Starter Free Spinning

[cpropes2005]

I need some help diagnosing what seems like a starter issue on my 22V. When we put it in the water on Sunday it started and ran great just like it normally does so we cruised over to a restaurant for lunch. When we went to leave I turned the key and the starter would just free spin. It didnt sound like anything grinding just the electric motor spinning with nothing engaging the flywheel. Fortunately we were tied off so I was able to leave it there for the rest of the day and then get a buddy to come tow me to a nearby ramp but I cant figure out exactly what the problem is.

The starter is only about 6 months old. I had an issue last year where my bilge pump stopped working and the water got high enough for the prop shaft to through water around and getting the old starter wet eventually led to it freezing up. I have since fixed the original and added a second bilge pump so that issue has been resolved.

Fast forward to the current issue and I have taken off and tested the starter and it appears to be working correctly. When I put 12 volts to the large terminal on the solenoid and then jumper it over to the small ignition terminal it pops the gear out and spins as it should. The gear on the starter is also still in good shape and I need to get a mirror to confirm but I put my hand in there and felt the flywheel and didn’t feel any broken/missing teeth. Any other ideas of what could be causing the starter to not engage and just free spin? Motor is a 2010 6.0 MP.

[barrt1]

G'day mate,
It's more than likely your starter pinion clutch slipping.You need to take the starter to a Auto electrician shop. There they can put it on a test bench and load up the pinion gear to see if it is slipping.

[SBM1234]

Probably is the solenoid. I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago. If you jar the starter - like hitting it with a hammer or removing it (bumping it around) it may go back to working, but not for long. The best bet is to replace it.

I didn't replace it when it acted up and ended up being towed in when it quit working again.

[cpropes2005]

Thanks guys. I didn’t see how it could really be anything other than the solenoid since I could hear it free spinning but after it tested out ok I started second guessing myself. Since it is only a few months old I am going to take it back to the shop I bought it from and see if I can’t get some sort of warranty on it.

[cpropes2005]

I always like to try and close these type of threads out in case anyone ever searches for it in the future. It was in fact the starter, put a new one in yesterday and it started right up. Its weird that the old one bench tested good for both me and my mechanic but maybe the pinion gear was slipping like barrt mentioned. Just glad to be back on the water.