Intermittent starting problems

[TitanTn]

I've suddenly developed some issues starting my boat. Sometimes I turn the key and nothing happens. I have to try several times, and suddenly the motor will turn over and run. Sometimes it will never even try to turn over. I have to open the doghouse and press the red reset button on the back of the motor. So what might be the issue here? Where should I start? Thanks.

[Ptownkid]

I have the same issue with my Saltare...in my case it's because the little arm on the side of the transmission is not pushed fully back into place. If i push it by hand into place, the boat will start every time...

[scottchapin]

It could be a bad ground. Check out what would happened to mine: I ran into the problem of the starter motor staying engaged when the key had been turned off (common it seems). First I replaced the starter solenoid but that didn’t fix it. After reading how low amperage and bad grounds caused this I cleaned all the connections but that still didn’t fix it. Then in taking the ground wires off again I realized the ends of the ground cables were the problem. They were loose on the wire and just twisted right off. No wonder I had a bad ground. So I cleaned up the cable ends and the cable itself then crimped the ends on real well and taped them up. That fixed the problem.

[Ptownkid]

Yeah, definitely check all your grounds, they can cause all sorts of fun!

[TitanTn]

I don't think this is a ground issue. I just installed all new cables and connectors this spring. I double-checked them and they're all fine. I'm wondering about the starter solenoid. How do they typically fail? All at once or can it be intermittent?

[Ptownkid]

Mine has new cables too...it's not the cable that causes mine to not start, I think the little ball that holds the arm in neutral on the side of the tranny is the culprit. Did you try pressing on the lever on the side of the transmission by hand?

[TitanTn]

Mine has new cables too...it's not the cable that causes mine to not start, I think the little ball that holds the arm in neutral on the side of the tranny is the culprit. Did you try pressing on the lever on the side of the transmission by hand?

No, it's not that. Sometimes mine will only start once I press the reset button on the back of the motor. I don't know what this does, but it will immediately allow the boat to start. I'm positive that the issue is electrical and not mechanical.

[lively]

well if you have a volt meter turn key to start position and read from hot side of solenoid if you have volts then move to starter leg of solenoid and have a friend try to crank , if you have volts when you try and start .. then resting the OL switch is just picking your nose :) but leads you to a ground issue ..

if you dont have voltage then replace the solenoid , and for whatever reason you want to prove your self wrong , jump across the two legs to see if motor bumps over .. let me know what you find out .. but use a volt meter .. its easier .. hope this helps

[Gregmacdog]

I had the same problem and it was the igition switch, it wasn't making contact, a cheap repair.
Installed a new one and we were back on the lake.
Good Luck

[Ptownkid]

Sorry titan...must have misread the breaker comment.

[TitanTn]

Sorry titan...must have misread the breaker comment.

No problem. I am guessing that it's either the solenoid or the switch. I'm just not sure how to test either. I took a photo of the solenoid. Does this look right to everyone? Shouldn't something be connected to both legs of the solenoid?

http://unumemarketing.com/boat/solenoid.jpg

[wakeup]

yes.....one leg should be battery positive and the other be positive to starter......unless you have a different starter with the starter solenoid built on to it and this solenoid was just left on the boat.....see if the starter has external solenoid on it

[lively]

yeah it prob does have a external solenoid , i was like well theres your problem right there !! gotta hooker up ha ha

[lively]

right side of solenoid goes to starter , left side goes to battery

[chautauquasun]

I had the same type of problem earlier this year. It was driving me crazy I thought I had a dead short somewhere that was draining the battery. It ended up, the red wire in your pic that goes the solenoid on the starter would become loose on the starter connection. I used a pair of needle nose plyers and crimped the slide on connection so that it was tight. That completely solved the problem. It was the simpliest of things but it was so sporadic it was hard to figure out. I hope that helps.

[Yama1]

Looks like you found your culprit. I have had the same type of symptoms,but found that mine would start if i put it back in gear shifted and then went back to neutral. Sometimes it took a few trys and my wiring, tranny, and solenoid are new. Looks like a winter project, don't want to diagnose while in the water trying to have fun.

[wotan2525]

Looks like you found your culprit. I have had the same type of symptoms,but found that mine would start if i put it back in gear shifted and then went back to neutral. Sometimes it took a few trys and my wiring, tranny, and solenoid are new. Looks like a winter project, don't want to diagnose while in the water trying to have fun.

Your problem is that your neutral safety switch and/or linkage is out of adjustment. Easy fix.

[TitanTn]

Here is the pic of the starter. The power comes to one leg of the solenoid on the starter, and then goes to one leg of the solenoid from my other picture. Can anyone confirm or deny that this is how theirs is wired? This doesn't seem right to me. Hard to diagnose as the problem isn't consistent.

http://unumemarketing.com/boat/solenoid2.jpg

[lively]

what year is this boat again .. looks like a external solenoid to me .. you need to check voltage with key ON and also have the drive in neutral position,where the two red wire meet .. then you can see witch way the power issue is going

[bdumas35]

The red button is a breaker. If it is popping you are drawing some high load somewhere. I would suspect maybe worn starter bushings or a short to ground.

Doesn't sound like a neutral safety switch issue to me if you are popping the breaker. But you can jump across the switch wires to test. Good Luck.

[TitanTn]

I appreciate the thoughts, but I'm just not sure what to test. The boat is a 1986. I agree that it's not the neutral safety switch. I'm curious if you guys think the setup is correct as is, or has this thing been wired funny? I'm not sure where to jump across the switch. And what would that tell me? I've checked voltage at the solenoid in the first pic and it's 12 volts with the key ON. The other issue is that this problem is intermittent. I can't get it to happen all the time. When I was testing the other night it turned over every time. Is there a way to test the solenoid itself? A continuity test? I was hoping to figure out the issue before I started replacing parts, but it's just not clear to me as where to begin. Here are the pics again for reference. Thanks again.

http://unumemarketing.com/boat/solenoid.jpg

http://unumemarketing.com/boat/solenoid2.jpg

[haugy]

Bdumas is right. The breaker is the indicator. You're running into a hard load somewhere. Let me check mine tonight.

But something in the wiring is creating a bad ground, or a bad circuit run. I would guess the circuit run. Somewhere the circuits are not running correctly causing the breaker to pop. But what's really strange is how you can start it after you repress it.

That to me means a worn solenoid. Let me do some research, as that's about as far as my knowledge takes me. I suck at electrical work.

[wotan2525]

Something with your wiring is def. odd. The starter solenoid is mounted directly to the starter. You should have a heavy wire going from the battery to the starter and then another wire going from the other terminal to the start switch. I don't even see another wire hooked up to the starter on yours?

Here's a diagram of a basic starter wiring scheme.

http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/images/starter.jpg

Next time you are having problems with it starting -- try to jump across the two terminals on the starter with a screwdriver and see if it spins. If it does, then your start switch (or something else) is bad. If it doesn't spin, then your problem is either the heavy wiring between the starter and the battery or the starter itself. DBElectrical starters are cheap, so it's not really worth the PITA to rebuild your existing one.