boat won't start on lake

[tyoung1986]

i have a 1989 3.0 mercruiser took it out to the lake twice in a row starts fine and pulls off the trailer just when i turn it off in the water it wont start back up. wont turn over at all. thought it was a dead battery but when i pulled it back home put the muffs on it and it turned right over s0? thanks

 

[Black as]

Re: boat won't start on lake

Check that your cables to the battery are clean and secure to the terminals also check that the positive wire to the starter motor is nice and tight as well.

 

[Galaxyman]

Re: boat won't start on lake

I had the same problem. Check your battery under load even while on the muffs. If it goes to a very low volt approx less than 10, then you may have a bad cell that will crank on the muffs but not in the water. Good luck.

 

[tyoung1986]

Re: boat won't start on lake

i've checked the wires and they look good. i have also had two load tests on the battery and those turned out good. i had my boat on jumper cables and it wouldn't start in the water. and when i said i br0t the boat home and it fired up i ment without charging the battery. SOOOOO? thanks

 

[PitchFork]

Re: boat won't start on lake

If all wires are clean and tight I would move on to the starter. If it will not even try to crank tap the starter with the handle of a screw driver. I had the same problem except we had a boat load of guest on the boat and a nice hot sunny day. We had our guest swimming behind the boat pushing it to a nearby ramp and a neighbor picking me up.

Turned out the wires inside the starter were corroded and disconnected and had to be replaced. $70 starter can ruin a day on the water.

 

[Don S]

Re: boat won't start on lake

Next time the problem happens, check it out on the spot.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=167035

 

[tyoung1986]

Re: boat won't start on lake

so as of now i don't believe its anything electrical because it starts EVERY time out of the lake. so could it be something in the lower unit [alpha 1] thats making it not want to turn over at all? or does it not matter weather there is water pressure or not?

 

[Bondo]

Re: boat won't start on lake

Ayuh,... If it don't even turn over on the starter, it's Most Definitely Electrical in nature...

Have you tried wiggling the controller handle,..?? There's a neutral safety switch in there...

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: boat won't start on lake

gotta question the OP's definition of "turn over".....

crank?
or start and run?

to a mechanic, "turn over" means crank, which means engine cranking by starter motor

 

[tyoung1986]

Re: boat won't start on lake

it won't crank or start and run. on the lake. but will do both out of it

 

[Juniinc]

Re: boat won't start on lake

I'm with Pitchfork,,,
checked the engine block ground strap?
Most likely it's the starter.

 

[bowler]

Re: boat won't start on lake

Hi,

I had a similar problem where the boat started ok on the drive on the muffs (1/2 a dozen turns) but struggled when in the water (15+ turns). This happend until eventually it wouldn't start at all in the water or the drive on muffs. Turned out to be the starter. New starter went in and it fires up in half a turn on the muffs and half a dozen or so in the water when cold.

D.

 

[Don S]

Re: boat won't start on lake

it won't crank or start and run. on the lake. but will do both out of it

Both???? You listed 3 things.

Crank = Engine turning over with the starter. You crank the engine over with the starter to do a compression test without the spark plugs in.

Start = That is when the engine starts and runs for a few seconds and the rpms are actually faster than the starter cranks the engine over.
Some times the engine will die when you let the ignition switch go from the start position to the run position. But it did start.

Run = engine starts and runs even when you let off the key from the start (crank) position to the run position. Engines should run and continue running until the switch is turned off, or it runs out of gas, or fails.

 

[tyoung1986]

Re: boat won't start on lake

so could it be something in the lower unit [alpha 1] thats making it not want to turn over at all? or does it not matter weather there is water pressure or not?
taking it out tomorrow evening to check out any other sugestions?

 

[Black as]

Re: boat won't start on lake

Ive never herd of a starter motor that wont work while in the water, may be it can't swim

Only joking..................

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: boat won't start on lake

The next time it happens, pull all the plugs and try to spin the motor. My moneys on #4 filling with water from a hole in the riser.

 

[frank246]

Re: boat won't start on lake

it won't crank or start and run. on the lake. but will do both out of it

But... does the starter (solenoid) clicks when you turn the key, does the bendix (starter gear) comes fw and than it sounds like the engine seizes up at a moment or no revolution at all?

 

[tyoung1986]

Re: boat won't start on lake

no sound at all its like the battery is unpluged

 

[Aviator5]

Re: boat won't start on lake

Are you sure you have it in neutral, when in the water?

 

[89 VIP Valiant]

Re: boat won't start on lake

I'll throw this out there, but since it is not cranking in the water, is it possible that his exhaust flaps are not functioning and thus filling the engine with water? I know it should do the same thing as soon as he takes it out of the water, but could this be possible? I just don't understand why he would get a no crank in the water, but not on the trailer, and the only difference i can think of is that water pushing into the engine. Any thoughts?