95 Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha One starter clicks with new battery

[LakeTravisAlpha1]

I just inherited a '95 Wellcraft Excel 19 SX, 3.0 Liter Mercruiser Alpha-One, #F452165. It hasn't been on the water for nine years, thats right, nine years, since July 2007. I was in it the last time it was out and it ran strong, very fast, torquey little engine. A friend that owned it recently gifted it to me because he never had time to use it and wanted it off his insurance. I also found out he never winterized it either. The good thing is it doesn't get that cold here in central Texas compared to other places so I hope it survived.
I changed the oil which actually looked clean, no water mixed in or gas smell, pulled and cleaned the spark plugs which were in surprisingly good condition and on a mechanic friends advice, sprayed Liquid Wrench into the spark plug holes and let it sit a couple of days. There was no old gas in the tank, I assumed it had evaporated, so I put in fresh gas with a can of SeaFoam as well as spray the carb with carb cleaner. Today I installed a new battery and was anxious to see if would crank. No, it didn't. When I turn the key there is only a click from the starter. I put a load test on the new Interstate battery which checked out and of course made sure the connections were good. The blower and horn still work so I know it's getting juice.

I also wanted to change the oil in the lower unit but when I hit the Tilt switch, again just a click coming from the transom.

I did take a cheater bar and turn the center pulley which was at first stuck but after a gentle nudge it turn easily front and back.
I can understand a starter going bad in almost a decade of no use but couple that with the fact the stern Raise / Lower just clicks has me concerned.

 

[Bt Doctur]

a click or a crunch? locate the slave relay and jump that first.if the slave was the click ,the motor will turn over with it jumped
If jumping the slave results in a click at the starter ,you may have:
A bad solenoid,
a bad starter(got flooded from the drain plug left in or clogged with debris
a bad/corroded battery cable connection at the starter or at the block

 

[Newbie@boats]

Can you do a full rotation on the crank with the cheater bar? Or just a little nudge?

 

[LakeTravisAlpha1]

First of all, thanks for the quick replies. Update: I went out and checked the battery connections, found the Pos. connection loose because the cable was in a bind, Tightened it and hit the starter, still click. Checked the connections to the starter and everything was secure except for a small nut connecting a small wire to the solenoid, tightened it and hit the starter. Click. And thats one click per key turn. I kept hitting the key and all of a sudden the engine bumped. It caught me off guard and I let off because I was in a mindless rhythm but at least it let me know the engine wasn't locked up. :happy:
I kept hitting the key and getting nothing but a click but then finally pushed in as I turned it and the engine turned over. It was sluggish at first but I would crank it, let off, crank it again to loosen it up and let off until it turned over at a normal rate.

But it wouldn't fire over. I checked the carb and it was still bone dry, no fuel whatsoever going into the bowl, not even the smell of gas. So hopefully it's just a dried out fuel pump??

With the key on, the lower unit Tilt still just clicks one click per toggle when I hit the toggle switch.

 

[Bt Doctur]

sounds like a new starter is in order, might have got wet at some time. trim/tilt motor is usually wired direst to the battery. In some cases the + is connected at the starter and the ground to a bolt on the block. take a jumper from the battery and touch the blue motor wire(up) then the green motor wire(down) . these test assume the ground wire is connected properly.this will test the motor, then you move to the solenoids.
with a dry tank, you need atleast 15 gallons. best thing to do is use a outboard squeeze bulb and some hose to prime the fuel system.

 

[LakeTravisAlpha1]

sounds like a new starter is in order, might have got wet at some time. trim/tilt motor is usually wired direst to the battery. In some cases the + is connected at the starter and the ground to a bolt on the block. take a jumper from the battery and touch the blue motor wire(up) then the green motor wire(down) . these test assume the ground wire is connected properly.this will test the motor, then you move to the solenoids.
with a dry tank, you need atleast 15 gallons. best thing to do is use a outboard squeeze bulb and some hose to prime the fuel system.

Ok, thanks. The tank was dry before I put 10 gal. of fresh gas in so I'll put another five gallons in.
I just got off the phone with a mechanic buddy who's pretty savvy on marine engines and he said to prime the carb with the same Berryman B-12 Carb Cleaner I used to clean the carb earlier and fill the bowl with it.
I'll remember to put the spark arrester back on before I hit the key.

 

[fishrdan]

I kept hitting the key and all of a sudden the engine bumped. It caught me off guard and I let off because I was in a mindless rhythm but at least it let me know the engine wasn't locked up.

I kept hitting the key and getting nothing but a click but then finally pushed in as I turned it and the engine turned over.

Sounds like when my slave solenoid went bad. The slave solenoid would click while turning the key, but only every 10 bumps or so it would actually engage the starter and crank over the engine. Have you tried shorting out the big lugs on the slave solenoid, to see if the starter cranks the engine every time the lugs are shorted? (Doing this, you are just circumventing the key switch and internal relay in the slave solenoid.) If the starter works every time you short the slave solenoids big lugs together, the starter is OK and you have a bad slave solenoid. If the starter isn't working every time, starter is bad.

For fuel and starting, remove the flame arrestor and dribble a bit of fuel down the carb throat, place the fuel can/bottle well away from the engine and in a safe place, then crank over the engine. You may have to do this a couple of times to work fuel up through the fuel system, but keep the open container of fuel well away from the engine while cranking it over. If that doesn't get it to kick, check for spark.

 

[LakeTravisAlpha1]

For fuel and starting, remove the flame arrestor and dribble a bit of fuel down the carb throat, place the fuel can/bottle well away from the engine and in a safe place, then crank over the engine. You may have to do this a couple of times to work fuel up through the fuel system, but keep the open container of fuel well away from the engine while cranking it over. If that doesn't get it to kick, check for spark.

I think I figured out the ignition problem, the key needs to be pushed in when turning, as an anti-accidental starting mechanism.

I'm going to try and start it using the carb cleaner first but I'll be very surprised if any fuel shows up. The carb was that dry.

When cleaning the spark plugs I made sure to leave the plug wires attached to each plug until I had that particular plug out and then re plug it. Then I forgot and didn't re plug the third one. When I went to put the wire back on the fourth plug I saw I had two loose plug wires to choose from. There was no memory in the wires and I couldn't tell which went to which plug. So I may have crossed plug wires on the two aft end plugs. Not sure that would effect the fuel pump though.

 

[redneck joe]

Make sure you get water to the motor if you are planning to fire it up.

 

[LakeTravisAlpha1]

Yeah thanks, I wasn't planning on running it long, just want to see if it will start.

 

[Bondo]

Yeah thanks, I wasn't planning on running it long, just want to see if it will start.

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... It only takes a few seconds to smoke a dry impeller,.....

As for yer startin' issues,...
Just abit of corrosion on/ in the cable ends is enough to cause yer problems,....

Clean the connections to shiny clean metal, 'n reinstall 'em,...
Includin' the Grounds,...

 

[thumpar]

On my old boat it would take forever to prime the carb. I finally learned to pour a little fuel down the carb. That gave enough for the pump to fill the carb as it ran. If I didn't do that it would take a long time to start because I didn't want to just hold the key on for to long.

 

[jmarines]

Mine was doing the same until it completely died. It was the solenoid and not the starter motor. Went ahead and changed out the entire starter because I couldn't locate just the solenoid. I also have a 3.0 mericruiser. Btw how is lake Travis? I've been wanting to take my boat that direction .. I live in Houston so it's not to far of a drive.

 

[LakeTravisAlpha1]

Mine was doing the same until it completely died. It was the solenoid and not the starter motor. Went ahead and changed out the entire starter because I couldn't locate just the solenoid. I also have a 3.0 mericruiser. Btw how is lake Travis? I've been wanting to take my boat that direction .. I live in Houston so it's not to far of a drive.

After a six year drought, Travis is back in it's full glory + a few feet. I'm sitting here looking at it as I type. The bluebonnets are covering the shoreline and the fish are biting. I feel blessed living up here.

 

[airshot]

After 9 years of sitting you are bound to have corrosion on all the connections. I would be a busy beaver with my little brass brush cleaning every electrical connection I could locate. Why not take your starter to a well qualified rebuilder and have them check it out, probably cheaper than a new one made in china and will be of better quality. As for your getting fuel to the carb....my Islander has a long fuel hose to get to the carb so....I added a squeeze ball like they use in outboard fuel lines so if she sits for a long time I can squeeze some fuel up in the line and she starts almost instantly. In your case you will probably need to replace most of your ignition wires, plugs, cap and rotor as they are probably corroded along with everything else. Carb gaskets are probably dried out and will need a rebuild as well.

 

[LakeTravisAlpha1]

After 9 years of sitting you are bound to have corrosion on all the connections. I would be a busy beaver with my little brass brush cleaning every electrical connection I could locate. Why not take your starter to a well qualified rebuilder and have them check it out, probably cheaper than a new one made in china and will be of better quality. As for your getting fuel to the carb....my Islander has a long fuel hose to get to the carb so....I added a squeeze ball like they use in outboard fuel lines so if she sits for a long time I can squeeze some fuel up in the line and she starts almost instantly. In your case you will probably need to replace most of your ignition wires, plugs, cap and rotor as they are probably corroded along with everything else. Carb gaskets are probably dried out and will need a rebuild as well.

Yeah, I have it in my schedule to drop off the starter for a rebuild this week. It has an electronic ignition so I I can forgo the stuck points and corroded distributor headache but as you said, I have a lot of other dues to pay, connections to clean, carb to rebuild, fuel leaks to plug...

 

[thumpar]

I don't think the bulb is allowed on I/Os. You may want to check on that.

 

[airshot]

If there is a restriction on bulbs I am not aware of it, my boat has passed numerous safety inspections from CG, DNR and sheriff dept. Perhaps in some states it may be an issue. I do know one thing it sure makes start ups a lot quicker if it has sat for a while. I have about a 12' long fuel line and it can take awhile to get fuel up there.