Engine won't start???

[2buoysandagirl]

Hi All,
Went to winterize this weekend and ran into trouble. Dead batteries for sure. Put them on the charger and that seems to be resolved. However, engine won't start. I get a series of clicks from the motor but it's not turning over. Engine flusher (plunger) is in place with water. Gas is good. I get a display and the usual beep when I turn the key over... Wondering if it's a spark plug? Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your comments...

Randy

[talltigeguy]

Although the batteries might have charged up to a certain voltage, it doesn't mean that they still provide the necessary amps to turn the engine over. If you have a multimeter, I would put it on the batteries while you crank it and see how much voltage you lose. I am not sure how much is too much, but generally speaking, the batteries should stay above 11.5 volts or so. I once had a battery that had adequate voltage, but once the load was placed, it went to 8volts...clearly the battery was dead, even with normal voltage reading.

The above is a poor man's way of testing the batteries. If you really want to know if you ruined them, take them to the auto parts store and they will test them for free with a real load tester.

Of course check to see that your connections are tight.

Even deep cycle batteries, if left dead for a while, will not recover. The length of time a battery is spent discharged greatly shortens its lifespan.

[chpthril]

What is the battery voltage read at the battery?

[IDBoating]

x2. I just (yesterday!) replaced a battery in a tractor that was doing exactly what you described. Charger said "good", no-load voltage was fine, but turn the key and the voltage dropped to ~5V and all you could hear was the solenoid clicking. New battery and presto, back in business.

[2buoysandagirl]

Thank you for the direction... I'm going to replace one of the batteries I've been suspect about since the beginning of summer... I'll try again after replacing and let you know. Not sure what the voltage at the battery is off hand but it's reading 12.9 on the dash before I try to crank it. What you've all described sounds pretty plausible.
Thanks for the comments...

[IDBoating]

Before you spend money: Grab a known-good battery out of a car/truck and try that first. This is basically a V8 automotive engine as far as starting is concerned, so you can test your theory for free before buying new batteries. Just a thought.

[LKG PH Creek]

Whenever my boat wouldn't start it was either the deadman's switch, or the boat wasn't in neutral.....pretty cheap to check :-)

[talltigeguy]

Whenever my boat wouldn't start it was either the deadman's switch, or the boat wasn't in neutral.....pretty cheap to check :-)

With the deadman's switch, I think the engine turns over, but won't start, right? On a side note, one great mod I learned about was to reverse the wires on the deadman switch. That way I could throw the annoying lanyard in the glove box. I have never heard of anyone that uses it anyway. Then it is sort of a poor man's security to put the lanyard back on when you leave the boat overnight. No one would think to disconnect the lanyard in order to start the boat.

And when in gear, you get no click at all.

[IDBoating]

On a side note, one great mod I learned about was to reverse the wires on the deadman switch.

I presume that's a simple SPST switch. Reversing the wires would have no effect at all. You would need to install a SPDT switch to get the effect you're describing.

If you're just looking to reverse the switch POSITION, you may be able to rotate the entire switch body. This would work if it's mounted in a round hole. Many switches, though, use a D-shaped hole or keyed hole to prevent inadvertent rotation; you'd have to round out the hole in that case.

[talltigeguy]

I presume that's a simple SPST switch. Reversing the wires would have no effect at all. You would need to install a SPDT switch to get the effect you're describing.

If you're just looking to reverse the switch POSITION, you may be able to rotate the entire switch body. This would work if it's mounted in a round hole. Many switches, though, use a D-shaped hole or keyed hole to prevent inadvertent rotation; you'd have to round out the hole in that case.

I think that it is actually a momentary switch, and the lanyard holds the switch into the off position. It is a kill switch, so the switch being on means that the engine won't run. When the lanyard is on, the engine will turn on. You reverse the wires and when the lanyard is on, the engine won't start. And vice versa. I've done it and it works. So despite my rudimentary description of what kind of switch it is, it works to just swap the 2 wires that you find on the back of the switch. So I put my lanyard in the glovebox and don't have any stoopid red lanyards hanging around at my feet or legs. And every wakeboat I have seen seems to use a similar switch.

[talltigeguy]

My boat's switch is exactly like this one.

http://www.delcity.net/store/Univers...FUWCQgodo3EAjw

[shawndoggy]

usually the kill switch is wired as normally open, so that in normal operation the lanyard, when installed, closes the circuit and "makes ground" on the gauges and fuel pump relay. So no lanyard, no ground. No ground, no fuel. No fuel, no fire.

Wired up in the normally closed configuration, the switch always makes ground unless the lanyard is installed.

[IDBoating]

On my boat, and the other Tiges I've been on, they use a standard toggle switch with a plastic housing around it on one end. The switch will stay in either position. The lanyard goes around the lever of the switch and then you click it into the plastic housing. If the lanyard is pulled, the toggle switch is moved to its other position and the lanyard can come free. It is entirely possible to simply flip the switch into its "operating" position without the lanyard.

I know the kind of switch you're describing. I had one on my Seadoo jetboat. Those are indeed momentary pushbutton-like switches. From the appearance of the one in the link it looks like that one may have both normally open and normally closed contacts, so while it's not a simple "reversal" of wires it may be possible to MOVE one of the wires to achieve the behavior described. (Background data: Hard contact switches are not direction sensitive, you don't get different behavior by reversing their connections.)

As I said, every Tige I've seen or been on had a toggle switch like mine. They look like this:



...and the lever "clicks" into either position. The photo shows a SPST (single pole, single throw) switch that is "closed" in one position and "open" in the other.

[talltigeguy]

On my boat, and the other Tiges I've been on, they use a standard toggle switch with a plastic housing around it on one end. The switch will stay in either position. The lanyard goes around the lever of the switch and then you click it into the plastic housing. If the lanyard is pulled, the toggle switch is moved to its other position and the lanyard can come free. It is entirely possible to simply flip the switch into its "operating" position without the lanyard.

I know the kind of switch you're describing. I had one on my Seadoo jetboat. Those are indeed momentary pushbutton-like switches. From the appearance of the one in the link it looks like that one may have both normally open and normally closed contacts, so while it's not a simple "reversal" of wires it may be possible to MOVE one of the wires to achieve the behavior described. (Background data: Hard contact switches are not direction sensitive, you don't get different behavior by reversing their connections.)

As I said, every Tige I've seen or been on had a toggle switch like mine. They look like this:



...and the lever "clicks" into either position. The photo shows a SPST (single pole, single throw) switch that is "closed" in one position and "open" in the other.

I got her figured out and just got a buttload of education in the process.

There are 2 types of kill switches, magneto and ignition. Fortunately, they work in exactly opposite manners. One of them works by killing the engine when the connection is lost across the circuit, and the other works by killing the engine when the circuit is complete.

The switch I pictured above has 4 connections. 2 of them work for magneto type kill switches and 2 of them work for ignition type kill switches. By moving the wires from magneto to ignition or vice versa, the function of the switch is reversed. So I misspoke when I stated that by reversing the wires, I reversed the swtich (never argue with WAboating!). I moved the wires to the other terminals. In the diagram below, I got the function I desired by moving the wires from 'A' to 'B'.

[LKG PH Creek]

I too got quite the education.
Thanks!