electrical shut off out of nowhere.

[Colinw]

i tried to launch my new boat (1975 glasspar) and when putting into the water the reverse worked fine and got it to the dock. then when i tried to start it, nothing, just cold and dead. went home and jumped it w/ my truck and started fine. the battery is very new. is this an alternator problem? well my battery has been charging over night and im going to go try my luck. and advice or suggestions would be great thanks. (motor is a 1969 100hp merc1000)

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: electrical shut off out of nowhere.

Check both ends of your battery cables. They must be very clean and tight. Look for signs of any corrosion at the base of the lugs. If you see any, replace them. They can corrode inside where you can't see it.

 

[Colinw]

Re: electrical shut off out of nowhere.

thanks bill, i'll check it out, the battery is very new (looking) but u never know.

 

[Colinw]

Re: electrical shut off out of nowhere.

i checked the neg and pos wires, where they meet at the end near the battery hook up there is a little of the rubber coming off and some of the wire is exposed. however the wire underneath does not seem to be bad at all, it is still silver and fresh, i think im going to go buy a battery and hope that is the problem. I think it is the baterry because i have fired it up so many times with it running w/o a problem. Im gonna go buy a battery and let ya guys know. thanks for any advice..

 

[Silvertip]

Re: electrical shut off out of nowhere.

Yup -- throw parts and money at the problem without doing any diagnostic work. Gets expensive making repairs that way. Batteries don't go dead and mysteriously come back to life again. Troubleshoot the problem? Does the alternator work? Does your boat have a voltmeter? If not check the system with a $10 meter from Home Depot or Lowes. You may have a bad key switch, solenoid, starter, or the main harness plug simply needs to be cleaned. All of these can be checked with that meter.

 

[Colinw]

Re: electrical shut off out of nowhere.

well, the funny, not so funny thing is that the boat is so old that the throttle was in reverse and not neutral, so it couldnt star. i mo9ved it around to the proper position and it started w/o a problem. does anyone know where the alternator would be located on a 1969 merc1000 100hp..?