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Turns over but won't start. No gauges either


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I have a 99 Malibu Sunsetter VLX.  Went to start it recently and the battery was dead.  Gave it a good charge and it seems fine now.  But now when I turn the key to the on position, the gauges don't  make their rumbling noise and don't come on.  Engine turns over fine but won't think about starting.  Sounds like no gas getting to it.  I was certain the MDC computer was gone.  Been dripping on my feet for a couple months. Plus the Tach did not work last year.  MDC has gone out a couple times before and had to be replaced.  Bought a new one and installed it but nothing has changed.  Gauges won't engage when you turn the key.  Engine turns over but won't start.  

 

Suggestions?

 

Hugh

Edited by hdiamonds
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It sounds like you may have a faulty kill switch. You can test it by connecting the 3 wires on the kill switch together and try starting the boat. For your MDC I am not an expert but I know that water is not suppose to get up there. 

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Would the engine still turn over like its doing if the kill switch was bad?  And the kill switch affects the gauges?  Heard this suggested before but have not checked it.

 

 

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8 minutes ago, hdiamonds said:

Would the engine still turn over like its doing if the kill switch was bad?  And the kill switch affects the gauges?  Heard this suggested before but have not checked it.

 

 

Yes,  with a bad kill switch it will crank over until the battery dies or starter burns up without firing.

Bad kill switch: gauges don’t do the preflight dance and fuel pump is not powered.

Also the original design for the kill switch requires the red plastic clip to hold the red button in, when it gets weak with age it will not hold the button in far enough.

The replacement design holds the button out. 

Edited by Bozboat
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Well I never knew that.  Mine is the original kill switch.  I know what I'm checking tomorrow.  Thank you so much for the tip.  Does it require anything special in a kill switch or will a generic kill switch fix it?  I'm assuming I can just manually hold it in to test this?

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7 minutes ago, hdiamonds said:

Well I never knew that.  Mine is the original kill switch.  I know what I'm checking tomorrow.  Thank you so much for the tip.  Does it require anything special in a kill switch or will a generic kill switch fix it?  I'm assuming I can just manually hold it in to test this?

The most likely point of failure is the plastic clip that holds it in, although the push button could fail. Mine started failing last summer, I could push it in and it would work. Literally a ten min job to swap out.

you can test by holding g all three wires together as mentioned above. 

Get rid of the pitot tub speedo system as that will eventually drive water into the mdc.  Cut the tubes off and plug them at the stern.  Drive by tach or get a gps kit to run the speedo.

 

Link to the replacement part

 

Edited by Bozboat
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58 minutes ago, Eagleboy99 said:

GPS speedo is great, but what about temp, oil pressure, etc.?  Those old MDC systems are  so horrible it hurts me to think about them.  Craptastic engineering.

OP symptoms  suggest a bad kill switch. If the engine starts without gauges then look at the MDC.  If you have a working MDC it should be fine unless you pump water into it.  Once it’s dead, then you can find the fix my own mdc thread, or the replace the mdc thread with something else, or buy a new mdc.   It’s 20 year old tech. My second one works fine.

Edited by Bozboat
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/18/2019 at 8:34 PM, roeboat said:

It sounds like you may have a faulty kill switch. You can test it by connecting the 3 wires on the kill switch together and try starting the boat. For your MDC I am not an expert but I know that water is not suppose to get up there. 

Well, here's a follow up.  Replaced the entire kill switch.  Easy replacement.  Started right up on the trailer.  Yesterday finally got it back on the water and it ran perfectly.  Thanks to everyone for your help.  I was sure it was that dang MDC.  The idea of the kill switch just seemed to easy.  Thanks everyone.

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