1995 Stingray 4.3L Mercruiser No Start

[TomManson]

Hello, I am a new here. I just got my 1995 Stingray 606ZP out of 4-year storage and she does not want to start. It has a new battery, I suspected the starter solenoid so I pulled the starter out and it bench tested fine. The starter signal appears to be the culprit, it is a yellow/red wire. If I jump 12 volts to that solenoid connect it will spin. I measured only 10 or so volts on that yellow /red wire when I turn to Start and it is evidently not able to supply enough current to the solenoid. I don't know what it goes through from the ignition switch, I would assume the neutral safety switch for one. And what is the purple wire going to the other small post on the solenoid, something about a ballast resistor bypass, what is that? And lastly, how do you get to the back of the dash and switch panel? Since it is all fiberglass behind it they must pop out forward right? I was hoping to find a complete schematic of the boat wiring but all I find is generic wiring diagrams.

Thanks, Tom Manson
Rockford, IL

 

[Scott Danforth]

first, welcome aboard

next, clean all your connections from the battery to the helm

neutral safety switch is in the binnacle control.

hope you stored the boat without fuel. if not you will be cleaning the fuel system.

 

[alldodge]

Assume a carb motor
Wiring is for a Bravo, if you have an Alpha the interruptor goes between the Dizzy module to Ground

 

[Chris1956]

#8 is the slave solenoid. usually located on the block, your front left. They can fail.

Some of them had starter circuit breakers, maybe #7?

Also, I sometimes had the starter solenoid hang up in it's "cylinder". You get a click, but no spin of the starter when that happens. Most often happens on rebuilt or worn starters.

 

[TomManson]

Thank you all for your tips, that is a cool wiring diagram. I don't know if i have a slave solenoid? I did see that the yellow/red wire was coming off the fuse block, and one side of the fuse was partly melted meaning most likely a poor connection at that side of the fuse. The fuse was not blown. The wiring diagram I saw (from Stingray) did not show that wire coming from/going through a fuse, that is why I was really looking for a real schematic of this boats wiring.

 

[TomManson]

And yes, it is a carb motor.

 

[alldodge]

Its a Mercruiser, it has a slave solenoid
The boats motor wiring is what's above

Here is the helm wiring

 

[TomManson]

You are correct! I just pulled the air cleaner cover off and found the solenoid back at the rear of the motor. Thanks for the lead! Tom

 

[TomManson]

Those are really helpful wiring diagrams!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Those are really helpful wiring diagrams!

That is what is in the factory manuals

 

[TomManson]

I just jumpered across the top 2 slave solenoid terminals and the starter kicked so the problem lies with the solenoid or the 2 wires feeding it. I do not hear the solenoid click when I go to the Start position. I will dig into it further tomorrow morning.

 

[TomManson]

The boat was stored with minimal fuel, maybe 2 gallons with Stabil in it. I plan on adding 5 gallons fresh fuel when I get it to turn over.

 

[TomManson]

It looks like my fuel pump is bad. I can suck gas from the tank (yuck, Exxon!) and I can blow through the fuel filter but the pump can't seem to pump it so I ordered a new one. Then I thought I should replace the fuel filter for good measure. I could not unscrew it while installed so I removed the brackat and filter. This is a 4.3L. I dumped the gas from it into a clear gas container and do not see water. My filter is really, really stuck. I ended up getting it off by clamping the mount into my bench vise and took a 4"C-clamp and tightened it down on the filter until it depressed the sides enough to dent them. That still did not get me enough leverage so I added a 1.5 foot bar to the clamp and finally got the rascal to release. After I got it off I could see that the filter seal o-ring had bonded itself to the aluminum housing. It has probably been 15 years since that filter was replaced. Man I am gland that's over. I picked up a fresh Wix Filter from O'reilles auto parts. I am guessing the filter should be filled with gas when reinstalled?

 

[Scott Danforth]

That is why the filters get changed annually

 

[TomManson]

Yeah, I thought about that

 

[alldodge]

Coat the seal with thin coat of oil like the oil filter to keep it from sticking
I change my fuel filter every 3 seasons

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, I change mine every year or every other year. I like to dump it into a clear container and see if there is any water. They need to be filled with fuel, when installed or it is real hard to prime the fuel line.

My neighbor didn't change his in 4 years, and it rusted thru. Since his motor had an electric fuel pump and no primer bulb, it was a mystery no start.

 

[Lou C]

When you remove the old filter check the mounting pad you may see some oxidation on the aluminum mount pad. That is what causes some of these to lock up & be really hard to remove. You can clean it up with some fine sandpaper. Lube both the pad & rubber gasket with motor oil and fill the filter with fresh gas. Then install hand tight…

 

[TomManson]

Yeah, I cleaned up the aluminum getting all the rubber off and it is nice and smooth. I oiled the filter before reinstalling it. I received my new fuel pump Wednesday and got it all plumbed in, no leaks, and it works! And the boat now runs, Yea! I had a problem with the voltage coming to the pump while running and found corroded terminals on the Oil Pressure switch. After I cleaned those it worked like it should. I have the lower unit submegered in a large plastic tub with the water level over the water intakes. I do not see any water being spewed out of the exhaust so I am concerned with water not being pumped. I replaced the impeller not too long ago as far as running hours goes. I still have electrical issues because there are things that work intermittently, like gas gauge, blower, horn, etc. The tach and oil pressure gauges work as they should, not sure about water temp. I had it running 10 minutes yesterday at idle and the temp did not go much above 130. I expected it to be at temp by then. I did not think about thermostat possibly being stuck until right now. I suspect there is an intermittent ground connection causing my multiple electrical issues. My plan is to turn on the blower switch On and go wiggle connections to see if something responds. She's a work in progress. It sure was nice to hear it run!

 

[alldodge]

Never run the motor with the outdrive in a bucket. You have the intake ports covered but the pump is above those. Only run with muffs on the hard