WaterMota Starter Motor

The WaterMota starter motor, commonly found on Freeman Cruisers amongst other boats, is an electrically operated starter motor that drives the starter drive gear to rotate the flywheel until the engine cranks over and starts.

How the WaterMota Starter Motor Works

When the starter ignition is switched on, the Bendix engagement mechanism engages and disengages from the flywheel automatically as the gear, sat on a helical drive spring, begins to wind along until it engages with the starter ring. Having started the engine the drive gear over-rotates beyond the starter speed and is forced back out of contact with the flywheel ring, disengaging until the start procedure is required again.

Starter Motor Wear and Tear

Starter motors can wear in two very different ways, the most common of which is for the motor to fail, this is primarily caused by the motor brushes wearing. These brushes are in constant contact with the spinning commutator inside the motor casing which causes them to wear out both mechanically from friction, and electrically from sparking and arcing.

Also the continual 'clash' of the starter motor Bendix gear and the flywheel gear ring causes both to wear out and therefore not mesh together properly when starting. The starter motor tends to wear quicker, and it is certainly easier to replace than the flywheel gear ring.

Which WaterMota engine is this suitable for?

The WaterMota Starter Motor is suitable for the majority of WaterMota petrol engines including the WaterMota Sea Wolf Mk1 & Mk2 and WaterMota Sea Tiger Mk1 & Mk2.

The WaterMota starter motor is different to that used on the Ford car engine due to differences in the bell housing, therefore the car starters don't fit properly and the Bendix doesn't mesh correctly with the ring gear.