Clicking noise on my merc black max 175 hp...bad solenoid?

[murphman65]

i was out on a local lake today when i noticed a clicking sound everytime i attempted to start my Mercury Black Max 175 HP outboard ,eventually it would start . then at the end of my outing all it would do was "click" i ended up pulling the timing cover off the flywheel and using the emergency rope(i thought no way will i be able to pull start this beast)provided under the cowling,and turned the key to the "on" position and got it to run,my question is this: is my solenoid relay switch bad?If so can i order it online ? I am tired of paying too much for parts at the boat shop.thanks, please reply, murphman

 

[wombil]

Re: Clicking noise on my merc black max 175 hp...bad solenoid?

hi murphman,
I get this trouble a bit on my 70 hp.Trouble is in the silenoid for sure.The electro magnet works and pushes the plate onto the contacts ok.That is the click you hear.The plate and the contacts get burnt or dirty and don't take the power to the starter.I just pull them apart and clean the contacts and all ok again.
Don't know the setup on your motor but all I need to do this is a screwdriver once the solenoid is off.Just prise the 4 clips up and thats it.
Hope this helps,
wombil.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Clicking noise on my merc black max 175 hp...bad solenoid?

Before you start throwing parts at this problem do the following:
1) Make sure the battery is fully charged. A weak battery (one thats discharged or has a bad cell or two) causes the problem you are having. Batteries with bad cells do not hold a charge either.
2) Make sure the charging system is working. If you have a voltmeter on the dash, what does it read with the engine running at about 1500 rpm. If its reading less than 12.6V the charging system isn't working which is why the battery is dead. If you don't have voltmeter on the console, use a hand held meter and measure voltage at the battery with the engine running.
3) If 1 and 2 are ok, disconnect and clean the battery cables (both ends). Make sure they are shiny clean and then reconnect them making sure the nuts are tight (use a wrench).

If the problem still exists, use a jumper cable and connect it between the two large terminals on the solenoid. If the engine spins, the solenoid is bad. If it doesn't the starter is bad.

The solenoid is available here at iBoats.

 

[murphman65]

Re: Clicking noise on my merc black max 175 hp...bad solenoid?

thankyou for your response battery is good connections are good ,i put jumper cables from battery to solenoid pos. and neg and starter turns over looks like i will be getting a new solenoid, thanks again. Murphman

 

[hkeiner]

Re: Clicking noise on my merc black max 175 hp...bad solenoid?

looks like i will be getting a new solenoid

If replacing the solenoid does not solve your problem, you will need to do more troubleshooting. If so, take a look at the below linked thread, which contains a troubleshooting guide that may be of help to you.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=224094&highlight=starter