Starter issues cause trip delay again

[Shaunc]

We were leaving for a week trip today.
Went to go start the motors and the port side is completely dead, not a sound when I turn the key.

Went to test the voltage and have 34.5 at the starter. Terminals looked a little dirty so stripped that all down and cleaned them and put it back and went to test again and nothing.

Jumped across the solenoid and it spun freely.

Really not sure where to go from here.

Starter was rebuilt 2 years ago so don't believe its that.

I moved the boat back after the hurricane passed a few weeks back and started fine. Why not now?

 

[FlyNavyAir]

I had a similar problem earlier this year. I was away from homeport so I called my trusted mechanic. He said to push start button while moving transmission stick a bit. It worked. Ended up being the transmission neutral safety switch was slightly out of adjustment.

 

[edward]

Are the starters clockwise or counter ? Maybe keep a spare ? Sorry for your delay.

 

[Shaunc]

I tried this forum to find answer and yes I tried google and you tube and nothing seemed to fix the problem.
I fixed it eventually. The expensive way

I tried it once more and it started.
Awesome we can leave on our trip.While letting the engines warm up while getting things ready, I smelt a strong electrical smell. Went to the engine room and it was bad. Shut the engines down and that is when i notice my push button was stuck down. I shut it all down and figured it was a bad switch. Rushed off to worst marine to get one and by now it 6 pm and i figured tomorrow is another day and I will deal with it then.

We sat down about 7pm to eat and during dinner I said to my wife that electrical smell is still bad and it smells worse. I went to check my engine room and it was fill of smoke and all could see a small fire and sparks coming from the starter motor area. I shut the power supply off and turned on the blower motor and about 10 min later it was clear enough to see. The entire top of the solenoid had melted off. Somehow the power must have kept the solenoid engaged and it just got hotter and hotter and eventually caught on fire.

So here i sit waiting for batteries to charge back up after a starter rebuild. I turn it briefly and it turn over
Hopefully that is the end of that for now and it will start once batteries are charged.

PS Boatbabe did not feel up to posing in a bikini after all that

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[brettportzer]

Sounds like an unfortunate set of circumstances, that didn't really work out TOO badly.

ie, could have been worse.

Intermittent problems are the worst because they are not "solved" just because this time it worked.

Harder to diagnose, of course, because of this.

Imagine though, that you had left on your trip and had this problem a few days from home, etc...

 

[dsharp]

Sounds like you either have a solenoid that’s welded itself together or a bendix that’s stuck. If you crank the engine with low batteries the solenoid will arc and weld itself to the lugs. I would also feel the ring gear and make sure that the teeth are chewed up and not letting the bendix retract. Take the solenoid apart on your old starter so you will understand how it works. It’s a pretty simple design but there are a few things that can go wrong due to the high amperage that passes through the battery cables.