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Evinrude Lark II won't crank

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Bart Hanline

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I have an 1960 Evinrude II that is having difficulty cranking. I bought this baby outta a guys barn last summer and I have been working to get it back into working shape. I have had it running, but now I am having trouble getting it to crank. Take a look at the Youtube video and you can see exactly what it is doing. I am suspecting a bad starter, but the stuff I have been reading suggests the starter is the last place to look. If it is the starter, how do you test that theory?

http://youtu.be/U9Yvn8Dvnkg

I have done a bunch of things to the motor including new battery, re-conditioned or replaced wiring, new points, condenser, and coils, rebuilt carb, new spark plug wires and a few other things.

The compression readings are ~65 in each cylinder, but I am having to test the engine when it is cold since I can't get it started right now.

The Seloc manual I have suggests that I test the amps at the power connection of the starter and make sure that it isn't excessive, but it doesn't tell me what is excessive. How many amps should a starter like mine draw?

Thanks for clues to solving the mystery! I wish I had more experience with this stuff, but I guess this is a good way to learn.
 
Check all battery cable connections, make sure they are clean and tight, including all the grounds.
What type of voltage are you getting to the starter when trying to start it? If you are getting battery voltage to the starter, you most likely have a defective starter. Take it off and open it up and see what it looks like.
 
It looks like the starter is the leading candidate...

The battery reads 12.13 v and the cable when not connected to the starter reads 11.96. When I connect the cable to the starter the voltage drops to under 4.

I'll take the starter off tomorrow and report my findings.

Thanks.
 
That sounds more like a bad battery or connection. If the voltage is dropping to 4, then the battery cables and or starter should be getting very warm or hot to touch.
 
Ok, I have a few more clues, but I still haven't figured out what is going on.

I took the starter off and took it apart. It was pretty dirty and a little oily too. I took the brushes off and cleaned those and cleaned up all the metal parts with a wire brush (being careful not to mess any of the specs up). I used compressed air to clean the rest of it out as good as I could. I connected the starter directly to the battery and it spun like a top.

I reinstalled the starter on the motor and then checked the ground wire which to me seems like I am getting a good ground at the power head and through to the starter. Here is how I checked that. I used a multimeter and recieved continuity readings by hooking 1 lead to the negative terminal on the battery and then touching the other lead to the powerhead, starter etc.

I connected the power cable to the starter and when I tried to turn the engine over it turned briefly and then just clicked. It seems like something electrical is going on but I can't figure out what.
 
Ok, its gotta be a bad starter. I guess after 50 years it has had enough. The starter will spin when not installed on the engine, but it doesn't have enough power to turn the flywheel. At least I have verified that I have good wiring! I'll try to find a place to rebuild the starter, but if not then I'll try to find another one that'll fit. Thanks for your help, I'll post an update once I have the new starter installed. Have a good weekend!
 
I hooked the battery cables directly to the battery and it wouldn't turn the flywheel. If I remove the starter from the engine and connect it directly to the battery it will spin. I can hand crank the engine so I know that the flywheel is moving freely. Its like the starter just doesn't have enough power to turn the engine over.
 
OK then..either get yours rebuilt, or it may be easier and cheaper to just find another used one. These are pretty standard starters on the older Evinrudes, I've got about 4 in my parts shed, all from different years from 1958 to 63, all the same.
 
It sounds like you guys have been down this path once or twice :) When I had the starter apart I cleaned the armature with a wire brush (I might have been a little too careless in this process). The bushings did seem pretty warn & dirty. I wonder if just a new pair of bushings will do the trick. I think that I'll order a new set, but in the meantime see if I can find another starter that'll fit. I'm gonna take the start apart again and see if I can be a little more specific about cleaning the grooves on the armature and work on the bushings some more too. I'll post when I have an update. Thanks.
 
Bart Hanline said:
It sounds like you guys have been down this path once or twice :) When I had the starter apart I cleaned the armature with a wire brush (I might have been a little too careless in this process). The bushings did seem pretty warn & dirty. I wonder if just a new pair of bushings will do the trick. I think that I'll order a new set, but in the meantime see if I can find another starter that'll fit. I'm gonna take the start apart again and see if I can be a little more specific about cleaning the grooves on the armature and work on the bushings some more too. I'll post when I have an update. Thanks.
Click to expand...

If the bushings are worn too badly, the armature will rub on the inside of the case, and won't spin freely. So, yup, bushings would be a factor. I have usually found that the brushes just wear down, and don't make a good contact. That, along with a dirty or corroded armature commuter will screw things up too. Gotta remember, this is just an electric motor. They don't like being dirty inside.

And yeah, been down this road a time or three. I've had one starter rebuilt by my electrical shop I use for my work stuff (diesel starters, alternators). Cost me about $20 for new brushes, cleaning, etc. It's still working, about 5 years old now. For my older stuff that I don't use every weekend, I just keep spares.
 
Ok, I said that I would post an update when I got things in order... I took the starter apart again and did a much better job cleaning the armature and the bushings. I did get them much cleaner, but it only helped marginally when I put it back on the motor. I found a place in town that rebuilds starters and so I took it to them and for $80 I got a starter that I can now trust. I think that the starter was just old/bad and beyond what just a cleaning could do for it. Thanks for your input and help through this issue!
 
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