Battery melted, starter smoked, now what?

[filth]

I connected a bad battery to my '96 88spl and attempted to start it. When I did, the starter turned very slowly and eventually started smoking. I could not shut it off or get the battery disconnected. Finally the positive terminal and surrounding area of the battery melted off and the fireworks ceased. I put a new battery in it and tried again. Starter turns over like normal now. Boat runs for a few seconds and then dies. It has been sitting for nine months. Are there any electrical issues I need to check for, or is the hard starting normal after sitting up for so long? All fuel was ran out of the carburetor before it was put into storage, so I don't think its the carbs. They were just rebuilt early last year.

 

[kmarine]

Re: Battery melted, starter smoked, now what?

sounds like the starter solenoid stuck. I recomend replacing it before this happens again. You may want to check the starter also. As for the cdi ignition, that is a seperate electrical system so it should not have been affected. check your spark plugs, are they wet with fogging oil? you may be flooding the engine with fuel/oil in the crankcase from storage. If this is the case, remove spark plugs, place wires on grounding block and crank engine over to see if you have fuel build up in the crankcase. Be carefull, if there is you will have gas spraying out of the spark plug holes. you may want to be outside and away from open flames when doing this test.

 

[F_R]

Re: Battery melted, starter smoked, now what?

Whew!!! Those must have been some exciting moments. Rare, but exciting. There must have been a high resistance in the battery at the positive terminal area, causing the heat. The high resistance also limited the voltage available at the starter, causing it to bog and overheat. That same situation could have welded the solenoid contacts. I had a similar experience in my truck, but my battery literally exploded, throwing pieces and acid all over the place. You got lucky.

Anyway, I think kmarine gave good advice, so I won't add to it, just agree with it.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: Battery melted, starter smoked, now what?

If it won't stay running, test the fuel pump: when the engine is running, have someone constantly pump the primer bulb on the fuel hose. This will force extra fuel into the carbs. If the engine keeps running while you prime the hose bulb, you have a fuel delivery issue. (including the possibility of a weak pump.) Check for spark when the engine quits running: weak ignition components tend to fail when the engine warms up to normal operating temps. (run fine when cold, then start to crap out after a few minutes running)

 

[filth]

Re: Battery melted, starter smoked, now what?

I appreciate all of the reply posts you guys have left. Sounds like good advice to me. I am going to go through these steps when I get home from work today to see if that resolves my issue. Thanks again.