Yamaha four stroke engine question.

[Bilboinsa]

I have a Yamaha 150 4-stroke with <100 hours on it. With very good batteries, I am getting the dreaded click when I turn the key on. Popped the top to examine the starter. Pinion gear was stuck in up position. Knocked it down, tried to loosen things up a bit, and my flywheel was extremely tight. I remember there used to be a notched rim on outboard flywheels for emergency starts with pullcords. I saw no such rim or notch on my engine. Anyhow, I could not believe how tight my flywheel was when I attempted to rotate it. Am I just remembering old engine technology, or have I just gotten weak? Every time I engaged the starter, the pinion just popped up, moved the flywheel an inch, and froze there.

[SamiGuy]

I am by no means a Pro, but my "shadetree" problem solving would be to pull the plugs and see if I could turn the flywheel easier that way. On my F115, I can pull the lanyard and the motor will still turn with the starter. (When was the last time the motor ran?) Just my way of seeing if it is a motor of possible starter/current/power issue. Good Luck and keep us posted!!
Sami

[Bilboinsa]

Thanks. She ran all day a week ago. There was some clicking at first, but then she turned over and fired right up. Started every time I asked for it while I was on the water, fishing for about three hours. When I got her back to the dock, I started it up about ten times in a row. I thought maybe a small bit of fouling on a shoe or something had burned off. Four days ago, like today, only a click. My battery meter shows green for both batts.

the good news is that I have done some searching on other boating sites, and there seems to be an agreement on the inability to pull start a big four stroke with very good compression. We will see what the wrench says.....

[Bamaman]

Other good news is that you can purchase any starter parts separate of the total starter which lists for about $569.

A properly working starter is one of those must haves for a boat owner. It's not something to put off fixing.

[MH Hawker]

clean and polish each and every connection point no mater how good it looks thats the most likely cause, its a common problem

[ralph]

[quote="MH Hawker"]clean and polish each and every connection point no mater how good it looks thats the most likely cause, its a common problem[/quote]

Especially battery posts (this would have been my first move)

[Bilboinsa]

[quote="MH Hawker"]clean and polish each and every connection point no mater how good it looks thats the most likely cause, its a common problem[/quote]

Thanks. That was my first move. Well, second--after making sure the shifter was in neutral....

[FLOUNDERPOUNDER225]

sounds like low voltage, as far as the starter being engaged, that would be normal for the situation because the starters have what is referred to as an over-running clutch on the pinion gear, the starter engages and when the engine starts the fly wheel spins faster than the starter pinion gear, and spins it down back to its resting position. If the starter did not have enough power to spin the fly wheel, it could theoretically stay in the engaged position Do not spray a bunch of lubricant like wd-40 etc.. all over the shaft of the starter, it will run down and through the armature shaft and wash the original grease/lube that is there for the lower bearing. Put a volt meter on your battery and have someone try to start the engine, watch the voltage, if it falls below 9 Volts, the battery needs to be charged or replaced. A starter draw could also be helpful, if you have an inductive ammeter.

[Bamby]

I don't know about anyone else here but I'd be pretty impressed if anything I owned managed to start 10 times in succession. That is asking a lot of the battery without providing any running time allow the charging system to put any of it back.

[Bilboinsa]

[quote="FLOUNDERPOUNDER225"]sounds like low voltage, as far as the starter being engaged, that would be normal for the situation because the starters have what is referred to as an over-running clutch on the pinion gear, the starter engages and when the engine starts the fly wheel spins faster than the starter pinion gear, and spins it down back to its resting position. If the starter did not have enough power to spin the fly wheel, it could theoretically stay in the engaged position Do not spray a bunch of lubricant like wd-40 etc.. all over the shaft of the starter, it will run down and through the armature shaft and wash the original grease/lube that is there for the lower bearing. Put a volt meter on your battery and have someone try to start the engine, watch the voltage, if it falls below 9 Volts, the battery needs to be charged or replaced. A starter draw could also be helpful, if you have an inductive ammeter.[/quote]
Thanks, Flounder. I did check the voltage under load, and it was still at 10-11V. Think I am gonna turn it over to a wrench. I keep it in a slip, and it is tough to work on much.

[Bilboinsa]

[quote="Bamby"]I don't know about anyone else here but I'd be pretty impressed if anything I owned managed to start 10 times in succession. That is asking a lot of the battery without providing any running time allow the charging system to put any of it back.[/quote]

True, but this is a battery that is only a few months old. Also, I believe it has only lightly frozen down here a couple of times since install in October. And my voltmeter still had it well juiced in static and under load. Thanks again.

So, can anyone else tell me if their Yamaha 150 four stroke (2010) is set up for emergency pull starts? I am leaning towards "no" due to the lack of machined anchor point for the pull cord.

[MH Hawker]

they stopped putting a pull start on high hp motors , 85 is the largest i have ever tried and that was after it was warmed up motor, some where above that its pointless

[Bamby]

Page 64 here: http://www.yamaha-motor.com/assets/serv ... 8_1380.pdf

[Bilboinsa]

Thanks everybody, especially MH and Ralph. The boat is starting fine now. It turned out to be some corrosion on the battery connection ON THE STARTER. I was not able to get access to that at my slip. I am very happy that it was such a simple and cheap fix.

I am going to try to find some type of platform that attaches to my stern to help me work on the motor. The fairly shallow stern deck on my Berkshire just doesn't afford enough space to allow me comfortable and confident positioning.

Thanks again!

[MH Hawker]

pick up a bottle of this and never have that problem again, i use it on all of my connection points, i keep a bottle in my boat tool box

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ideal-NOALOX ... /202276208