Scooter2shoes
Cadet
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2019
- Messages
- 10
Hey guys, newbie to the forums but figured i needed some help on this one.
Working on a 1987 edson 17.5 bow rider with a 170 merc inboard with the alpha one drive, boat ran when parked 3-4 years ago. Went to fire it up the other day to get it ready for my deceased fathers estate sale and it has me just baffled as to what the heck could be wrong!
When i try to crank it over it just activates the solenoid, and then will not disengage unless i turn off the power at the battery select switch, by which time the ground cable is smoking.
Firstly i checked and cleaned my grounds to engine block and transom, no change. Tried using booster cables to ensure proper ground between battery and engine and also between starter and block or battery, no change either way.
Tried disconnecting ignition wire from ignition switch then using jumper wire to see if ignition was sticking, well i hit the key and the starter engages, let off the key, starter stays engaged, i inhook my jumper wire from ignition and it continues to try to crank. So that’s eliminated.....
Also tried just jumping the starter with a screwdriver while ignition unplugged to confirm, again keeps trying to crank until i kill the power at the battery switch.
Bit the bullet, bought new starter with solenoid, still does it!!!!
Now heres the weirdest (to me) part, i unhooked all the wires from the starter except for the main power feed, (disconnected the two other wires off of the main power terminal that go the the voltage regulator, and also unhooked the ignition wire), and as soon as i turn on the battery switch, it tries to engage and melt my poor ground cable again!
i dont get it, could it be something with the stator shorting, anybody have any ideas?
Also i should mention ive gone round and round and upside down the harness looking for shorts or burns with no luck unless its in the circuit breaker or voltage regulator or something. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Also worth mentioning that the engine only really turns over with the plugs out, but not fast by any means, its not growling or rough per say, just seems like the starter isnt getting sufficient power even if i just jump it directly with booster cables.
With 3 bolts in the balancer i can easily turn it over with a small bar and it rotates smoothly, but starter seems to be really struggling to crank it?
Again, thanks in advance.
Working on a 1987 edson 17.5 bow rider with a 170 merc inboard with the alpha one drive, boat ran when parked 3-4 years ago. Went to fire it up the other day to get it ready for my deceased fathers estate sale and it has me just baffled as to what the heck could be wrong!
When i try to crank it over it just activates the solenoid, and then will not disengage unless i turn off the power at the battery select switch, by which time the ground cable is smoking.
Firstly i checked and cleaned my grounds to engine block and transom, no change. Tried using booster cables to ensure proper ground between battery and engine and also between starter and block or battery, no change either way.
Tried disconnecting ignition wire from ignition switch then using jumper wire to see if ignition was sticking, well i hit the key and the starter engages, let off the key, starter stays engaged, i inhook my jumper wire from ignition and it continues to try to crank. So that’s eliminated.....
Also tried just jumping the starter with a screwdriver while ignition unplugged to confirm, again keeps trying to crank until i kill the power at the battery switch.
Bit the bullet, bought new starter with solenoid, still does it!!!!
Now heres the weirdest (to me) part, i unhooked all the wires from the starter except for the main power feed, (disconnected the two other wires off of the main power terminal that go the the voltage regulator, and also unhooked the ignition wire), and as soon as i turn on the battery switch, it tries to engage and melt my poor ground cable again!
i dont get it, could it be something with the stator shorting, anybody have any ideas?
Also i should mention ive gone round and round and upside down the harness looking for shorts or burns with no luck unless its in the circuit breaker or voltage regulator or something. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Also worth mentioning that the engine only really turns over with the plugs out, but not fast by any means, its not growling or rough per say, just seems like the starter isnt getting sufficient power even if i just jump it directly with booster cables.
With 3 bolts in the balancer i can easily turn it over with a small bar and it rotates smoothly, but starter seems to be really struggling to crank it?
Again, thanks in advance.