1988 Merc. Slave Solenoid

K

Ken34

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Good evening.

I have to replace a slave solenoid on my starter of one motor.

Mechanic says its the slave. He cant get to it for a two weeks. He said its a very easy swap. I have never done it though. I am not afraid of doing it myself - so I am just fishing here.

Can anybody lead me in the right direction as to location of the slave solenoid

Any hints or recommendations to make the project go smoother.

Thanks in advance

KG
 
Its on top of the motor. If you get your hands on a new one you'll easily identify it on your motor. Replacement is a piece of cake, at most a 15 minute job.
 
5 minute job. Get the new one, look for the part on your motor that looks just like it. Turn off the battery switch, and swap it out. Get a little stiff brush to clean the connections on the wires when you swap them over. Lots of times they are a bit dirty or have some corrosion on them and that is actually the problem, not the solenoid.
This may sound stupid, but if you have an Alpha drive make sure you swap the one on your motor and not one of the two on your trim pump. They look exactly the same, but the ones on the trim pump are for that. One is for the up action, and the other is for the down action.
The one you want is on the motor itself, most likely very close to the big red breaker button.
 
Also, one of those Slaves has a bump on the bottom and another is flat. Be sure to replace with the same kind.
 
Check the ring terminals on the wires to the solenoid for corrosion. My starter wasn't always engaging fast enough and I thought it was the solenoid. I cut the wires back to eliminate the corrosion and put new terminals on and it was fixed. I have a 3.7 4 cylinder and the slave solenoid is up under the exhaust manifold. Kinda hidden.
 
As this is a 1988 piece you can bet its the slave. I ordered a new starter from BF a while back for our 1988 Carver. George called me and asked me what the symptoms were before he shipped the starter. He pronounced the slave as the culprit and explained its operation and why they failed (starting problems get more frequent over time). He canceled my starter order and shipped the slave instead. Saved me a bunch of money and a hell of a lot of time as a contortionist in the engine bay.
 
Make it a habit to always remove ground terminal on the battery when working on any electrical component.
 
This is an All-Good Fix!

Solves Problem
Inexpensive
Not Labor Intensive
Prevents Future Breakdowns
Figured Out and Done By YOU

Congrats!
 
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