[C320-list] Is the starter motor the culprit?

[Bob Hoyt]

In this month's Cruising World there is a story (Renovating Your Starter
Motor) about a starter motor that was requiring more amps to start over
time. The owner took it apart and found it was full of "gunk". This could
be my problem. I queried the forum about a year ago that a group 27
dedicated starting battery would turn over but not start my Perkins M30
engine. I then tested my existing batteries that consist of two pairs of 6
volt Duracell golf cart batteries in series. Similarly, the house pair and
the motor pair will turn over but not start the engine. It takes all four
batteries to start the engine. They are new  and read about 12.8  volts.
The voltage at the starter motor is the same as at the battery. After
activating the glow plugs and starting the engine the voltage drops to
11.7. The resistance across the starter motor with everything off is 9.92 M
which I believe is too high.  All battery terminals and engine ground have
been cleaned and look good
1. Is there enough proof to pull the starter out or should I try to connect
a separate 12 volt battery to the starter  with battery cables to see if
that will start the engine as the first test?
2. How hard is it to pull the starter motor?
3. I cannot find any tech articles about this in the forum archives
4. My situation is complicated by the fact that my boat is at the Navy base
in Pensacola and it is very hard to get contractors to make a  service call
4. Also, the sole starter motor repair shop shut its doors this year.

I would appreciate any guidance

Bob Hoyt
"Ikigai"
1994 C-320 Hull #58
Pensacola, FL

-- 

*Robert (Bob) Hoyt MD, FACP, FAMIA, ABPM-CI*

*Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Internal Medicine*

*Virginia Commonwealth University*

*Richmond, VA*


*CAPT (Ret) USN*

InformaticsEducation.org  <http://InformaticsEducation.org>

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