20ft maxum ldrive

[roadrash]

If you have heard of this boat you know why im posting my question here. l drive is a 120hp force outboard turned side ways and made into a inboard outboard.made i think 2 years. Anyways my question is i cant figure a good reason im burning up starters.bought boat hadnt ben i water 4 5yrs. hooked new battery up and starter was shot. orderd a cheap made in china one, hooked it up and it burned itself out right after i got the engine running like a dream . went down to the local west marine and got one that worked except everytime you went to crank her over you had to pry the teeth upwards just a hair cause it would stick down. so after a weekend of that, i went and got the replacement and this one like to stick up!. burned right out after spinning around a little bit. now im finding it hard to believe i got three bad starters. now if the ground was bad i dont think the starter would spin at all but im thinking of running a ground directlly to it anyways, also the local marina told me to try a new ignition switch, stating way back when they had one that still somhow supplyied the starter with a little juice when the igniton switch was turned to just the run position. im no expert but this has got me stumped and others to, if anyone has a idea why im burning these up----PLEASE hELP

[marshmat]

I'm far from convinced the starter motors have been faulty. More likely the 'bendix' drive that engages the pinion with the flywheel, is sticking. Force isn't exactly renowned for top-grade quality. It doesn't help if the powerhead is 90 degrees from what its designers intended; although the pinion drive is spring loaded to return to its rest place, it does expect gravity to be assisting it instead of adding friction in an unusual direction. Your motors have probably been fine; the pinion engagement mechanisms are probably at fault and something as simple as cleaning and lubricating it might give you the answers you need.
The way starters are wound, they absolutely must have a load on the pinion when there is power to the starter. It relies on that load to keep the magnetic fields inside the starter at their proper levels; remove the load and there is nothing to stop a massive surge of current through the motor windings. If the starter is fired up without the pinion properly engaged, it will very quickly go into a sort of electromagnetic runaway and overheat to the point of destroying itself. Unfortunately this is a trait of almost all starters as the winding style used is the only way to get the needed torque with the available voltages and form factor.