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I_am_Tosk

In article b756c902-5062-4b42-b5d8-
, says...

On Jun 20, 7:08*pm, John H wrote:
On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:40:46 -0400, L G wrote:
John H wrote:
On Sat, 18 Jun 2011 21:37:05 -0400, L *wrote:

John H wrote:

On Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:42:07 -0400, L * wrote:

John H wrote:

YES! Today I put the starter back on the Yamaha with the new solenoid found by Tim after searching
and trying several different solenoids. Yamaha wanted about $570 for a new solenoid, or about $690
for a complete starter assembly. Tim found a solenoid for the Hitachi starter which ran about $21.
Wow!

Tim, thank you.

Damn! *That's a bargain! *When did your warranty expire?

The warranty hasn't expired. The damage to the original solenoid was due to operator error.

How is that possible?

*From this thread: "Sad story, some stupidity, happy ending!"

Given all the troubles I've had with getting the boat started, which have been due to loose grounds,
leaving switches on, etc, I decided to bring the boat home and check it out before the outing
planned for yesterday and today.

Great intentions. I tightened the ground on the engine, and then went to check the hot wire to the
solenoid. Well, lucky me, there was a sticker right there showing the torque for the nut on the
solenoid! So I got out my trusty Craftsman torque wrench, which I've used only on my motorcycle, set
it for 8 n-m, and proceeded to tighten the nut.

I couldn't believe how loose it was. After two turns of about 60 degrees with the wrench, I'd still
not felt the 'click' indicating the proper torque had been achieved. I was surprised at how tight
that damn nut was supposed to be. But, I started to give it another turn when 'POP', the Bakelite
plastic housing broke off. (Yes, I used a whole lot of foul language!)

So, I called my local Yamaha guy, who gave me an 'Oh ****, that's expensive.' He then told me he
couldn't get parts from Yamaha because he'd not sold any new engines lately. He carried Triumph
brand boats, and as they went bankrupt last year, he's not gotten any to sell. Upon checking, I
found they've been bought and will be produced in Minnesota instead of NC.

OK. *I remember that now. *I thought you were talking about it failing
due to operator error while operating it!

Failure due to operator error while said operator was attempting to operate a big torque wrench with
very little torque.

I know now how to do so. Not bad, it took only 67 years and a couple months to learn that lesson.

Murphy's torque tightening rule:

"Tighten it up 'till it snaps, then back 'er off a quarter turn"

Had to do some motorwork on the 250 last week so The Mouse and I got on
it. At one point we reached a place where there was no way to get the
torque wrench in so I had to do 7 foot pounds by hand (Lucky I have a
good "click" wrist for such things

. Realizing that the two pieces of
metal were meant to be pulled together to seat, and that once that seat
was found, the bolts job was done. I cleaned everything well, applied
the lubricant and tightened it down till it seated, and gave it that
tiny bit of bite it needed without pulling the aluminum threads out with
the steel bolt...

Now I don't recommend this to everybody, but I have a lot of experience
in this area... My wrist "feels" the seat...

--
Team Rowdy Mouse, Banned from the Mall for life!