Forums, Engine, Gearbox, Stern Gear, etc, Bukh DV20 starter motor fix

Tazling at 15/07/2013 02:19:25
I have been going through some new-owner fun and games with my venerable JJT Contessa; the (Bosch) starter motor packed it in and I ordered a rebuild (ouch!) which arrived promptly but after installation was still flaky. Much despairing, checking of wires, etc. The behaviour was interesting - it would always work on the second try. (The previous starter had stopped working altogether, would just wail away w/o ever turning the engine over; so “2nd try” was an improvement but still bothered me.)

So after a lot of head scratching and cussing, I tried one “dumb” fix which seems to have made quite a difference… thought I would share it with you all.

I greased the teeth of the big Bukh flywheel and also the teeth of the small pinion gear that shoots forward to engage it. Both were pretty dry and the flywheel had some surface rust. After greasing, the starter motor consistently engages first time, every time. Of course, I had to clean up a fair amount of grease that was flung about enthusiastically by the flywheel :) but that seemed a small price to pay for success.

This may be a complete no-brainer for a more experienced mechanic, but for me (more of a deck monkey than a grease monkey) it was new info so I thought if anyone else is having flaky DV20 starter issues, you might want to give it a try.

Richard Ritchie at 15/07/2013 09:19:51
I have a similar situation with my 2GM20: it starts very reliably, but often the start button needs to be tried a second time, especially from cold. I can find no explanation.
No amount of wirechasing and switch cleaner has made any difference so I live with it.
Iwill see if grease can be applied.