repairing starter motors

[dutchman]

Does anyone here have experience in repairing starter motors?

The starter motor on my boat does not work. Not very surprising, since it has been on shore for more than 2 years.
When I turn the key, or better insert a screwdriver in the lock and twist it, I hear cloink (probably the solenoid).
When I connect the two poles at the back of the solenoid, the starter wheel starts to spin.
No matter what I try, the starter will not turn the engine around. Hitting it with a hammer didn’t work either
I can turn the engine flywheel by hand.

Is this something that is easy to fix, and if yes, how do I go about it??

 

[malcolm]

It's likely to be dirt or dust inside the solenoid. On many cars the solenoid can be removed by a couple of screws and the contacting surfaces cleaned up. Similar things are common on Renaults.

 

[wyn]

It could be something to do with the pinion gear not engaging.

Will the gear move back and forth along the shaft ? if the solenoid is removed can the link to the gear be moved.

By shorting across the solenoid this will power up the motor but may not engage the solenoid and gear (depending on what you short across)

I'd be tempted to whip of the solenoid and have a look around.

Failing that are the ring gear teeth worn preventing proper engagement.

Hope this might help a bit.


....Used to get dust off the clutch jamming the pinion gear on tractors

 

[Justme]

What type of starter is it?

Some use the speed of the turning to engage the pinion & others use the solenoid to pre engage the pinion then start the motor turning. Does your motor spin fast? Try engageing the solenoid & shorting the contacts to get the motor spinning. Sounds like your solenoid is pulling in mechanicaly but not electricaly. That should be easy to fix. Most recon places will fix that in a jiffy for a reasonable fee.


Justme

 

[dutchman]

Thanks for the info,

The starter motor looks like the standard type with the extra solenoid. Not sure what brand it is, but it is mounted to a small Volvo Penta engine. I am going to have a try on Saturday and see if I can get it to work.

 

[JW240]

if you remove the rear cover you can clean the collector, often enough to fix it.
Which engine is it? Small 1 or 2 cylinder diesel, 6 pot diesel? or the 4 cylinder petrol engine? The last engine is the same (block and some other parts) as the automotive engines, so a starter should fit (if you have a 12V system)
(red engine = same as the automotive blocks, green is Penta specific or heavy industry stuff (trucks, genset, CHP etc)

 

[jimmy shoes]

ask a garage to do a lock torque test on it

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

if the solenoid is attached to the side of the starter then it'll most likely be a 'pre-engaged' type.

You turn the key and it puts 12v onto the solenoid 'start wire'. This produces a magnetic field in the coil that pulls a rod down the center of the coil. As this rod moves it engages the pinion in the ring-gear on the fly-wheel.

When the rod gets to the end of the coil it whacks against two contacts (the click you hear) that connects a couple of hundred amps onto the main starter coil and it turns the engine.

It's probably dirty or knackered contacts causing the problem.

First you can try to get at the starter contacts at the end of the solenoid and clean them, as suggested. But generally I've found on my cars that it can't be done.

A solution that I used in the past was to fit a separate relay to switch the voltage onto the main starter coil, with a flip switch on the dashboard.

Starting was now a 2-motion affair, turn the ignition key, wait for the click and flick the start switch to turn over the engine.

If you hide the second switch it's an effective anti-theft device.

Regards
Peter

 

[rtbcomp]

Hi,

.......A solution that I used in the past was to fit a separate relay to switch the voltage onto the main starter coil, with a flip switch on the dashboard.
......
Peter

You'll need a conventional solenoid rather than a relay due to the current.

I like the idea though, an easy way to fix knackered contacts on a pre-engaged solenoid.

You also need to make sure the original solenoid remains connected to the motor, there are two windings in a pre-engaged solenoid, one takes a high current and engages the solenoid. This is earthed through the motor and becomes shorted out as soon as contact is made. The other is a lighter winding that is earthed to chassis and serves to hold the solenoid until the starter switch is released.

 

[dutchman]

Thanks for the info about the contacts Peter. That really was a missing link for me.
JW, the engine is a 32 year old 7.5 Bhp (at the propeller) Volvo Penta 1 cil saildrive. It’s a really funny engine. Very simple and weighs a ton (well 140 Kg to be exact) and green like Frederick the frog.
Not very much power for the boat really, but enough to get outside the harbour and raise the sails.
Do you have any advice on where to find spare parts maybe? As you said, exchanging parts with car engines will be difficult.

 

[Drains]

Hey dutchman - round here we have a couple of boatyards or marine engineers who will happily sell parts for Volvo Penta engines. They are very common engines, there's no reason why you should have difficulty finding parts. If you don't have any numbers you can find, try asking at a local chandlers.

Cheers dude

Si

 

[Luke]

we've got a penta three pot, about 40 years old. parts are available, but hellishly expensive

 

[JW240]

Thanks for the info about the contacts Peter. That really was a missing link for me.
JW, the engine is a 32 year old 7.5 Bhp (at the propeller) Volvo Penta 1 cil saildrive. It’s a really funny engine. Very simple and weighs a ton (well 140 Kg to be exact) and green like Frederick the frog.
Not very much power for the boat really, but enough to get outside the harbour and raise the sails.
Do you have any advice on where to find spare parts maybe? As you said, exchanging parts with car engines will be difficult.

Ebay germany has some of those engines once in a while. Even 2 cylinders etc.

like this (starter looks the same as the starter on a Volvo 240 etc actually, but its probably different, I dont know)

or here

Good luck with finding the right one!