starter question on mid 90's Evinrude 50 hp.

[krt]

I got the boat out of the barn last night (been asitting foir 2 yrs.) and when I tried to start it, the starter engaged the fly wheel but didn't turn the motor over. I think it may have made a spinning noise even when the fly wheel sat motionless, though. I tried it a few times & then resorted to starting the thing with the pull cord.
Is there something in the starter that would make it behave this way after simply sitting in the barn for a couple of seasons? It worked fine when I put it away.

Thanks for your time.

[glockman55]

Low Battery?

[krt]

According to the charger, the battery is fine. It doesn't even roll the motor slowly. Its almost like what ever drives the shaft on the starter is stripped or something.
Thanks for the response, though.

[zx10r2004]

hit the starter with a hammer a couple of times.

[ESOX]

The bendix, which is what engages the starter to the flywheel is stuck. I would give it a shot at the top- try to spray some WD-40 under the gear on the starter. A little love tap on the starter with a mallet while the starter is spinning sometimes helps. Do NOT hit the starter hard, or on the main body. Tap it up near the top.

[Sportfishermans SVC]

Check your battery cables for corrosion. It causes more problems than you can believe.

[krt]

Well first off, thanks to all for your help. She's working fine now. I wish I could tell you just what cured it, but I cleaned the battery connections & gave it love taps as my wife hit the starter and she rolled over fine.

Thanks again. You all probably saved me a trip to the shop.

[snag]

After running my outboard all season without issue, the starter will no longer engage with the flywheel. It will spin...but not move up and engage. Do I need a new starter?
Thanks in advance for your time.
Snag

[jpollman]

After running my outboard all season without issue, the starter will no longer engage with the flywheel. It will spin...but not move up and engage. Do I need a new starter?
Thanks in advance for your time.
Snag

I'd be willing to bet that if you lubricate the bendix it'll work fine. The "bendix" is the gear on the end of the starter shaft that engages the flywheel. As the starter shaft spins up, it has a reversed spiral machined into it. It forces the bendix upwards which causes it to engage the flywheel. As long as the starter is cranking it keeps the gear engaged with the flywheel. But when the engine starts and you stop cranking the flywheel spins faster and forces the bendix to become disengaged and it drops back down into its original position. If the shaft of the starter is sticky, it will not rise up to engage the flywheel. If you just give it a shot of penetrating oil and let it set, you should be good to go.

Good luck!

John

[snag]

I really appreciate the help. I'll let you know how things turn out.
snag

[krt]

That's what I did. The funny thing is sometimes it would simply spin in place. Other times i6t would actually raise up & grab the fly wheel & not spin it. I cleaned the terminals & gave it some wd-40 it it worked..........for now at least.
Thanks for all of the help.

[jpollman]

krt,

it sounds like you had two problems. A sticky bendix and a bad connection. Once you got the bendix cleaned and lubed, it made contact but the starter couldn't get enough current flow to turn the engine over. Once you cleaned the connections it solved that problem. Corroded or dirty battery connections can give you fits!

Glad you got it working.

John