I just installed a new starter on my 1997 115 Merc. I hit the key four or five times and it worked fine. Went to put the cowl on and thought I smelled something burning but it was so faint I was not sure. Decided to try it again and now the starter drive will spin but will not jump out and engage the flywheel. Any ideas?

Oil the shaft with some light 3 in 1 type oil. No WD40. If corrosion or dirty clean with the oil.

Yea thats a pain in the butt. Try to exchange it for another one. But its not uncommon to get brand new starters or alternators that are bad right out of the box. Had it happen to me many of times in the field.

Sounds more like you have a week or bad battery. Check it direct with booster cables to a known good battery.

Exchanged the first starter for another one...no more problems. Hope I dont end up regretting saving a few bucks by buying an aftermarket starter instead of oem.

hope it works out..remember if there is a next time, you could get your old one rebuilt for around 75.00 (price around here) any Gen/Starter Shop can do it..

The reman-starters can be bad right out of the box . I try to rebuild the OEM my self .

I agree with Gary purdy. Check your battery first. My starter will spin if the battery is weak. Put a full charge on the cranking battery and it should work.