1988 omc 5.7 crank no start

[devildog06]

hey guys this is my first boat and I got it on a trade.. was told it needed a starter when I got it. I replaced the started and the boat turned over great when first put in. now acts like the battery is dead after a few attempts to start. gets a little smoke coming from where the battery switch is after attempting to start. the wire going to the started gets hot as well. read some of the post and seen that it probably neds a new wire . but when the boat does crank it does not want to start. any help would be appreciated.

 

[alldodge]

If you see smoke or things get hot with a wire, then you have a bad connection. Start cleaning the cable connections on both ends.

Pull your plugs and see what they look like. If you see any rust you have issues. Wet plugs with oil is also bad but not like rust

 

[Lgbnme]

Yup, check your connections. Especially the ground wire going to the block

 

[HeavensFence87]

I'd also say make sure your battery has enough power to start your boat effectively. I recently bought a marine battery with 650 cold cranking amps and my 5.7 omc struggled to start. I have since replaced it with a battery with 850 cold cranking amps and I havent had any problems since. I believe your motor has a manual fuel pump and I'd suggest have someone look into your carb while you crank it over to see if the carb is getting fuel. If the boat hasn't ran for a long time it can take a while for your fuel pump to get fuel from your tank all the way to the carb.

 

[devildog06]

Ok sorry this has taken so long I have pulled the plugs they are dirty but not wet or rusted no oil... the battery’s seem fairly new and are Marine batteries but there is no infor besides name brand an amps on it carb does not have a fuel smell to it when cranking I’m leaning towards a possible fuel problem but still need to clean the connections as well.... work has not been friendly for me to work on this lol

 

[devildog06]

just as an update after a long cold winter I got back into the boat and it now runs.. lots of corroded wires and bad connections but she turns over and runs

 

[alldodge]

Cool thanks for the update
Hope your boating season will be a good one