Starter doesn't catch always- 115 Rude

[Fishhyren11]

I've had issues with the starter on my 84' 115 Rude lately.

The starter sometimes doesn't "pop-up" and catch the flywheel gear.
But you can hear it free spinning.

2nd, When it does catch, it seems to really struggle to turn over for the first few revolutions then it gets going.

Is this a starter issue, or is this a battery issue?  I recently purchased a new battery (~880CCA).  Was this too small for this engine?

If it's the starter, would a new brush kit help this?
Thanks!

[RickK]

Sounds like a battery - needs enough juice to pop up high enough to engage the gears otherwise it does like you said - just spins.

[Marcq]

I would say bad wire connections , clean them out and try again and of course make sure the battery is fully charged

Marc..

[Fishhyren11]

10-4, I'll double check all the connections-
It's quiet possibly a dirty connection-
I remember checking the voltage at my bow light when I had some issues and it was like 9.5V and the battery was at ~13V
I'll take apart the battery switch and sand the connections as well as the wire block by the engine.

I'll report back next week hopefully with good news!
Thanks again.

[Aswaff400]

im only running a 750 cca battery (if that) with my 112 johnny and it spins the starter no problem... my guess is '84 thats probably never been replaced, connections may be a little green somewhere...

[MarshMarlowe196]

Bad starter.  Had the same problem on my old Jonny.  I went through changing the springloaded gear assembly, and it still didn't work.  Not worth the time and frustration.

Buy a new one - less than $100.00, and easy to install yourself, and worth the peace of mind.

[Marcq]

Bad starter.  Had the same problem on my old Jonny.  I went through changing the springloaded gear assembly, and it still didn't work.  Not worth the time and frustration.

Buy a new one - less than $100.00, and easy to install yourself, and worth the peace of mind.

Yeah but, that wont do him any good if the connection are bad. Actually a good way of testing it, is to provide power directly at the starter,too easy
Marc..

[bdtsr]

This is a classic case of low voltage to the starter.
Clean ALL battery cable connections (as stated)
Load test battery(s) and replace if needed
Replace starter

[Fishhyren11]

After cleaning all the contacts to the battery, replacing one cable, and cleaning the post in the back, everything appears to be working great now!
I also cleaned the starter. Little and shot the spring/post with some WD40!


Thanks for the suggestions!

[RickK]