boat won't start, any ideas??

[clinton]

First of all thanks for taking the time to help a brother out. I have a 99 Tige' 21 V with the 350 MPI, 315 H.P. if those are needed. The motor does not turn over, there is just a click in the engine compartment when I hit the key. A breakdown of what I have done so far.

1) had starter rebuilt 2 winters ago
2) had starter repaired this last winter (had to hit key a few times before starter turned motor over, otherwise the click)
3) added an amp to my stereo, probably no correlation
4) replaced 90 amp fuse on starter
5) replaced slave solenoid
6) pulled all the plugs
7) tried starting with neutral button pulled out
8) tried with throttle pushed forward and backward whiles still in neutral

both batteries are at about 11.6 volts

something that seems odd but I am not sure if it is anything, I try to put the throttle into forward or reverse and it won't do it unless I pull out on the neutral button.

Any help is appreciated.
thanks.

[Tequilasun]

Hmm, the click in the engine compartment rules out what I was going to say.

First think I would check though is that your throttle handle is making it into neutral. You might have stretched the cable a bit.

Have you run it at all this year?

Then the starter. It doesn't click over at all? If you've run it then seems like your alt is working if you batts are charged...unless you've had them on a charger or something.

Simple things to check:

Make sure your perko is on (I know...but I've done it once or twice)
Do you have a safety shut off switch on you boat? Might not be connected all the way.

I know this isn't much help. Good luck to you.

[zad0030]

We had a similiar problems, batteries kept dieing and each key turn was .. CLICK!.. got pretty frustrating. After buying new batteries we got it to turn over and it was kind of hit or miss, wouldnt turn over all the time. Replaced the starter and havnt had a problem since. From what I understand you need 12 volts to start.

Seems like you have had work done with your starter before, but it could still be the problem. Have you had alot of water in your bilge lately?

[tri_slarson]

How old is the battery? 11.6V seems low. Maybe try measuring the battery voltage while trying to start it.
Whatabout trying to jump start it.

[da.bell]

First of all thanks for taking the time to help a brother out. I have a 99 Tige' 21 V with the 350 MPI, 315 H.P. if those are needed. The motor does not turn over, there is just a click in the engine compartment when I hit the key. A breakdown of what I have done so far.

1) had starter rebuilt 2 winters ago
2) had starter repaired this last winter (had to hit key a few times before starter turned motor over, otherwise the click)
3) added an amp to my stereo, probably no correlation
4) replaced 90 amp fuse on starter
5) replaced slave solenoid
6) pulled all the plugs
7) tried starting with neutral button pulled out
8) tried with throttle pushed forward and backward whiles still in neutral

both batteries are at about 11.6 volts

something that seems odd but I am not sure if it is anything, I try to put the throttle into forward or reverse and it won't do it unless I pull out on the neutral button.

Any help is appreciated.
thanks.

Okay, the smart @$$ would say that it's time for the Tige RZ4. Great looking boat....

On the other side, how old is the battery? Sounds like a battery problem....

[clinton]

progress report: battery 1 is @ 12.0, battery 2 is @ 12.1, at the starter before the fuse is 11.9 with perko on all, and 11.7 & 11.8 accordingly on 1 & 2. After the 90 amp fuse on the starter there is no reading. I did ohmes reading and it stayed at 1 on both the old and new fuse. Did I get a bad fuse, my understanding is that fuses should read 0. Is that correct?

http://www.mercurypartsexpress.com/P...onframeSet.asp

Aparently it won't get you directly to diagram, serial # is 0L009414 and look under the starter if you are interested

#8 is the fuse I am talking about

[clinton]

she has not seen the water nor started this year. there has not been much for water in the bilge. There is no safety switch to my knowledge and I have owned it now for 3 seasons. the batteries are 1.5 to 2 years old, Optima blue tops. I have tried to jump start it with 100 amp jumper.

New boat is not in the budget this year, would be nice though.

[whitlock87]

What type of meter are you using?
Zero could be a dead short, or an open circuit.
I like to use the diode mode. (When you touch the two leads, the meter will beep)

If you touch the two leads together, that should give you the same reading as a good fuse.

[clinton]

it is 0 if I touch the 2 leads together, it is 1 on the fuse so they are different

[whitlock87]

If the fuse is good, they should be the same.
Is this a digital meter or analog?
IF analog, you should see the needle move all the way over.
I sounds like you might have a bad fuse.

[dogbert]

My guess would be the batteries, how old are they. Boat batteries don't last as long as car batteries (2 years ).

As for the throttle, unless you pull out the neutral button, you are putting your boat in gear and it won't start.

Also, there's a giant reset switch (I think it's actually some sort of circuit breaker) near the top of your engine. Make sure it's not tripped.

[tri_slarson]

If the meter reads 1 for the fuse and 0 when the leads are touched together the fuse is definitely bad.
The fuse may have been good when you got it and blew when you tried to start the engine, due to a problem with the starter. Before trying a new fuse I would measure it to verify it's good, or take the starter and have it tested.

[clinton]

the circuit breaker is not tripped, I have checked that, can a circuit breaker go bad?

When I had them repair the starter they said they tested it, can Pep Boys or somebody accurately test the starter?

I thought Optima Batteries are supposed to last 5 to 10 years. Am I wrong?

[TeamAllen]

I have used Optima blue tops exclusively. The current battery I have in the boat now will be it's third season. The longest one yet! We will see if it makes the cut in June? So far they have only lasted about two years. Save your receipt for the warranty.

There is some big red button somewhere near the starter on my 97'. I guess it's some kind of reset button?

[21V_Swe]

a healthy, fully charged battery should be close to 14V, also check the ground cables on motor and both positive and negative connections on battery.