Turn key.....Nothing!

[BlowHo]

I have an 84 Force 85 that I put away for the winter. When stored it, it was running and operating fine.

I tried to start it and when I turn the key I get nothing. I know the battery is fully charged, and all of the wires appear to be intact and secure.

I have a manual and tried to troubleshoot from there but I am no electrical guru, anybody know any common things that could cause this?????

Thanks

 

[MWBROWN]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

I have a 1984, 85 HP also. On a fish and ski.
1. Do you have any power to the dash? If yes, then you do have some power.
2. Do you hear the "click" of the choke? If no, then you are not getting power to the engine.
I recently changed my starter, and when I hooked the battery back up, I missed one of the wires. I had dash power, but no "click" on the engine, so I knew I had missed something. After I found I had missed one of the connections, all went well. Check that you have all the leads connected to the battery.

That is all I have, there will be some experts along if the problem is deeper.

Mike

 

[BlowHo]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

i do have power to the dash, fish finder and anchor lights, I'll check the leads. thanks.

 

[MWBROWN]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

One other thing I did not mention, make sure the throttle is not in gear.

Mike

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

That motor has a thing called a neutral interlock switch. If the shifter is not in neutral the starter solinoid will not fire. Verify the shifter is in neutral before starting.

 

[JB]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

Go to Engine FAQs, "Outboard won't start".

 

[BlowHo]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

10-4 on neutral. Thanks JB, I'll check the FAQ's.

 

[BlowHo]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

Mike - U da man and I'm a moron! I did not connect all of the leads to the battery!!!!!:$

Thanks for the help.

 

[MWBROWN]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

BlowHo,

Glad I could help someone. I am no expert, but I knew what happened to me could happen to others.
I am sure you are not a moron.

Happy Boating.

Mike

 

[Max_Door]

Re: Turn key.....Nothing!

I had a problem yesterday, tilt-trim dead and ignition dead, had power, turned out it was a 20 amp fuse on the motor wiring.
I was able to find problem ok today but was scary yesterday while out at lake.

Wondering what caused that fuse to burn out so I might be able to correct the cause. Battery terminals are pretty clean, connections seem good. a ground somewhere on the motor wiring bad?

Motor is a 120 1998