CREZZ Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 We have been having a bit of trouble starting our 25 yam , using the starter motor , When the key is turned all you hear is a clicking sound , it sounds as though there is a short somewhere and it is arcing out but i'm buggered if i can see where , and to add insult to injury when we have proded and probed around the wiring and you try the starter motor again it starts , but as soon as you switch off and try again the clicking returns . I have had a good look at all the connections and the wiring but cannot see any bare wires so i think it's time to call a man in to have a look , also when we try to use the starter motor it causes the radio and fishfinder to switch off . Has anyone any idea what it could be ? or can someone put me onto a good electrical bod that can come round with his meter and sort it out . ps , When starting the engine using the rip cord it fires up no problem as long as the key is on . Thanks Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Sounds like you have a bad earth. Perhps on the battery or Starter Motor. Take off the large connections on both, clean (with wet and dry paper if corroded or wire brush). Grease and then replace. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coddy Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Depending on the age of the motor, I would suspect a starter motor problem with one of the armature segments dirty or failed. If you know anything of electrics and starter motors it is fairly simple to remove the starter motor, and clean the commutator and brushes. The brushes may also be worn, again it all depends on its age and useage. Do check the simple things first like cable connections, battery terminals etc. Coddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisherman1055 Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Beware the blue powder Check the cables from the battery to the engine, they do tend to oxidise very quickly and turn to blue powder which does not conduct ellictricity very well Have found this on my engine despite keeping a good eye on the connections Good luck Tony D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Sounds like a bad connection and corrosion Andy. although its a bit fiddley and time consuming, Follow Robs advice and unbolt the terminals clean them up grease up and bolt them up tight. Try and do all the heavy elec cables including the battery ones and any switches.and all the black earth connectors. Its a faily common cause of Marine Electrical defects Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 I concur with the bad connection theory ( Not in the thinner wiring but in the heavy duty cables running from battery to starter motor/engine ). Does the power tilt ( assuming you have one ) have similar affect on the radio/fishfinder ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 (edited) As usual I will offer a different possibility/angle... Many OBs and most stern drives are installed with a overiding protection against starting in gear. Normally a microswitch in the gear/throttle assembly wired to the starter solenoid. Something to check. I can't remember if it's a wired as continuity or the other way round though......let alone whether your engine has it! Obviously if you are getting a large voltage drop but no action when you turn the key it's back to the main wiring or SM but if you get no voltage drop this is where my money would go.... FORGET THIS - just reread your post re the fishfinder etc - you are clearly wired for current flow so it's back to connections, state of the wiring, or, if you have one, the battery isolator switch - if you have one then this is now where my money rides! Edited January 7, 2008 by duncan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREZZ Posted January 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Thanks for all the advice guys , Looks like i've got a busy weekend ahead checking wires and connections etc. . I must admit i'm not looking forward to it , Electrics are a bit of a black art to me , i succesfully failed every electrical phase test that British Aerospace could throw at me when doing my apprenticeship many moons ago , hence i was banished to the machine shop , to spend the rest of my working days . One thing i forgot to mention is that when you operate the choke switch on the remote prior to starting , the choke in the engine moves up and down as it should do , not sure if this is relevant but it must mean that power is getting to the engine to make it work . I fink Thanks again . Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Andy, If the choke is electrically powered then it won't take much current to move it. To turn the engine over though takes much, much more current. ( and the drop in voltage is directly proportional to the current ). I would stick with checking the wiring for a start. ( especially given the symptoms ) One other thought, is when you get the problem starting, if due to a poor connection giving a drop in voltage when you turn the key, you should find that the site of the poor connection will warm up due to the high resistance. ( Paul J had exactly this problem with a poor ( ie. Loose ) battery connection. Any problems feel free to give me a call. PS: Want to swap electrical knowledge for GRP repair knowledge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 PS: Want to swap electrical knowledge for GRP repair knowledge Yes Does anyone know if galvanic isolators are worth fitting and where to source a good inexpensive one. My anodes were dissapearing so fast I have dissconnected shore power. unfortunatly my mate the marine electrician has misplaced his test probe So if anyone has access to one of those I would love to borrow it. We think the problem is the earth to the calorifier connecting through the heating water to the engine. but I need to test that theory. Thanks Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 ah the price of hot water.............(from one who doesn't have it!) what exactly do you mean by a galvanic isolator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Could try here :- Galvanic Isolator and the help files explain really well what they do and how they work. I like their point "Don't forget : If you do not have an isolator fitted to your vessel your neighbour will be using your anodes!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shytalk Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 definately worth fitting but they protect against another boat on the same shorepower spur from using your boat as an anode if the problem lies on your own boat then it will have no effect i think easy way is get a multi meter on the suspect item aquafax do a nice isolator with a meter on it for about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Thanks guys When the boat was lifted after 20 days afloat the anodes were worn more than expected. Kev checked the circuits for me and there was a differance when the calorifier electrical heater earth was disconnected. [i could simply disconnect the 240 volt and earth to the calorifier] he is looking for the correct tester to check. the anode errosion could be because of adjacent boats or the position in the Haven so we want to check that as well. If I can not source one I will disconnect the calorifier so I can reconnect shore power. I have already connected an additional large anode that is hung over the stern while the boat is in the Marina, its connected to the earthing wire for the transom shield so should help. with the shore power off the anodes appear not to be fizzing away. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREZZ Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Problem solved , it was the bl**dy battery that was knackered . I got a mate of mine who is a mechanic to come round with a probey type thing and after a few minutes of probeing and checking wiring etc , he said , it must be your battery . Which was my thought initially weeks ago , but i took it to a battery place who tested it and was told it was as strong as an ox , so i automatically disregarded that as the problem . He then connected up another battery that he had with him and hey presto the engine fired up first time . I cant work out how the battery passed the test when i had it checked out , yet it didn't have enough power to turn the engine over , but then again i am a bit of a numpty when it comes to electrics Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Good to hear its sorted Andy,see you on the water soon then Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Glad to hear that its sorted Andy See you on the water soon I hope, Please come over and say Hi if you see us , as we see so many Club boats that we do not recognise flying the pennant its getting embarrassing. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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