Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

[flatiron14]

I have a '92 Regal with a 305 Merc and Alpha One outdrive. When hooked up to muffs in the driveway, it starts and runs great. When I put it in the water, it turns over and won't crank at all. So far, I have a brand new battery, new plugs/wires, new fuel pump, cleaned carb and cleaned fuel tank and the motor has good compression. Also checked the resistance in the starter wires and it's within limits. The only thing I can think of is that the starter sounds like it cranks pretty slow and I thought maybe it's not spinning fast enough to start it with the increased load of taking on more water when it's in the water. I wanted to buy a new starter but I figured I'd check with you guys first. Also, if you start the boat right before it hits the water, it will idle in the water which makes me think it's the starter. Ya'll got any ideas?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

Once it`s running the starter is out of the circuit and has no bearing on the motor running .something else is apparrent.Battery cable connections especially the neg on the block should be checked. could try shorting the solenoid on the starter in the water to see if it works. The slave solenoid could also be causing a no crank condition.If you still think it might be a connection a crude test is to short the + cable at the starter to ground. A big fat spark will prove power available to the starter.
Yes: pull starter and have repaired
No: check all connections

 

[flatiron14]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

Thanks for the tips! We checked the negative on the block to the battery and the cables to the starter and at most we lost .25 volts, so that's definitely within limits. I think it's the original starter, would it be uncommon for it to be turning slow because it's old as crap? I know it's a big motor, so it's not gonna turn over real quick, but I feel like it should turn over faster than what it's doing.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

"checking them" means removing them,sanding or wire brushing the crimped connector and mounting surface/stud ,and re-attaching securely.
The .25v means nothing if your talking current carrying capacity.
Think of it this way, if you had a 28gauge wire from the battery to the starter, would you read voltage and could you pass 400 amps thru it?
Or would a 1/0 cable be more capable of the current draw for the starter.
You can read voltage thru a corroded connection but you cant get the current thru it.

 

[flatiron14]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

Point noted, sir! Thanks! I'll probably go ahead and replace the starter because it certainly won't hurt anything. Just of curiosity, if the wires and the starter are good, what else could be casuing it to not want to start?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

Try salt water in case it`s allergic to lake /brackish water.Some engines can be particular to what you feed them.
Seriously, a lot of things will cause a "no start" as will a "no crank"
We need to know what it dosent do.
battery cables and connections are #1 on the list
has the starter ever been underwater
main harness plug greased and clamped
do some items power up,
did it ever run, what services have been performed ,etc.
With enough information supplied ,we might be able to supply a direction for you to check things.

 

[flatiron14]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

Unfortunately, salt water isn't very close to home. I just bought the boat recently, it came from North Georgia but the owner before that was in Florida and ran it in brackish water but it's been run only in freshwater for the last few years. The guy I bought it from put a fuel pump on it that was too small, so when I first took it out, when I finally got it to start, it wasn't getting enough gas at speed so I had my mechanic check it out and he put a new fuel pump on it and tested it and said it ran well. If you can get it started, it runs fine in the water, just won't turn back on... I guess he didn't turn it off while in the water, (he is a reputable mechanic, not a shadetree dude). When in the water, the engine turns over at the same speed as out of the water, but the engine hardly even tries to start. Everything powers up just fine, and it's getting fuel... you can see in the carb and smell it. New OEM plugs, wires, gapped to spec, no cracks in the dist. cap. The starter has never been under water since I've owned it and I don't see any signs that it has, either. Boat's had a full tune up including Sta-bill ethanol treatment in the fuel. Let me know anything else I can provide.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

Only thing I can suggest is maybe hot wire it to see if that works. if it does the problem is electrical. Something gets bounced around trailering it.
Test it on land, dunk it but dont remove it from the trailer, if it wont fire back up, hot wire the coil .

 

[spardicus]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

I am having the exact same problem, did you ever find a fix.

 

[anon1]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

I think that you said that the boat will run out of the water but not when in the water?

Have you checked the shift interupt switch?

I just had this problem. The lower shift cable was out of adjustment and allowing the shift interupt switch to stay engaged and kill the ignition to the engine. One symptom of out of adjustment is it will die/not start when in the water as it feels the resistance of the water on the prop.

There is a simple procedure to adjust the lower shift cable and it worked like a charm for me.

 

[flatiron14]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

I did fix the problem for the most part... I cleaned the connections and replaced the starter. I also ended up having to replace the alternator as well. Most of the time it starts up just great, but sometimes it seems like it's not getting spark and I beleive that's because the shift interupter switch is out of adjustment, as Anon mentioned. Something else that gives me this idea is that sometimes when shifting from forward or reverse back into neutral it seems to skip neutral.

So that brings me to my next question... should I go ahead and replace the shift cable or try to adjust it?
Thanks,
-James

 

[anon1]

Re: Baffled! Runs out of water, won't run in water.

You can check that very easily. Don't start the boat here. Just have someone work the shifter into reverse and you watch the shift interupt switch. It should NOT engage when going into reverse (it should not move), and it should not stay engaged when in reverse position.

I was almost talked into having mine replaced and then I found the following adjustment instructions on the net and followed them to a T, and it now works flawlessly.

The service manual describes a similar, but different, technique. I used the following one: