Volvo Stater wont start when warm

[MontereyJak]

My 1996 boat with a Volvo Penta 5.0 has an intermittant starting problem. When on the water and switching skiers - it occasionally wont start, no clicking noise or nothing. I thought I diagnosed the slave solenoid as not providing power to the starter solenoid - so I replace it, but the problem did not go away. Next time on the water, I'm taking my multi-meter with me to catch it in action and test the voltage going in and out of the slave solenoid. Anyone else had this problem?

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

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

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

Very nice article Don - Will head to the lake this weekend with test light on board. Thanks.

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

Here is an update: I went ahead an pulled the starter/solenoid and had it checked out. The repair shop said the starter and solenoid looked great, just need better grounding due to the extra paint that was coated on the inside. I thought this would take care of the starting problem. I also cleaned all the ground connections on the starter and slave soldnoid. No Luck. Went to the lake this past weekend (with a test light). On the 4th start after about a 1/2 hour on the water - turn the key and nothing happens.
I probed with the test light and found on the slave solenoid, the terminal with the yellow/red wire that goes to the starter solenoid was not getting juice when the key was in the start position. I could feel the slave solenid moving inside with a very slight feeling, but apparently not fully activating. I then tap the slave solenoid while someone turns the key, and it starts. This happened about 6 times of the 10 or so time we shut off the motor. 2 weeks ago I did replace the slave solenoid - perhaps this was a bad one - and guess I'll be getting another one in hopes it take care of the problem.
Until next weekend...... we'll try again.

 

[Powers]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

Im no expert , but i had the same situation on a v8 . When the engine was cold or allowed to cool down , no problem starting. When the engine was hot and shut off it would not start until cool. The problem was the starter was swelling ( internal windings) when it got hot. Too close to the headers. Insulating the starter from the heat solved my problem. Hope this info helps you out . Two if by sea.............

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

I still have this pesky problem of a no start condition when the engine is warm. To briefly recap, I've purchased a new battery, replaced the slave solenoid, pulled the starter/solenoid and had is inspected, cleaned all ground connection around the engine, slave solenoid, and instrument cluster. Today, while in a no-start moment, I checked the voltage on the slave solenoid 'S' terminal, and it was 8.6 volts. If I understand this correctly, this is the wire from the ignition switch and seems to me that is is not enough voltage to ignite the plunger in the solenoid. I rechecked the voltage later in the driveway (once cooled) and the voltage was 11.6. What could cause the voltage to drop when warm?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

Just as test, you could use a jumper to connect that lug on the solenid and jump it to the battery to see if that works. if it does, you have a resistive connection somewhere.

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

Yes- I can always jump the solenoid, and it will engage the starter. I usually tap the solenoid while someone turns the ignition key, this slight vibration appatently is enough to jog the solenoid plunger into action. What is a resistive connection?

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

I've been doing some more troubleshooting this morning: Not sure what this mean, but when I turn the ignition key to 'on', the battery voltmeter in the dash shows around 9volts. If I turn to the key to 'start', the voltmeter will increase to around 12. To confirm this, I measured the voltage on the bigger red wire to the ignition switch - 12.6v, and when I turn to key to 'on' position, the purple wire from the ignition switch that is daisy chained to the instruments cluster is indeed only measuring 9.6 volts. Am I on to something or is this normal? Also, not sure if this is relevant, but while on the lake yesterday, I noticed the RPM guage was jumping up then back to normal. Thanks.

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

What voltage do you get on the big red wire on the ignition switch?
You may have a bad connection somewhere between the engine and the instrument panel if it's low too.
If it shows the same as the battery, then you have a bad ignition switch.

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

Don - The big red wire to the ignition switch is 12.6 volts. To test the ignition switch, I disconnected the purple wire from the ignition switch that goes to the first guage in the instrument cluser. Then when the ignition switch is in the 'on' position, the purple terminal does read 12.v volts as well. Since the purple wire is daisy chained to all the guages, I think I will disconnect each guage one at a time to determine which one causes the voltage to go down to 9.6. Another observation is that when I have the key in the 'Start' position, the voltage does increase to 11.7 on the purple wire. Just dont know if this is all normal behavior or not ... but will keep digging.. Thanks

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

I've tracked down why the purple wire from the ignition switch only shows 8 or 9 volts. The purple wire from the ignition switch is daisy chained to all the guages. But coming from the tachometer, is another purple wire that goes to the ignition coil and then to the slave solenoid. If I disconnect the purple wire from the + terminal of coil, then all the guages receive the full 12 volts from the purple wire of the ignition switch. If the purple wire is connected to the ignition coil, then the voltage leaving the switch goes back down to 8 or 9 volts. Is this nornal or a sign of the coil is bad? How can I test the coil? Could this be in any way related to my no-start issue when warm?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

It sounds like the main power feed to the ignition switch itself is your problem. The coil loading down the circuit indicates you have a voltage drop between the ignition switch and the battery. Trace the wire back from the ignition switch to the battery. It will probably go through a large connector back at the engine. That is the most likely place for the resistive connection. After the connector, the wire goes to a circuit breaker and the circuit breaker gets its conection at the terminal of the starter. You need to measure all of these points with the ignition on and everything hooked up.

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

I've checked the main red wire from the ignition switch all the way back to the engine, thru the large blue connector, and to the circuit breakers. It measures 12.6 at each location. The purple wire on the solenoid 'I' terminal still measures 9.3 when the purple wire to the + terminal of the coil is connected. Is this normal or a problem? I noticed the coil reads 'use with an external resistor' on the side of the coil, yet I dont see any kind of resister connected. Could this be the problem? I've attached some pictures for reference. Thanks.

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

Problem Solved: I eventually found a clump of wires that had been melted together by lying to close to the exhaust manifold. Patched the wires with solder and shrink wrap, and have been on the lake the last 2 weekends with no starting problems.
I had another problem where the tachometer was very jumpy and not showing the correct RPMs. On another posting, someone mentioned to rotate the adjustment dial on the back of the tach, thereby reseating the connections. I did so, and the tach is working fine now.

Thanks for everyones suggestions & help.

Jak

 

[in.too.deep]

Re: Volvo Stater wont start when warm

Thanks, Jak, for posting your findings. I have been chasing that purple wire all over the place, with the assumption (bad idea) that once it entered the big bundle of factory wire, that all was good. I will continue the search, and hopefully end my worries of being stranded at the sand bar (or bar) again.