Won't start!?!

Twainer

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 10, 2016
Messages
163
This boat is going to kill me yet! 1977 Mark Twain OMC w/351W
Just got done installing the fuel pump which was expected to be bad. Go to try to start it up & nothing! Did the obvious first, checked battery, cable connections, all seems fine. Just for giggles I throw a jump pack on it still nothing. Then I start checking fuses, all test ok. Have 12V all the way back to the assist solenoid. Had the wife turn the key while I tested voltage at the starter & nothing. Is there a way I can test this solenoid. Seems like back in the day you could run a screw driver across both sides of the solenoid or from solenoid to starter & if it turned the starter over it was bad, but that was on vehicles where the solenoid was on top of the starter. This is completely separate.Is there another way to test solenoid or any other trouble shooting I am forgetting?
 

kenny nunez

Captain
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
Messages
3,056
The solenoid can be energized by jumping the main battery terminal to the small terminal with the yellow/red wire,
 

Twainer

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 10, 2016
Messages
163
The solenoid can be energized by jumping the main battery terminal to the small terminal with the yellow/red wire,

I have already yanked it out of the boat & my boat didn't come with a yellow/red wire or has been modified over the years. Don't know if this is true or not (got to be... it's on the internet) but if you take a continuity test across the two small terminals this will tell you if the coil is broken or not. I do not have continuity across those two terminals.
 

Twainer

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 10, 2016
Messages
163
If I can stand the heat out here (95-97 degrees) to do more troubleshooting the solenoid I will. Still not 100% convinced it's bad yet. If I have to buy one, I am really struggling which to buy. When I find one with matching numbers, the mounting bracket doesn't match. If I find one that looks identical to mine, the numbers don't match. :confused:
 

ab59

Ensign
Joined
May 10, 2017
Messages
979
This boat is going to kill me yet! 1977 Mark Twain OMC w/351W
Just got done installing the fuel pump which was expected to be bad. Go to try to start it up & nothing! Did the obvious first, checked battery, cable connections, all seems fine. Just for giggles I throw a jump pack on it still nothing. Then I start checking fuses, all test ok. Have 12V all the way back to the assist solenoid. Had the wife turn the key while I tested voltage at the starter & nothing. Is there a way I can test this solenoid. Seems like back in the day you could run a screw driver across both sides of the solenoid or from solenoid to starter & if it turned the starter over it was bad, but that was on vehicles where the solenoid was on top of the starter. This is completely separate.Is there another way to test solenoid or any other trouble shooting I am forgetting?

Are you saying that the starter has no juice at all ? Battery or cables problem IMHO. Also if you have the old Ford type of remote starter solenoid then jump it there. Did you check your grounds ? Do you have power to anything else ?
Start at the battery and see where the power stops.
A.B.
 

Twainer

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 10, 2016
Messages
163
Yeah no power to starter. Have 12V to one side of the solenoid but nothing on the other when the key is turned. The way this boat is built, it is nearly impossible to trouble shoot the solenoid cause it is at the back of the engine & the whole back half of the engine is pretty much not accessible. It has been way too hot to look at this weekend but it is cooling off this week so I should be able to do more then. Not 100% convinced the solenoid is bad yet. It is the Ford remote... what two posts do I jump? The two small or two large? This thing is so far back in there & there is barely enough room for my hands that it took nearly 30 minutes just to disconnect & dis-mount the thing. As I mentioned in a previous post I am really concerned that if I do need a new one, it is going to be difficult to get the right one. The numbers matching don't look right, the ones that look exactly like it (same mount) are not numbers matching. The mount is the ground so it has to be mounted.
 
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