Hey all,
About 3 months ago I replaced the starter on my 5.7L Merc. Until this weekend, the starter worked flawlessly. This weekend, I went to start the boat and I can hear the starter spinning but it will not engage. If I turn the key about 10x, the Bendix finally extends, engages and starts the boat. Once the boat starts, it seems that the starter will continue to engage and start the boat if I turn it off and try again.
As mentioned, both the starter and solenoid are new within 3 months. When I replaced them, I cleaned up all the cables and made sure they were clean, and tight, and coated with anti-corrosion so I am pretty confident the starter is getting good power. The battery is new this season as well and it is fully charged.
I've contacted the manufacturer of the starter, and they have suggested to look at the ignition switch first to make sure it is supplying enough voltage. Doesn't make sense to me -- if the starter is spinning, doesn't that mean the ignition switch is doing it's job? If the starter isn't getting enough voltage, would that not be a problem in the wiring (as above) or the primary and/or slave solenoid?
Given that the main solenoid is new, the wiring is clean and tight, I'm thinking this problem is either the slave solenoid (which is easy to test) or a defective Bendix Gear in the starter (which is a major pain to test as it involves removing the manifold to get at the starter). Any suggestions on how I should be diagnosing this issue are appreciated. I've read the great tip on diagnosing the system with a test light but that doesn't apply in this case.
About 3 months ago I replaced the starter on my 5.7L Merc. Until this weekend, the starter worked flawlessly. This weekend, I went to start the boat and I can hear the starter spinning but it will not engage. If I turn the key about 10x, the Bendix finally extends, engages and starts the boat. Once the boat starts, it seems that the starter will continue to engage and start the boat if I turn it off and try again.
As mentioned, both the starter and solenoid are new within 3 months. When I replaced them, I cleaned up all the cables and made sure they were clean, and tight, and coated with anti-corrosion so I am pretty confident the starter is getting good power. The battery is new this season as well and it is fully charged.
I've contacted the manufacturer of the starter, and they have suggested to look at the ignition switch first to make sure it is supplying enough voltage. Doesn't make sense to me -- if the starter is spinning, doesn't that mean the ignition switch is doing it's job? If the starter isn't getting enough voltage, would that not be a problem in the wiring (as above) or the primary and/or slave solenoid?
Given that the main solenoid is new, the wiring is clean and tight, I'm thinking this problem is either the slave solenoid (which is easy to test) or a defective Bendix Gear in the starter (which is a major pain to test as it involves removing the manifold to get at the starter). Any suggestions on how I should be diagnosing this issue are appreciated. I've read the great tip on diagnosing the system with a test light but that doesn't apply in this case.
