
Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Greg, A couple possibilities besides a bad starter.
1. Bad battery - "Fully charged" is really not a good quantifier as to wether the battery is good or bad. An easy way to eliminate the starter as the problem is to use a known good battery and a set of jumper cables.
2. Bad connections - A whole lot of car batteries are replaced here in the midwest during winter, a good battery terminal cleaning would probably have fixed a lot of them, especially on older cars. I would first suspect a bad connection at the battery or the starter or in between, and I would check these first. Its also good to clean & reasemble all battery connections at least once a year (But, leave the battery negative lead off until you're finished- safety). Boats are great places for corrosion of electrical connections. Yours is 20 years old. Start at the battery and work your way to the starter.
3. Starter Solenoid - Sometimes they are built into the starter - but my 1989 Johnson 150 has a separate solenoid. The solenoid connects the battery to the starter when you turn the key to start. Burnt solenoid contacts could also give you similar symptom's.
Good luck!
Al
Edited by ESOX Maniac 6/19/2011 6:30 PM
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