Bart Hanline
Member
I have this friend... he hooked up his 1960 Evinrude Lark II 40hp battery backwards. What a bonehead move right! Anyway, here is the situation. The motor ran with the polarity reversed. It stalled a few times, but generally ran pretty well. Gas was low so a run to the gas station and back to the boat. The engine ran again for a bit, but then finally would not restart. I got the boat home for some diagnostic work and that is when I found that the battery was connected backwards. I reconnected the battery correctly and the engine will turn over but it will not start. I checked the spark and it seems good. The starter is having a difficult time turning over though. There doesn't seem to be any blown fuses anywhere and nothing smelled or looks like it was burned. I have been searching around the forums for some clues and found information about a rectifier and the stator. I haven't been able to locate the rectifier on my engine yet. If the stator is ruined, does that mean replacing it? What are the most likely things that need replacing. Thanks for any advice! BTW, I'm the bonehead that connected the battery backwards - but if we can keep that between us it would make me feel better