Motor stopped, now wont crank

[danman.]

Hi all, just bought a seaswirl 1992 model with a 4.3L mercruiser engine.

got it checked by a mechanic and the tests turned out fine.

first time out on the boat had it going for no more than 10 mins and the engine just stopped.

tried to re-start it and the starter just makes a clicking sound.

charged both batteries when i got home the next night and still nothing but clicking.

does anyone have any ideas??

thanks for your help.

dan..

 

[oops!]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

get a gun ....point it at your foot and......

the clicking sound....may be a weak battery connection....

but i dont like the phrase ....just stopped.....


put a snipe on the main crank pully and turn....lets hope it isnt seized...

what did the gauges say when it quit...?

 

[John_S]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Welcome to iBoats.

Remove spark plugs, ground ignition, and see if you can turn it over. If water comes out, not a good thing. Squirt oil in every cylinder and turn engine over. Open carb throttle plates and spray fogging oil into intake while its being turned over. It is a good chance it is already too late, but you want to get the oil in there ASAP. Most likely you will have to pull heads to access the damage. Most likely cause is leaking exhaust manifolds.

Hopefully my guess is wrong and it is simply a bad ground connection.

 

[oops!]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

by the way....

welcome to i boats....

its gonna take a little while for the guys to answer you...(a few hours).....

but the guys here....are great.....

in the mean time...while you are waiting for an answer...hit search....

you might have an answer allready on here....

sorry you came on under bad circumstances....but this is the best place for help....

cheers
oops

 

[Bondo]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.....

I'm with John,..... Ya gotta start somewhere,..... Getting it to Turn Over is the 1st thing....
With the Starter, or with a Wrench,....

Did it just Stop,.... Or Stop Violently, Suddenly,..??
Any Noises,..??
Maybe have the Battery Tested,...

 

[danman.]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

oouch.. that doesnt sound to good at all,

thanks for the info though guys,

might just take it down to the mechanic,

shouldn they have picked this problem up when they did the test on the motor???

 

[Maclin]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Do what imported_John_S said first, do not try anything else yet. Here's why---if the reason it quit is due to water in the cylinders you do not want it to start until the water is out. Water cannot compress like air and if the engine does start it can bend rods or even break pistons. Remove the spark plugs first then turn it over and see what happens. Hopefully no water. If there is water hopefully it did not bend anything before it died suddenly on the water.

Good luck, I hope the problem ends up being electrical in nature.....

 

[danman.]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Just seemed to stop suddnely and turn off.. didnt notice any noises.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Ayuh,....

If the motor Just Stopped while you were cruising along,....
It's Probably Not water intrusion,....

The Starter will Just Click,..... If the motor/ driveline is bound up,....
Or,.....
If the Battery is Junk......Possibly Bad Wiring.......

You're not bringing alot to the discussion,.....
Just Quit is a Tough 1 to diagnose at a keyboard.....

 

[heyttown]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Im guessing, but what about a kill switch/safety lanyard problem?>

 

[Don S]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

If the lanyard got pulled out, it would stop running, but would still crank over.
It sounds like a loose battery connection. No power to an MPI, and the engine dies immediatly, and it will not crank with loose terminals.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

When checking the wiring, remember there is wiring all the way to the starter motor and not just at the battery. Once the plugs are out, jump the starter for just a second and rule out a bad starter / solenoid. Ignition switch problems? That would/could cause it to die and not restart. Check wiring on the back of the switch. Could be a simple terminal recrimp. Good luck.

 

[Coors]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Correct me if I'm wrong, Don.
But will having lower than 12 volts also shut down the computer?
It will on a Dodge. Learned the hard way.

 

[Don S]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

I don't know if it will cause them to stop, but it will sure keep them from starting when cranking slow and showing too much voltage drop for the ECM.

 

[Coors]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Reason I asked- Dead battery in my Dodge, a jump would spin it over fast enough, but no spark.
Then went online and read- not 12 volts, computer won't send spark.
Strange, but maybe the same for all computers.
Just throwing it out there, I had and still have a hard time figuring out..why?

 

[Coors]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Dan, test the batteries with load tester, ohm out all connections.
It could be batteries weak,and, or bad connection that looks good (they look good but still need cleaning).

 

[Coors]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

That I added and.
And, or between batteries/connections at all places from key to starter, and all points in between.
Been there..

 

[danman.]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

Hi Guys, sorry have been away for work for the last few days. thanks for all the replies.

my mechanic told me to check the leg to see if it had enough oil.

bad nes is that the guy i bought it off didnt put enough oil in the leg, so i think it may be siezed..

drained the oil out and found more shavings than oil in the bucket.

i know where looking at a new leg here, but would that seizing up damage the engine too??

thanks

Dan.

also cant get the leg off after taking out all the bolts are there any tricks??

our mechanic told me to pull the leg off and see wether the motor will crank.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

If the drive was never off- corrosion issues
If it seized at a good clip,the input shaft may have twisted a bit.
Either way, drive has to come off to check .

 

[bomar76]

Re: Motor stopped, now wont crank

6 nuts, trim ram pin, and put it in FORWARD.