electric start not working on 1979 35hp johnson

[jwmiller33]

so i have had this 1979 35hp johnson for about 6 or 7 months. one day this summer while i was out fishing, the electric start just stopped working in the middle of the day. i would turn the key over and all i would hear was a "vrooooom" sound. i kind of just ignored the problem all summer and used the pull start because i didn't have the money to get it fixed. so when i take the cover off and turn the key over, i can see this one gear thingy spin. it is supposed to engage up and catch in the flywheel, but it does not engage and it just stays down and spins and that is the vrooom sound i was hearing. when i use the pull start, this thing doesn't spin, just the flywheel does, so does this mean the thing that is spinning when i turn the key and not engaging is a starter? or what is it called? does anybody know how to fix this?

here is a pic of the thing that spins and doesn't engage when i turn the key over

here is a pic of that thing as well as the fly wheel it is supposed to engage up and catch to start the motor.

can anybody tell me whats going on? thanks much!

[boatfixer]

That is the starter pinion gear (there is not enough clearance between it and the flywheel to fit your finger by the way) anyway, the reason it wont come up is because the bendix, or shaft, that it slides up on is dirty and needs to be clean. The pinion is stuck down. use a screw driver to gently pry up on it and use something like WD-40 to clean it. Dont you any grease or heavy oil.

[jwmiller33]

there is not enough clearance between it and the flywheel to fit your finger by the way

what do you mean by this?

so is there anyway to take it off and take it apart and clean it? or would i probably be getting in too deep doing that? i don't know much about motors. will the wd40 be a sufficient fix? or more of a temporary?

thank you very much for your help

[CAMAN]

Originally Posted By: boatfixer

there is not enough clearance between it and the flywheel to fit your finger by the way

what do you mean by this?

so is there anyway to take it off and take it apart and clean it? or would i probably be getting in too deep doing that? i don't know much about motors. will the wd40 be a sufficient fix? or more of a temporary?

thank you very much for your help

No need to take it off, just reach in there with the wd40 and spray the shaft the gear rides on, try not to get any inside the starter motor though and if you can reach take a rag and wipe off as much dirt and grease on the shaft as possible and repeat a couple times until the gear slides freely. A very light coat of wd40 is more than enough lubrication, you don't want too much because it causes sticking and dirt to buildup. Its more routine maintenance than a temporary/permanent fix, you should do it every couple years atleast, I try to do it every spring when taking it out of storage.

Oh, and Boatfixer was just trying to be a smartace with the finger comment, he got his caught between there the other day. How's the finger Bruce?

[boatfixer]

Its healing, slowly but, its feeling better.

[CAMAN]

Ouch!! Looks about the same as when I got my finger caught in a table mounted router. You got lucky on that one.

[jwmiller33]

use a screw driver to gently pry up on it and use something like WD-40 to clean it. Dont you any grease or heavy oil.

so i tried using a flathead screwdriver to pry the pinion up and i cant. there isnt enough room to get the screwdriver leveraged in there to pry it up. i already tried using a pliers to grab onto it and gently pry at the same time to no avail. i tried just spraying wd40 in there too and it still doesnt turn over. does anybody have any advice on how to do this?

[BoxMN]

Yikes boatfixer! That looks like it smarts... Hope it keeps healing well for you!

[marine_man]

As you try and pry it up, rotate it the direction it wants to go (look at the grooves on the starter). If that's completely locked up you've got bigger problems.

marine_man

[Surface Tension]

Its healing, slowly but, its feeling better.

Jacob, Disconnect the battery before you work on the starter.

[jwmiller33]

As you try and pry it up, rotate it the direction it wants to go (look at the grooves on the starter). If that's completely locked up you've got bigger problems.

marine_man

its not completely locked up. it moves freely but just a little bit. the problem is there is only about 1/4 inch between the gear and the side of the thing to get a screw driver in there. when i put the screw driver in there, it is at like a 70 degree angle, which is too vertical to get any leverage on the screw driver. does anybody have any suggestions on how to get this? can i take the thing apart and clean it?

[jwmiller33]

boat fixer--how did that happen??? did the ignition key get turned on somehow when your finger was in there?

[broken_line]

hold the shaft that the gear is on with one hand. and turn the gear by the other hand.. it shouold come up.. then clean it.. might have to trun back and forth to get it to come up.

[jwmiller33]

ok so if i'm understanding this right, the thing can only "come up" like maybe a 1/2 inch to an inch. anyways, i cant get it to come up, even if i hold the gear it is on and spin it with the other hand. even if i do get it to come up, i dont get where i'm supposed to clean because it will have only moved up like a inch or so.

can i take that bolt off that is on the top and slide off the entire gear and then clean the shaft? that seems like the easiest way to clean the shaft.

is there some sort of spring that makes this thing come up? perhaps the spring broke or something? i'm starting to think maybe there is a bigger problem here. marineman-maybe this is the bigger problem your talking about?

[broken_line]

once you got it to come up did it work again? does the gear turn far enough to hit the fly wheel? if both of these just squirt some wd 40 on the shaft.

[CAMAN]

Originally Posted By: boatfixer

Its healing, slowly but, its feeling better.

Jacob, Disconnect the battery before you work on the starter.

AND THE SPARK PLUGS!!!

[CAMAN]

ok so if i'm understanding this right, the thing can only "come up" like maybe a 1/2 inch to an inch. anyways, i cant get it to come up, even if i hold the gear it is on and spin it with the other hand. even if i do get it to come up, i dont get where i'm supposed to clean because it will have only moved up like a inch or so.

can i take that bolt off that is on the top and slide off the entire gear and then clean the shaft? that seems like the easiest way to clean the shaft.

is there some sort of spring that makes this thing come up? perhaps the spring broke or something? i'm starting to think maybe there is a bigger problem here. marineman-maybe this is the bigger problem your talking about?

If you can take the starter motor off without having to remove numerous other things, go for it, otherwise leave it on, and save yourself a headache and other possible problems.

THe spring is there to pull the gear down and away from the flywheel when you stop cranking on the motor.

The nut will be difficult to remove without being able to keep the shaft from spinning.

If it is that hard to move you may have stripped the splines the gear rides on, but since its all the way in the down position its kind of unlikely that happened, it would have stuck itself further up on the shaft, or even in the start position. Try this, use a screwdriver or something solid to keep the gear from spinning, put a socket with ratchet handle on the nut on the end of the shaft and gently try to turn the nut in the direction that will make the gear rise on the shaft. This 'should' break it loose and you will be able to clean and work all the gunk and debris out of it.

Just thinking outside the box here, but could you have connected something up backwards? (positive on neutral/neutral on positive) The starter may be spinning the wrong direction and preventing the gear from rising. I would check that also.

[SkunkedAgain]

Just gotta post -- had a '79 Evinrude 35hp up until this season. I really liked that motor. Mine was setup for electric start but didn't have the parts. It worked well either way. I sort of wish that I still had it.

Good luck

[jwmiller33]

Yes, I love this motor. I never have problems getting it to start or run with the pull start. It is just so much more convenient to turn the key and start it as opposed to pull starting it. I just wish I could figure out what the heck is wrong with my electric start and get it fixed