BBC starters
 

The marina installed 2 new starters for me before installing the engines. Good plan on the surface. Pain to get to later. There wasn't anything wrong with the others just supposed to be smart money spent while it's easy to do. So about 3 weekends into this season the port started giving me some trouble. Was hit or miss on starting. I would hit the key several times (you could hear the relay working) and finally it would start. Then at the end of the season the starboard is doing the exact same thing. I don't know if everyone has a remote relay but I replaced the one on the port right away and it didn't fix the problem. Wondering what the chances are that both starters are bad? I have the exhaust off of both engines which makes the job of replacement possible however wondering if there is something else to check. All of the connections are tight. Thanks for your comments

Do you know what brand the starters are? OEM? Arco? Sierra? API?

Looks like Arco
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Did you check eng ground connections? They often get overlooked. If that's all good, I'd check the voltage at the solenoid (use eng as ground reference) and voltage drop across the ign switches and neutral safety switches when attempting to crank engs. Unlikely two Arco starters would die at the same time.

Had a similar issue, would hear a click but intermittent starting. Was the solonoid on the starter itself, contacts were worn, new starter and haven't had an issue since

Mine was several years old, though, so it's strange that both of yours are having issues

Mine was key switch

CheckmateScarab,

Same, only I just had the solenoid replaced. Been golden ever since.

Thanks. Brad.

Ill check the ground connections but im pretty sure they are good. If the solenoids are working (clicking) when i turn the key that means the ignition switches are good?

I’ve had trouble with both of my top-side relays. I’d tap them and they’d work. The solenoid on the starter is probably fine.

Start with easy/cheap first.

With that said… double check grounds, too.

Not necessarily. The Chevy type starter solenoid has two purposes. It moves the starter bendix gear to engage the flywheel teeth and once it has traveled all the way to the end of it's stroke, it completes the starter power connection and applies power to starter motor. If there too much resistance in the solenoid control circuit that goes thru key switch and then neutral safety switches, the voltage at the solenoid may be too low to overcome the internal spring and fully engage the solenoid to complete circuit to the starter motor. You will hear a click but the solenoid doesn't travel to the end of stroke to power the starter motor.

Also if the bendix hits flywheel but the teeth don't engage (bad starter alignment), the solenoid won't reach end of stroke to power the starter motor. I've seen where the wrong bolts were used to mount the starter and the starter eventually shifted itself out of alignment. The knurling of the starter bolts should eliminate any side-to-side slop between the bolt and the block and also between the bolt and the starter. If all that's correct, the starter shouldn't budge (assuming the bolts are tight). I've run across a situation on my boat where a "metric" starter was used. Hole in 454 block was 3/8" and hole in starter was 10mm. In that case, a special bolt was needed that had half of the knurling at 3/8" and the other half at 10mm. "Stepped knurling" if you will.

An old solenoid with burnt contacts (for starter motor) will behave the same but since yours are new, I'm ruling that out.

You might try taking out a bolt at a time and sanding the under side of the bolt head and the surface around the bolt hole.

Electrical grounding often gets overlooked both on troubleshooting and maintenance.
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​​A good heavy grease on clean connections will prevent a lot of corrosion, and issues down the road.

I replaced the neutral safety switches maybe 4 or 5 years ago. The ignition switches are original from 1995. I had the Marina install the engines and do the alignment but i did everything else so i may have a wire or several wires that have worked loose. I have time so i guess a complete nut and bolt check is in order. Thanks for the help

Also check that the wires are tight in the crimp ends. That one has got me before.

Yup me too. I actually soldered and shrink wrapped most everything I touched hoping to eliminate that as a problem but as you probably know, there are a million other factory crimp ends that could be a problem.

I have an "Electric Dielectric Grease" that I use on a lot of area's but I know I didn't use it on any of the ground locations. Probably in hindsight that might have been the place to use it?

Dielectric grease is non conductive. I would not use it there.

You have got to be kidding me!! This is the stuff I bought. It only talks about spark plug boots and battery terminals but I have been using it on all possible electrical connections on all of my vehicles. I was using it to control or stop corrosion and keep a good electrical contact.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...c1e3da500a.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...f9f826d899.jpg

You’re fine with the dielectric. It will reduce corrosion.

I agree, it is still good to put on connections, keeps out all water and eliminates moisture from corroding contact points

Possible the Chinese made selenoids are going bad already, my starter/alternator rebuiler recommended using the ,,Brazilian made selenoid,, years ago, thats what I use,,never had one go bad yet, just sayin.

I am going to pull them now while it's "easy" and have them gone through. I do think it's unlikely that both have the same problem a couple months apart but I'm not willing to take the chance. This problem will probably lead back to my wiring which I will also be double checking. Thanks for the heads up about the solenoids. I'll ask about them when I drop them off.

I'm hoping everything checks out, retracing wiring is never a fun time

​​​​​​Let us know what you find!