Speedster starter is behaving strangely

[Nathan Mayo]

IF and only if the battery has a full charge, the port starter will sound like this .......OONCK !....OONCK_OONCK..varoom!. Reminds me of an old timey steam locomotive trying to get going. Once it cranks, it will do that repeatedly with no problem for numerous restarts. The other motor does a typical....rum, rum,rum,rum,Varoom! type of start.

IF the stinker sits for one week, THEN I get this.....OONCK...OONCK....OONCK....Oooooh!....I can't turn over anymore. Even then the other side fires right up as before. The concern is that if I take the boat to the lake for a day and then the SOB croaks for lack of a topped off charge then I will be most unhappy. Battery is only 6 months old and all connectors are clean and tight. Starter is also about a year old and has not been abused or under water.............I don't think.

What says the peanut gallery? Do I take the booger out, knowing that I can limp home on engine #2? Is it just stiff inside there from sitting for 6 months? I do crank it about every 2 weeks, so I don't think that would be the problem. It sits covered in my parking lot here in sunny Orlando, so I don't think cold exposure has had anything to do with it either.

All thoughts are appreciated, even if you are only guessing. Almost forgot.........It did sit for about 3 months without being cranked and the first time I had to tap the case briskly with a long dowell and a hammer before it would budge. That worked nicely , but now it has the OONCK....OONCK Syndrome.

Grazzi !

NM

 

[Coastiejoe]

Is the starter an OEM or aftermarket?

If aftermarket, I'll bet that's the issue.

 

[Nathan Mayo]

Is the starter an OEM or aftermarket?

If aftermarket, I'll bet that's the issue.

It IS aftermarket, but it is also still working and I do not wish to replace if I can avoid it. I'm kinda wondering if I just keep cranking the thing if it will work itself out. What do you think?

 

[Coastiejoe]

I'm going with no. Here is your best test. Swap the starters around. If the poor cranking stays on the same engine, then you have a bad cable, connection or solenoid. If it moved to the other engine, then it is the starter.

 

[go_panthers]

I would also check for corrosion on the ground (negative) engine connection.

 

[go_panthers]

Disregard. Reread your post. Sorry.

 

[ialonso]

OEM starter $200 from Denso, OR $50 from DB Staters, or whatever their name is..OEM will last 10+ years with luck, DB will last 2-6 years for 80% of users, the rest are split between earlier failure and total luck.

I made the second set of numbers up from seeing posts about the topic online.

The starter will fail, your if it messes up your day, or you attack it on a non-boating day before it fails. Many things don't give you the choice. Embrace it.

If cash is strapped, and it was me, I would buy the el cheapo version over going to the ramp with a possibly failing starter. If I was flush and $200 did not hurt, I would have ordered a good one yesterday.

Good Luck!