Thread: Starter problems

What brand,age,and size of outboard, what group size starting battery and how old is the battery.

Did it start before or is it a new to you boat and motor?

Start with the basics. Fully charge and load test the battery. If it passes, then you can evaluate if it’s possibly not enough CCA’s for the application. As already said, what’s the application?


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May need to lube the gear that flies up to engage with the flywheel from the starter. A couple years ago, my starter would not engage at first try, but would with the second/third attempt on my Mercury 115 outboard. I removed the cowl, sprayed some silicone penetrant thru a straw on the starter gear, pryed it up gently with a small screwdriver, it begin to spin up easily, problem solved. There are Youtube videos on this subject. Easy quick fix. In normal operation, starter gear flies up when you turn on the ignition, drops back down when you release the key as the engine starts. A little rust/crud can build up in there and interfere. With the engine off, I can turn/raise that starter gear with my finger or screwdriver easily now.

Yes, the Starter Bendix needs love too. Careful on what you use as you do not want it migrating down to the brushes on the bottom of the Commutator. The lubricant can cause brush failure. I always remove the starter and just remove the Nose Cone keeping the rest of the Starter together with 2in masking tape. Put the tape on before removing the bolts. Extreme Pressure grease is usually the recommended type due to its thick viscosity.

Originally Posted by Rojo

Yes, the Starter Bendix needs love too. Careful on what you use as you do not want it migrating down to the brushes on the bottom of the Commutator. The lubricant can cause brush failure. I always remove the starter and just remove the Nose Cone keeping the rest of the Starter together with 2in masking tape. Put the tape on before removing the bolts. Extreme Pressure grease is usually the recommended type due to its thick viscosity.

Up here in the north if one uses any thick grease on a Bendix it will not work in the cold.

Originally Posted by Bricks

Up here in the north if one uses any thick grease on a Bendix it will not work in the cold.

You never grease the Bendix itself on any starter, I use Teflon Dry Lube after cleaning but you use Extreme Pressure Grease in the Armature Pin to Nosecone Bushing. Maybe I could have written that better.

Thanks for the comments. Several problems weak batteries, next motor turns over but bendix stuck in flywheel, while cleaning gunk from bendix I find loose cable from solenoid to starter. I bought battery with mega CCA,cleaned bendix,tightened cable and sprayed contact cleaner into ignition switch. Now starting system works great. I then removed spark plugs opened throttle and did compression test, 125 psi on all three cylinders. I have a lot more to do but I'm happy for now.