I am going to kill myself.

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Don, this is the most calm I have "seen you". Have you had cocktails tonight, or has Mrs. Don been "frisky" tonight ?<br />Mnemonic....follow EXACTLY what he is saying and make notes of what is happening....you are in good hands.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

waterone1,thanks for posting about Don.I thought it was just me seeing this.<br />Hi Don !<br /><br />DHP

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Don I think you saved a life. <br /><br />Your response really needs to be memorialized in the FAQ section! It's excellent!

 

[thunderroad]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

No kidding!!!! I haven't even had any electrical problems with my project yet but I'm still gonna print this thread and put it with my manual. It's much easier to understand.<br />thanks

 

[Wotknot]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Don, this is the most calm I have "seen you". Have you had cocktails tonight, or has Mrs. Don been "frisky" tonight ?

It's cuz Don just received his first check from me for all the donations you guys have sent me.

 

[RatFish]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

As always... Great advice!!!

 

[Don S]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Mrs. Don been "frisky" tonight ?

Prozac.......Viagra....... what did she say that was again <br /><br /><br />BTW... You don't suppose our boy done went and blowed himself up this morning do you????? Maybe his wife ........ nah, that wouldn't happen.

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Nah, im still here - I had to go to a wedding yesterday and didnt have time to do this... I am pretty worried about blowing myself up.<br /><br />I also dont know how to ground out the coil in the distributer... all i see is 9 plugs on the distributer - which one is the coil?<br /><br />I also went calling around to dealers to see if they had this solenoid in stock just in case when i tested it it was bad. He said another problem that will cause the clicking is water in the exhaust elbows - Which sounds really fricking complicated.

 

[Don S]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Glad your still with us.<br />

He said another problem that will cause the clicking is water in the exhaust elbows - Which sounds really fricking complicated

With an answer like that, don't take your boat to him. The only time you would hear clicking from the exhaust like that is with it running, and since you can't get it started than isn't going to be the problem.<br /><br />

I also dont know how to ground out the coil in the distributer... all i see is 9 plugs on the distributer - which one is the coil?<br />

The center wire on the distributor is the coil wire.

 

[Lou C]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Glad you are still around! Time to take a deep breath and realize you have a 16 year old boat and things like that are going to happen. Esp if it has been used in salt water. I changed all the batt cables, added a dual batt system, cleaned all the ground and the hot lead on the starter solenoid and mine as been great for the last 2 seasons. I have had much less trouble with Marine deep cycle batteries because they recover from being run down better, and seem to keep their charge longer. I have 2 group 27 deep cycles to crank my little 4.3 V-6. The other thing to add, is you have an outdrive boat (I/O). Now they are very popular but are about the most maintenance intensive power system there is, esp in salt water. So if you want to be happy with the boat and for it to be reliable, get used to the fact that the power package must be regularly serviced, by someone who knows what they are doing, and it will not be cheap. That is what I learned over 3 seasons of having an older salt water I/O. I have seen the driveway mechanics twiddle with these old boats endlessly, to no avail. What I do is the tune ups and winterizing, but the pro does the drive service for me each season, and it has worked out very well that way. But there is no such thing as a cheap boat or one you will not drop 500-1000 on per year just to get ready for the season. Unless it is a rowboat!<br />Good luck and have fun, and remind your wife how much you saved, and the depreciation you are not losing, by not buying a new one! That's what I do and it works (you know honey, if we got a new one just like this it would have deperciated more than what we have in this one already!)

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

So don - Realistically, I could test to see if the problem is the slave solonoid just by tying the yellow/red wires together without making any sparks, and if it starts, the slave solenoid was the problem, correct?<br /><br />(Dont know if you noticed - but i really dont want to go making sparks in the engine on my new boat )

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Lou - Yea, i get the whole maintainence thing with the I/O's... I expect the end and beginning of the season to take a big chunk out of me... Its just depressing for something like this to happen the day you launch.<br /><br />If you see my past troubles with boats in the outboard forums, you know why the gun was starting to aim at my temple. All i have had with boats so far is problems and paying for something i cant even use. <br /><br />I totally get the used boat scene though, why pay 40,000 for a new boat when after you get 20 hrs on the motor its work 20,000? Doesnt make sense to me, and everyone told me to buy used.

 

[Don S]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

So don - Realistically, I could test to see if the problem is the slave solonoid just by tying the yellow/red wires together without making any sparks, and if it starts, the slave solenoid was the problem, correct?

Yes..... But.<br /><br />If you are going to be working on this boat yourself, you REALLY need to get yourself a Mercruiser service manual. Not a Seloc or Clymers, a Mercruiser manual. You will need one for the engine and one for the drive.<br />You need to look at the metal tag on the block by the starter and find out what the serial number of your engine is. It could be an 88 engine if your boat came out in 89, and there is a manual change between 88 and 89.<br /><br /> http://mercruiserparts.stemtostern.com/Mercruiser/mercruiser_service_manuals.asp

 

[milkyway]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Terrific information!

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Don - I will order the manual this afternoon - im sure I will need it.<br /><br />Seriously, thanks for the info - this thread should totally be in the FAQ, as im sure this isnt the first time this problem has come up.

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

Just put the 2 yel/red wires together with a bolt and taped em off. <br /><br />Threw power on and turned the key - no click no start.<br /><br />I assume this means the solenoid in the starter is bad, cause i would normally hear a click from that as well, correct? <br /><br />Well, either way, i put in a service call to install a new starter tomorrow. This sucks, but im going to send the bill to the previous owner.

 

[salty87]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

where's that popcorn eating smiley??<br /><br />mnemonic...have you heard the one about a boat being a hole in the water into which you toss money? or what b.o.a.t stands for?....Bust Out Another $Thousand?<br /><br />you can toss money at a problem all day long, doesn't necessarily fix a thing. track things down methodically for maximum boating bang for your bucks. you don't know that you have a bad starter yet.

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

The company at my marina is a friend of a friend of mine... he is going to diagnose it for me.<br /><br />He will tell me if i need a starter or if its a bad ground or something else...

 

[salty87]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

will he let you take some notes? it's really nice being able to diagnose things and repair them. sometime you might need to while on the water, can save the trip or more.

 

[Mnemonic]

Re: I am going to kill myself.

I dont see why he wouldnt let me watch... certainly enough room on the boat for me to sit around and take notes... <br /><br />The guy who is the repairman works for the guy who owns my marina, and me and him go way back, so im sure it will be fine.. I WANT to work on my own motor... but i do better by being shown how to do it first.. I always worry about blowing myself up. Its not like i can disconnect the gas tank from my old outboards anymore... im STANDING on 50 Gallons!