View Full Version : Click, click, click......won't start
AlseaAssassin
02-21-2009, 04:23 PM
I decided to work on my boat today and get'er ready for springer season. I turned my battery selector switch to batt. 1 and tried her but she bairly turned over followed by a series of clicks. When I tried both batteries it turned over fine so I decided to take'er to the ramp. I turned it over 3 times for 10 seconds a piece and now it makes a clicking sound (i'm assuming it's the solenoid). The weird part is I charged the batteries two weekends ago and would think I'd get more cranking out of both batteries. Do you guys think my batteries are shot (there both 2 years old) or do you think it's a battery cable issue? The accessories (blower/bilge) seem to have plenty of juice when I turned them on. I cleaned all contacts to take that out of the equation but I did notice that the positive lead from batt. 1 was warm . Thanks in advance.
Bloom
02-21-2009, 04:45 PM
The blower uses a lot less amps than the starter, so it could easily work fine with a low battery. I would start with checking the water in both batteries, remove and clean the cables and posts, as well as the ground at the starter. If you are satisfied that they appear to be fully charged, but still won't turn the motor over,they need to be load tested.
I'm thinking you have a bad ground connection.
AlseaAssassin
02-21-2009, 05:29 PM
Yeah that's what I thought too. I cleaned the terminals, double checked the connections, and cleaned the bolt that that grounds both batteries to the block. Is there suppposed to be another negative from the starter? I the only other negative lead that I didn't think to clean is the one from the solenoid to the block, maybe that could be the root of all evil? Thanks for your help Bloom. I also heard something about a relay in the ignition switch that could be limiting my voltage to the starter?
Road Rage
02-21-2009, 05:50 PM
I'd start with the batteries. The fact that it turned-over a bit first leads me to believe the batts are weak. Perhaps you've something draining the batts even with the switch "Off."
Yeah that's what I thought too. I cleaned the terminals, double checked the connections, and cleaned the bolt that that grounds both batteries to the block. Is there suppposed to be another negative from the starter? I the only other negative lead that I didn't think to clean is the one from the solenoid to the block, maybe that could be the root of all evil? Thanks for your help Bloom. I also heard something about a relay in the ignition switch that could be limiting my voltage to the starter?
twisted lines
02-21-2009, 05:59 PM
I decided to work on my boat today and get'er ready for springer season. I turned my battery selector switch to batt. 1 and tried her but she bairly turned over followed by a series of clicks. When I tried both batteries it turned over fine so I decided to take'er to the ramp. I turned it over 3 times for 10 seconds a piece and now it makes a clicking sound (i'm assuming it's the solenoid). The weird part is I charged the batteries two weekends ago and would think I'd get more cranking out of both batteries. Do you guys think my batteries are shot (there both 2 years old) or do you think it's a battery cable issue? The accessories (blower/bilge) seem to have plenty of juice when I turned them on. I cleaned all contacts to take that out of the equation but I did notice that the positive lead from batt. 1 was warm . Thanks in advance.
you zeroed in on it when you said the cable is warm; that cable or the ends of that cabel!!!!!!! assuming both battery's match cranking amps ect.
fishkisser
02-21-2009, 09:10 PM
warm or hot wiring is caused by increased resistance i/e corrosion , loose connection ...:twocents:
warm or hot wiring is caused by increased resistance i/e corrosion , loose connection ...:twocents:
A friend was having a similar problem and we couldn't figure it out until we noticed a small nick in the wire in an area that bends when the outboard is turned.
We cut the wire open to find the copper strands inside were extremely corroded. From the outside, the wire looked fine.
Just another thing to keep in mind.
AlseaAssassin
02-22-2009, 06:16 PM
Thanks for all your input guys. Turned out to be a faulty positive battery wire.