Starting Issues...please help

[raven1978]

hi all....i have a problem that i think i know what the problem is but need help/insight....i have a 1988 evinrude 50hp model e50tlccs w/omc controls. I went to start the boat at the launch this morning, and the engine was turning over slow...really slow. Eventually it did start but not being happy about it i loaded back up and drove home. Testing in the driveway i have 12.6 v on the battery, & no voltage drop on the starter. I tried to start it again and it did the same thing slow to turn over, but this time i saw smoke coming from the wiring from the battery to the ignition switch/key. I checked the battery terminals and the negative side was very warm and positive was cool to the touch. I placed my hand on the shell of the starter and it too was really warm. I opened the starter and it's full of black crud from what im guessing is the magnets in it. My question is, would a bad starter behave like this (slow turning over), and cause too much voltage being applied and cause the wiring to melt? Everything else checks out ok for wiring and fuses. Oh and btw to eliminate the battery as the root cause i swapped it out with another one that i have and it did the same thing. I believe the starter is the issue, but i would like some other people to chime in as i am not very mechanically inclined.

Please help i wanna go fishing

if this is not in the right area i do apologize.

thanx
rAven

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Starting Issues...please help

This message should be posted in the Johnson/Evinrude area. This for electrical stuff not related to specific engines. But since you are here, the black stuff in the starter is dust from the wearing of the brushes. How did the commutator look? Any signs of scoring or damage from the brushes wearing down to the point where there was metal to metal contact. The magnets were not the cause of the debris unless the bearings were severely worn and the armature was dragging on the field windings. A starter cannot pull too much voltage. It can pull too much current if the commutator, brushes, or armature had issues. A warm negative post says the negative battery cable connection was probably not clean and tight. One way to test the starter is to connect it directly to the battery using jumper cables. This eliminates the entire battery cable, solenoid, igntion wiring. If it still turns slowly the starter is bad. If not, you have cable or connection issues.

 

[Sixmark]

Re: Starting Issues...please help

One thing that you can try being that you have the starter apart already is to get some electric motor cleaner, and try cleaning up the internals.

It comes in spray form as well as in a can. Sometimes you get lucky and you have just accumulated a bunch of crud/dirt in the starter over time, other times it's actually the windings,brushes, etc. breaking down.