Starting Issue

Hi all,

Spring is here, so we have started getting the boat (73 Nautique 351) ready for summer season (bout time!).

Went to start her up the other day, and the solenoid seemed to stick, causing the starter to turn over continually. We disconnected the negative terminal to make it stop. I gave the solenoid a whack, cleaned all the connections (battery, solenoid, starter) and hooked er back up. Now when turning the key, all I get is a loud click from the starter area and that's it.

Battery (not deep cycle) is on a tender, so when I go to test, it is at ~13.1V. Turning the ignition drops it to ~12.8 and it slowly goes lower with a few more tries. I have full voltage at both sides of the solenoid and I think at the starter (was an interesting balancing act trying to test the voltage alone!) so I *think* my wires/connections are good.

Taking the battery in this weekend to be tested.

Any thoughts? Solenoid? Battery? I don't think it is the starter as it has about 2 years on it since being rebuilt.

Separately, the solenoid on the boat is illustrated below. Two questions: Is this the normal solenoid? It looks different than the standard Ford. Second, does the wiring look normal? I know the coloring is incorrect, but I have done my best to label. The wires going to the tranny seem odd to me...

Any help is appreciated! Cheers!

Derek

Since it turned over good perhaps too good the first time sounds like solenoid is toast.Some last forever some don't make it through a season in both boats and cars.I say jump the solenoid quick to see if turns over easy just bypass with 2 screwdrivers to each side.CAREFULLY will spark so make sure no fumes are present.

Here's Pete/Tim's electrical diagram for reference. Is that green wire you've got going to the coil always been there?

After taking the starter in to have it looked at, the starter is indeed toast.

The shop said it is a reverse rotation starter and that it would take 3 weeks (!) to get a new one in. I'd rather not wait, so I'm looking for one online.

For my own clarification, the starter I will need is a RH starter? Also, any issue using a 9 OR 10 tooth starter? Last, should I go with a permanent magnet setup, or keep it old school?