BU will not start

[J.P.]

So here is the deal, i finnished my winter lay over maintence of fluids, impeller, etc. Well today i went out for the trial run, droped her in tightend the shaft seal a bit then glanced over everything once more. The boat would not start, it would crank for 4sec max and then stop like a weak batt. Batts are 3yrs old so i figured they were toast (even though volt gauge read 12.5), i did do a good charge with a smart charger 2 days before. Had Batts tested, they checked good in every way. I reinstalled batt and jumped it from my truck, starter just turned a bit faster (maybe cause it was out of the water on trailer). All electrical connections are tight and clean, throttle in neutral, safty switch is working correctly. I dont know, only thing i think might be is that maybe i rearanged something in the starter when i lubed the bendix?

[martinarcher]

When you jumped it with the truck did it only crank for 4 seconds and stop again, or would it keep cranking?

Sounds like a weak battery to me. Being in or out of the water has no difference on the starter motor load since the prop is not engaged. If it was spinning faster when jumped on the trailer that tells me the boat battery voltage is lower than the truck's. Of course if the truck was running the voltage might be a volt or so higher because the alternator is spinning.

[J.P.]

When you jumped it with the truck did it only crank for 4 seconds and stop again, or would it keep cranking?

Sounds like a weak battery to me. Being in or out of the water has no difference on the starter motor load since the prop is not engaged. If it was spinning faster when jumped on the trailer that tells me the boat battery voltage is lower than the truck's. Of course if the truck was running the voltage might be a volt or so higher because the alternator is spinning.

Yes starter only cranked for about 4 secs when i jumped it. I just installed my truck batt on the boat and it did the same thing. Tommorow im going to dig into the starter, maybe i did something that reversed the polarity???unless maybe someone might have a sugestion...

THANKS

[martinarcher]

Yeah I would check out the starter closely. Since it was recently worked on it could be the problem. I'm just wondering what is shutting down the starter after 4 seconds of cranking. I wonder if the newer Malibu's monitor the direction of engine rotation and take action if it is wrong.

[J.P.]

Ok i narrowed it down to something electrical. When i crank the engine with the safety lanyard out, the motor cranks just as it should. With the lanyard in, the motor will only crank for no more than 4 seconds and stops as though the battery is weak. So it is some relay perhaps…..am I going to have to take this in to the shop?

[martinarcher]

My boat doesn't have a lanyard so I'm not sure what is going on. I'm sure someone with a newer boat will chime in. What year is your VRide?

Is there a volt gauge on the dash? Does it drop or bottom out when the starter stops and the key is still in the "Start" position? Just wondering if something in the ignition system is shorted or causing a severe load on the electrical system that drops battery voltage low enough that the starter stops spinning.

[REW]

My boat doesn't have a lanyard so I'm not sure what is going on. I'm sure someone with a newer boat will chime in. What year is your VRide?

Is there a volt gauge on the dash? Does it drop or bottom out when the starter stops and the key is still in the "Start" position? Just wondering if something in the ignition system is shorted or causing a severe load on the electrical system that drops battery voltage low enough that the starter stops spinning.

If it is a newer boat there will be an extra starter solonoid that will disconect the starter if the battery voltage jumps to low. Sounds like rappid fire clicking as the solinoid will reinguage when the voltage goes back up.

The starter is basically just a DC moter so it will run both ways, but the bendex should onle enguage the fly wheel if spun the correct direction. Otherwise the starter should just spin.

The lanyard (kill sw) is on the ignition not the starter so it should not have an effect on the stater.

Check the easy stuff first make sure all connections are tight and clean a little corrosion can drop you voltage and make your life miserable.

Try putting a volt meter on the system and watching to see the voltage drop while under load. It should still be close to 12. Also try this while you are jumping the boat to see if the voltage drop is excessive.

Good luck and keep us informed.

REW

[WakingMeHappy]

I was also thinking the starter solenoid verses the starter itself. If your battery connections are good and clean check other connections like engine ground, starter/alternator connections and even the wires to the ignition. Even if your connection look OK, take them off and scrape them to make sure you have bare metal and no corrosion.

[J.P.]

Its not an issue with voltage cause with the lanyard out the motor, it cranks just as it should. It is only with the lanyard installed (ignition ready to go) when the starter sounds as though the battery is weak. My gearhead buddies dont even have a clue...

[martinarcher]

Yeah this one has me stumped a bit too. It's like something in the ignition system that is enabled with the lanyard is causing a severe load on the electrical system. With the lanyard out the ignition isn't enabled which keeps the boat from starting, but still allows it to crank.

Did you end up watching the battery voltage as you crank it with the lanyard in? I was curious if the voltage dipped severely when the starter stopped or shortly before.

[REW]

Did you work on anyting besides the starter?

Start with a detailed inspection of all ignition system wireing and connections. Look for burnt/chaffed wires or bad connections (loose). Also when trying to start the boat use your nose and smell for burning wires. Check for heat buildup as well in the wires. Something within that system is pulling enough power to stop the starter.

Keep a fire extingusher at hand while trying to start your Bu.

[tvano]

unsure just how big an impact it would have but i thought i would but a bug in your ear.

one big difference that the kill switch will make is controlling the introduction of fuel to the cylinder.

will the addition of fuel vapor, in one cylinder, make that much difference in compression for that slug?

will that (slight?) additional compression stress a marginal starter?

[J.P.]

Problem Solved!!!! So this is what happened...last month when i popped the top of the distributor cap (to check if it needs a tune)i had rotated the lower section throwing off all the timing. Guessing that all the mixed compression levels were stalling the starter which sounded like a weak batt. Im soo relieved closest dealership is about 5hrs away and the shops around here as far as troubleshooting are only good with outboards. So I found another bolt to check, what gave it away was the “torque buddy” was off on the disb. I soo appreciate the help from everyone…

Thank you

Paul

[shawndoggy]

This sounds like one of those ironic moments in life when you can feel like a genius for solving a problem that you created. I seem to have a lot of those too. Savor the moment!

[martinarcher]

This sounds like one of those ironic moments in life when you can feel like a genius for solving a problem that you created. I seem to have a lot of those too. Savor the moment!

Been there done that!

Well I'm thrilled to hear you got it running! Good work!