Will not start, turn or click..

[Slaviolette]

Hi,

Got the boat out of the garage to get it ready for the first outing, started right up no problem.

I did notice one thing.. if I turned the key to OFF to shut the engine I could not just start it right away, it would do nothing, not even click, if I took the key out of the ignition switch and right back it I could start it.

So I went out on the water to test her out, worked fine, went fishing, stopped several times and turned the engine off, always started fine, without removing the key but it was off a good 30 minutes each time, went back to the marina, shut the engine to go back the trailer in the water, then tried to start her, nothing, even removing the key, nothing worked, not even the common clicking.

The battery is new and was fully charged up, plenty of current and did a load test.

The started is new from last year in the fall.

The key switch I had to change last year because I broke the only key I had, bought it new

Does this look like a bad solenoid ? it is an old engine, by the model (J90TLCTE) Johnson 90hp V4 sea horse its a 1983ish.

I checked the only 2 fuses on the boat and they are good, cabling seems fine and connectors fine.

can it be the key switch ? I find it funny I had to pull the key out completely to start her again when it was in my driveway..

I know bringing it to a mechanic would be the ideal situation, but money wise I cant really at this moment, so I need to try some options by myself.

thank you for any help or advice to steer me in the right direction.

 

[racerone]

Possible loose connection on ignition switch.------Check the nuetral start switch in control box too.

 

[jakedaawg]

Taking the key out may be a coincidence, may not be. Test key switch with ohm meter as detailed in sticky at top of forum.

Check neutral safety switch with ohm meter. Or bypass for testing purpose only. This is done with the yellow with red stripe wires coming out of remote control, unplug and hook together on the vessel side not the control side. Remember to hook it back up. It's dangerous to leave bypassed, kills people.

apply +12v dc. To yellow with red stripe terminal of start solenoid. Ddoes it crank?

clean and tighten all grounds with a wire brush and a WRENCH. Throw away any wing nuts you may find. Do the same on the positive side.

 

[Scott Danforth]

clean all the battery cable connections at the battery and at the motor.......shiny enough your kids can eat off them, then tighten them up and seal with marine electric varnish. on your outboard it also means that you may have to pull the starter for the ground to the starter and clean the mounting surfaces.

 

[Slaviolette]

I puled the remote control off, checked for any obvious issues, everything is nice and tight in there, I pulled the neutral safety switch off and tested it manually for continuity when engaged, seems to work fine.

My neighbour tested my started solenoid, which seems to be of origin and claims it was shorted so I bought a brand new OEM from the dealer and installed it.

so far still nothing.. not a click from the solenoid.. I have 12 volts that arrive to the solenoid and all the wiring seems perfect.

apart from the actual ignition switch itself anything else I should consider ? ill likely go buy one tomorrow, I have absolutely no idea how to test it and could not find anything really detailed enough, going out and poking probes in live electrical circuits is a bit outside my comfort zone so I'm not going down that route unless I have pictures or something lol

thank you

 

[oldboat1]

not to be overly simplistic, but try spraying some electrical cleaner in the key slot, and then the wire connections on the back of the switch. Doesn't take much corrosion to cause problems.

 

[Slaviolette]

that's the first thing I tried.. sometimes the simple solutions are the correct ones.. but in my case I'm out of luck. I would have been surprised to find any corrosion, the ignition is new from last summer and the back connections are as shiny as the day I installed it. thanks for the tip.

 

[Auxlarry]

Sounds like a bad ignition switch. I had the same issue a few years after installing a new Sierra switch...lasted about 20 or 30 starts and died internally...purchased a new OMC switch and cleared it right up.