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99 sunsetter vlx starter relay


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Can anyone tell me where the starter relay is on a sunsetter vlx?
 

I’m getting a single hard click when I turn the key. Removed the starter, and broke the plastic solenoid in the process, but hoped to replace the relay also as I feel it is the true issue. I’ve read you can pick them up at your local parts store, but I can’t find it in the boat. 

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Sounds like you need a new starter if you get a good click but the starter does not spin.  Sorry, don't know relay location. If your starter was still in place I would tell you to have someone engage starter and at same time give the starter a light tap with a hammer.  Is this original starter?

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It’s not the original. I did get a good bit of water in the bilge earlier this year and think it may have gotten wet. The actual starter looks good, but the solenoid plastic broke when I was unscrewing it and is rusty on the inside. Anyone know where to order the  best/cheapest starter for a 1999. Prices are all over online. Bakes bring the highest.

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On 9/13/2020 at 10:31 AM, MSflyer said:

Turns out it was the starter. Replaced it yesterday and no further issues. Didn’t want to miss the weekend, so bought one local for 200. 

I'll sleep better if I warn you that your steering cable is next.  It doesn't like to get wet either.  If your bilge got full enough to touch the starter, you might want to try to get a big shot of spray lube into the cable if you can.  It is possible to shoot it into the gap in the outer sleeve with the tip of the cable pointed downward, then move the cable in and out a bunch of times.  If you get enough in there, it will work its way up the cable as you move it and help displace water and lubricate the cable.

If you have a rotary helm, the inner cable is exposed as you remove it from the helm, so you can easily get more oil in it from there.

If your steering starts to get tight feeling, you are behind the power curve already.  It can still be saved, but it will take more work as time passes.

Back in the '80s, some local guys built a pressure injector to shoot ATF into the cable.  They saved a lot of cables for people, but I don't know what ever happened to them or their device.  I suspect that they got more expensive than replacement and nobody called any more.

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