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BOAT STARTING ISSUES HELP


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1994 Malibu Echelon with Mercruiser 350. Boat sat for about 2 weeks and when I went to the lake radio and lights and everything works but boat does not even turn over or seem to be engaging. This makes me believe 1 of two things. 1. The starter solenoid is done and is not activating 2. The throttle position is not saying its in neutral therefor not allowing the battery to send power to the solenoid. How do I trouble shoot this? Any ideas on if these are the problems? What controls the throttle position being in neutral allowing the engine to be started? Is it a switch? Also which may help is ton of rain came over the last 2 weeks and the the drain plug was in the boat so the bottom of the engine bay filled up with water but not really sure what this could have effected.

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Put a test light on the signal wire going to the starter soleniod and see if it's getting the signal from the ignition switch. The neutral safe switch is located on the top of the trans. It has a two pole connector and should be hot on both sides when the key is in the "crank" position.

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Make sure your battery connections are tight. This same thing happened to me once and it was just a loose lug nut on the battery.

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Have you tried to move the throttle up and back to jiggle the safety switch.

Agree, check for power at the starter, and check the battery. It could be to weak to work the starter, but have enough juice to run a light. You could also try a manual starter switch (or starter push button) to eliminate the ignition switch. Check for loose or dirty cable connections.

Good luck.

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I had this problem a couple of years ago. Drove me nuts. Ended up there was some build-up on the bottom side of the Neutral Safety Switch sending unit (on the tranny). The switch is basically a magnetic switch and the build-up was preventing it from detecting the tranny in neutral. Pulling the sending unit to test it and found the problem...a little emery cloth, problem solved. Might be worth checking, only takes a few minutes and doesn't cost anything. :)

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I recently had my starter rebuilt. If it is your starter you usually hear a clicking from the solenoid. You can test the secondary solenoid by removing the plastic cover and use a screwdriver to jump from large pole to large pole, the ones on the top. That will at least rule out the secondary solenoid. I have heard a lot of problems with the neutral switch as well, or it could be your key ignition switch. Electrical problems are the worst.

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Also check the safety kill switch (not sure if that is the official name)

I've seen two instances where it got bumped just enough so that it looked OK, but the engine wouldn't start

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I have been having the same issues with my boat. I have to wiggle the gear shifter a few times to get it to fire.

Going to check out the netural switch tonight when I am changing the tranny oil for the 3rd time.

NorCaliBu,

any pointers on checking the switch, does it just pull apart?

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Make sure your battery connections are tight. This same thing happened to me once and it was just a loose lug nut on the battery.

If you want a hint to a bad connection, try to start your engine and feel the wires near the battery and see if they get hot.

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Try to shake the main wire harness at the engine, might be a bad connection there ... Dontknow.gif

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Put a test light on the signal wire going to the starter soleniod and see if it's getting the signal from the ignition switch.

A guy once told me to take my test light in my right hand and jab it through my left hand. That way everytime I went to use it I would be reminded of the pain it can cause. The point was and is, test lights use a light bulb, or low resistance load which means they draw current. In the automotive world these can destroy sensitive electronics and cause airbags to deploy - so I've been told. In most of our boats this isin't such a big deal, but with more sophisticated electronics showing up every year and the fact that you can buy a decent Digital Multi Meter for $20-50 at radio shack it just doesn't make sense to use test lights anymore.

A public safety message brought to you by TMC. ;)

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NorCaliBu,

any pointers on checking the switch, does it just pull apart?

I responded to your PM as well...but just in case you haven't done it yet...It threads into the top of the tranny just like a temp or oil pressure sending unit in an engine block. Just unscrew it, clean the base of it with emery cloth, and re-install. Your description of having to jiggle the throttle to get it to go is exactly what was happening to me. The only wrinkle is that there are two "sending units" on the tranny. One is the nuetral safety switch and I believe the other is a temp switch to shut things down if the tranny overheats. I can't recall with certainty which "plug" was the NSS but I think it was the one to the port side. Maybe someone who knows will respond or I will check on it tomorrow...or just pull them both and clean them both.
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Nobody made any mention of checking the ignition switch. Check to see if you have 12 volts to ground on the B terminal (battery) first, then check to see if you have 12 volts on the S terminal (starter) with the key in the starting position. The B terminal usually has the thickest wire attatched to it and the S terminal has the second thickest. If you don't have 12 volts at B, check fuses and circuit breakers. If you don't get power at S then your ign. switch is bad. The lanyard safety switch has no effect on cranking your engine, just power to the ignition system.

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