Weird Problem, Please help!

[jclayto]

Last night I took the boat out for a spin. It fired up great on the ramp and ran out to my first fishing spot with no issues. When I went to start the engine again after fishing it would not turn over at all unless I would turn the key over and HOLD it for about 5 seconds, then it would fire as normal. So basically now when I start my engine there is a 5 second delay or so before the engine starts to turn over. it did this for the rest of the night. The boat was running great, just the delay in starting. Any idea what could be causing this?<br />It is a 1990 Chaparral 180SL with the mercruiser 3.0L i/o

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Courtesy of Don S.... <br />Here is where I would begin....<br />I would check all of my electricl connections, and particularly the solenoid......JK

 

[I/O WALDO]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Izzit cranking (but knott starting) during this 5 sec.period or is it dead?

 

[jclayto]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

It is dead. a little clicking but dead. Thanks for the quick responses!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Your Wiring is Dirty, Corroded or Whatever,.....<br /><br />Clean All the Wiring Ends,... Shiney Clean,.... Including All the Grounds,+ I'm betting she'll Start Right Up......

 

[I/O WALDO]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Yep,battery cable connections

 

[jclayto]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

I bet you guys are right.. i installed a amp on the boat and ran 4 gauge power and ground from the battery to the amp.. I bet something got dirty there. Will check and post back.

 

[retodd]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Hey Jon it looks like its gonna be a great weekend on Keowee, so hurry up and get that thing going...LOL

 

[jclayto]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Yeah man I cannot wait!! I have acutally never boated keowee, my uncle owns a little weekend getaway up in the gaphill area, so I am going to have to go check it out soon. <br /><br />I live in anderson about a mile from hurricane creek landing, so I usualy wind up on lake hartwell. <br /><br />How's Jocassee looking this year?<br /><br />P.S....... Anyone know where the sending unit is on this thing?? My fuel gauge stopped working so I need to test that out..<br /><br />Thank!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Well,.......<br /><br />You'll Probably find the Fuel Gauge Sending Unit in the Fuel Tank,..........<br />Atleast that's where Most of them are Mounted.........

 

[retodd]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Haven't been to Jocassee ever, but I put in at Fall creek and hang out a lot around the Gap Hill area...I am hard to spot though, smallest boat on the water that isnt a PWC...LOL

 

[jclayto]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Bondo thanks for the help, but i guess I should be more specific... Does anyone have a guess where the screw off access panel for the sending unit is located on the 180sl?<br /><br />I have looked under every seat, every spot in the floor, ski locker etc.. and cannot find the cover for the unit.<br /><br />Thanks!<br /><br />Retodd.. if you have a small boat, stay off jocassee, you'll definitely be swimming that lake has a tendency to get very choppy very fast. Hope to see you on the water soon!

 

[Don S]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

The sending unit is going to be in the tank. On a lot of them, the sender is located all the way in the back and you can see it from the engine compartment.<br />The top of the sender is screwed down with 6 screws and most have a pink wire in the center of the sender and a black wire pluged in on a connector on the edge.<br />The tanks are in the center of the boat. May have a plastic 4 to 6" round deck plate over it.

 

[bamadave]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Jon, when did you install the amp? Just wondering if the problem is related?

 

[KRS]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

AFter you clean up the connections and button it back up, and it works... then spray the connections with a protective film.

 

[jclayto]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Installed the amp and stereo right before it happened. also as i was doing that my friend replaced the cig lighter thats mounted with all the gauges, so my inital thought was that the unplugged or shorted something. I've checked and checked and all the fuses and connections look good over there. <br />I would not think that the fuel gauge would be related to the amp, but the thought did cross my mind since it happened at the same time. For the amp i pulled 4gauge power and ground striaght from the + - of the battery to power up the amp (inline fuse in the power wire of course). for the radio i just just the factory wires and spliced into them there were only 8 wires behind the old radio Red, Black, and the 2 speaker wires (R+-, L+-) as the boat only came with 2 speakers oringinally. Im scratching my head as to how this could affect fuel gauge, maybe they share a common ground? being on differnt sides of the boat that wouldnt seem right.. <br /><br />I am open to any and all suggestions.. I appreciate it more than you know. I guess this weekend will be spent figuring this out.

 

[bamadave]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

I would start back tracking. Try disconnecting everything you hooked up. If it works, hook 1 thing back up at a time and see if the problem returns. Let us know.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

4 gauge wire for the amp! How much of a beast is this amp and what size battery are you running?

 

[paulie0735]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Your boats not fitted with an air blower in the engine compartment is it? If so, some blowers use a sniffer that cuts power to the ignition for 5 seconds or so if it has detected fuel fumes in the bilge.

 

[jclayto]

Re: Weird Problem, Please help!

Dunaaruana lol, its only a 360w lanzar amp, but I am one of these anal people that always plans for the future, and knowing me at some point later i'll end up adding a second amp, battery, and sub.. so i went ahead and ran the wire that could handle it. Right now I am just pushing a few kicker KM60 6.5's. They sound good so I am trying to convince myself to leave it alone <br /><br />Paulie, yes I do have a blower and that could very much be it. I"ll have to do some more research. I was on the lake all day yesterday and it only did it once.. and that was on the inital start after launching. I will admit I forgot to run the blower yesterday... it was my fist time letting the girl back the boat in and I was more concerned with her not killing me, the boat, or my yukon heh.<br /><br />Going to do some real trouble shooting today but I think you may be right.