Too much compression??

[Pender]

Im working on a 1988 50hp Evinrude and its havin alot of trouble turnin the flywheel. the starter kind of jumps and spins just a little then binds up then jumps again but its just draining my battery. im charging the batteries now. there are 2 batteries both with 640 cca, but shouldnt one be enough to start it? it turns the flywheel fine with the spark plugs pulled and almost starts with one in, but hardly spins with both of em in. any ideas?

 

[Pender]

Re: Too much compression??

nevermind guys i think the starter is bad. i just pull started and she started right up. going tomorrow to get the starter looked at. is it better to buy a new one, used one, or fix the old one?

 

[Lucraft]

Re: Too much compression??

Clean and double check all your electrical connections first, from the battery to the starter. Sand all connections and reconnect with corrosion preventer like CRC 6-56, Boeshield T-9 or similar (optional, but it's good preventive maintenance).

Disconnect all leads from your batteries and check the voltage on each. Should be over 12V. One could have a bad cell that's drawing down both batteries faster than the engine can recharge them, depending on how you have them wired. It's a good idea to bring them to an auto parts store and have them load tested for free before you go replacing anything.

If the starter ends up being the problem after all, take it to a starter/alternator shop and have it rebuilt. It will save you a lot of $$ over a new one.

 

[Pender]

Re: Too much compression??

Thanks for the info Lucraft, i'll probably go buy some of that boeshield tomorrow and get the batteries tested after school. The batteries are hooked together on one of those switches that uses either one or both of the batteries. I dont know if its hooked up wrong or if the batteries are just old, one of em had a mountain corrosion on the terminals though. Well thanks again man