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Starter problems with 351 windsor

briancooper

New member
I have an early 70's omega

I have an early 70's omega with a early 90's 351 and i have recently been going thru starters. In the past the only issues with my starter has been when it was exposed to water. I carry a spare starter and the other day I was using the boat and when we got to the dock and I turned the boat off and went to switch it back on the starter would only click once. I replaced the starter with a new starter and we were back using the boat. We used the boat for maybe an additional half hour with starting the boat twice on the new starter when I got back to the dock to load it on the trailer this new starter did the same thing. Could this be a grounding issue? There was very little (minimal) water in the bilge. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Best

Brian
 
"While it's possible that

"While it's possible that you have a defective starter I doubt it...what are the chances??

At any rate, I have a similar setup with the starter low in the bilge constantly getting sloshed with salt water. Sucks.

If it were mine, I'd start from the batts and
work downstream. The starter requires a tremendous amount of current to work properly. Any corrosion or resistance can give you problems and symptoms similar to those on your boat.

Pull all the wires and grounds off the batts, batt switch, solenoid, starter and makes sure they're all clean. Use dielectric grease when you reassemble.

Try a new solenoid as well...they're cheap, easy to install and a good spare to have on board."
 
What oldmako said. I had the s

What oldmako said. I had the same problem ended up doing new battery cable ends to the selonoid. Fixed.
 
"Thanks to the both of you. I

"Thanks to the both of you. I have not had a chance to answer old mako. update, I found that the battery cable to the solonoid had a voltage drop and cut the cable and replaced the end with new. Turned the key and still the clicking sound. I removed the starter cleaned the surface on both the starter and the engine where the ground connection is made and wha la- starts every time. Thank you both for taking the time to help me and I hope I can pass this on to someone else when they need help. Best wishes,

Brian"
 
Glad you got it straightened o

Glad you got it straightened out.

With my boat the first thing I do when I have electrical issues is pull out the VM and start checking voltages and connections. It seems like 90 percent of the time it's a lousy ground or poor current flow for one reason or another. The other 10% its a failed appliance.

I have a good friend who had to cancel an expensive charter this fall because he could not get either engine started at the dock. The people were not too anxious to hop on after that even after the jumpstart. It ended up being nothing more than corrosion on the batt posts. Both batts were less than one year old. Salty bilge water and electrons don't get along well.

There's a lesson in there somewhere.

Ground issues can be very tricky to find. I'm glad you pulled the starter and cleaned the ground. PITA no doubt.
 
DO THEY MAKE A DIFFERENT PINON FOR A MERC CRUSIER 351 WINDSOR V8 233 IM HAVING PROBLEM WITH THE STARTER ALSO, NOW IT SOUNDS LIKE ITS MISSING A TOOTH. THEY THINK IT NEEDS A 10 TOOTH STARTER BUT IT USED TO WORK BEFORE. THE GUY CHECKED THE TEETH OUT ON THE FLY WHEEL AND SAID ITS NOT THAT. THE STARTER MOTOR WE PAINTED THE PINON DRIVE GEAR, AND IT BARELY HIT THE TEETH ON THE FLY WHEEL. DO THEY MAKE A DIFFERENT PINON WITH A BIGGER GEAR. OR WHAT DO I DO? THANKS CHRISTI
 
Ayuh,..... This is a 14 year old thread you've hy-jacked,..... Start a new thread of yer own for help,.....

'N, QUIT YELLING,......
 
So what your saying is you dont know? Thanks that would of been easier just to say nothing.
Nope,.... Not what I said,..... Hy-jackin' an old thread is skipped over by the knowledgeable here, 'n typin' in all caps is YELLING in forums,.....

If you start a new thread of yer own, you'll probably get answers,....
 
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