Sometimes the start solenoid just clicks

[capnkev]

Glad to hear the new starter fixed the issue. I was going to suggest voltage drop testing the positive and negative battery cutoff switches. I had a lagoon with cheap switches and was losing 3v on the negative switch. Replaced it with a bus bar and new blue sea 600smp switches on the positive side and it fixed my clicking issue.

[Goodxcharly]

I would just bring the starter into Napa and exchange for a rebuilt. I did that on a Perkins a few years back and the bill came yo $35. Probably around $95 now.
Then I would have the old one rebuilt for a backup,

[Rob H]

Rob H. Diesel tech

South River MD.



As some replied the brushes do make the initial ground for cranking. Before replacing items and it sounds as though you have new battery cables etc..

A simple test to eliminate the key and ignition circuit as the culprit. Is to remove the yellow wire from the starter. Plug a spare piece of wire onto where the exciter (yellow) wire was on the starter. As someone mentioned I believe it is yellow I believe may have a red stripe also, and roughly 14ga. on that engine.

Make sure throttle is in no fuel position. Touch the other end of added wire to battery hot stud on the starter. If this operates the starter correctly you will know it is good and can make repairs to the key/ignition side of wiring.



An easy way to boost the crank signal is a relay if it does not already have one.

Problem could also be in connections to and from your key/ign/.

[betwys1]

Originally Posted by Ryban

I've been having an issue with my Vetus M4.14 since I bought my boat that I still haven't fully resolved.

Sometimes when going to start the engine, the solenoid just clicks, but the engine does not crank. ///

Always good to check for worn/sticking starter motor brushes: they ALWAYS wear out (in the end)

[sailorladd]

It happened to me a couple of times, and normally one would remove the starter motor and either take it in to a service center or (better yet) strip it down yourself and clean out all the parts with diesel or paint thinner, you may need to replace the two electrical brushes, apply marine grease to the cogs etc and it will be just fine...

[Ryban]

I finally got around to opening up the old solenoid and just wanted to provide an update for any future persons that might stumble upon this thread. The old starter looked like it was in good shape, so I kept that as a back-up. The solenoid I wasn't able to disassemble without destroying. It looks like they fold the metal can around the end plastic on this particular model.

In any case, I got inside, and the contacts indeed are pretty burnt/dirty/worn. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was the problem indeed.