Reply To: 1955 Evinrude 25hp sparker/slow crank question

[David Stanton]

If you still have the 6 Volt starter that came with the motor, and it works, put it back on.  When these motors (and also old 6 volt cars) get converted to 12 volts, the starter does not need to be changed.  It will not draw twice the current on 12 volts because of the complex inductance of the spinning starter that does not follow Ohm’s law, but it will spin considerably faster, but running 6 volt starters on 12 should not hurt them.  Converting from 6 to 12 only needs a 12 volt solenoid and a 12 volt choke actuator.  The 6 volt starter running on 12 volts should spin it considerably faster.  OK – all that being said, it sounds like you still have something in the motor that is rubbing, binding, or otherwise causing it to crank hard.   If you are runnin ‘ 12 volt starters on 6 Volts, they will drag and overheat and can self-destruct.  Try pulling the lower unit and driveshaft off and see if the starter spins it a lot faster – if so, look to the lower for your problem.

Dave