circuit operation:<br />When you turn the key to the start position, voltage is fed INTO one small terminal of the solenoid. This voltage goes thru the solenoid, then continues OUT of the other small terminal to one side of the Neutral Safety Switch. The other side of the Neutral Safety Switch goes to a ground connection (if the motor is in Neutral). This completes the circuit and the solenoid closes. When the solenoid closes , it puts battery voltage thru the large gauge wires to the starter and the motor cranks.<br /><br />If the motor is NOT in neutral, the neutral safety switch breaks the control circuit and the solenoid can't close. Since the solenoid can't close, it can't send voltage to the starter thru the large gauge wires. This is a safety issue. They don't want you to be able to start the motor 'in gear'.<br /><br />OK, how do you test this thing! Here's the quick way.<br /><br />BE ABSOLUTELY SURE MOTOR IS IN NEUTRAL, and the ignition key is in the OFF position. This testing procedure will bypass the Neutral Safety Switch and test the solenoid.<br /><br />On the solenoid, find the small post with the wire going to the neutral safety switch.<br />Connect this small post to ground with a jumper wire.<br />Turn the key to the start position, starter should turn.<br /><br />If the starter spins, the neutral safety switch is bad, OR the wire going TO the neutral safety switch is open (broken) OR the neutral safety switch ground connection is bad. You could have one or more of these problems, but highly unlikely.<br /><br />If the starter does not spin, the solenoid is bad OR the starter is bad OR the battery is dead. There could be corroded connections..but more on that later.<br /><br />When you used a light gauge wire to 'jump' the 2 large terminals of the solenoid, you put voltage to the starter. You bypassed the solenoid altogether. The wire got hot fast because the starter was drawing a lot of current. The light gauge wire could not carry the current and it heated up. That's why they use heavy wires! Since you said " the engine gave one little turn" . I'll assume the starter is OK . You have to be careful of gasoline fumes when you "Jump the solenoid" There can be sparks when you make this connection. Starters can draw large amounts of current. It's not uncommon for a starter to draw 50 Amperes of current or more when you turn the key. Marine solenoids are designed to contain any internal sparking for this reason. That's why it's safer to test the 'control circuit' (small posts) side of the solenoid.<br /><br />Most of the time, starter problems can be traced to bad connections. Especially the High Amperage circuit. Corroded connections are points of high resistance that limit the amount of current needed by the starter to spin. These connections are the Positive and Negative battery posts, the two large terminals of the solenoid, the starter connection, and the starter ground connection. Remove the Positive battery connection first, and then leave it disconnected while you clean the other connections. This eliminates the possibility of accidently shorting any wires to ground during the cleaning process. Continue to clean the other connections ( one at a time) and make sure they are clean and bright and securely tightened. Finally , re-connect the Positive battery connector when you are finished. Don't forget the Negative connection to the motor block too. <br /><br />Gees, it seems I've written a book here....sorry for the ramblings. Good Luck.
