Here is the issue my boat is having. One issue is that is happened to my brother when he had my boat out so I am relaying the info that he gave me as best I can, but I think I got it.
The boat is a 86 Wellcraft with a 5.7L Merc./Alpha 1. He had taken the boat out and anchored out to swim, when they had decided to leave he turned on the blower as he should while they stowed their stuff and got ready to return to the dock. He went to start the boat and heard a click when he turned the key and lost all power. Nothing worked, lights, trim, blower, bilge, etc.
The power would intermittently comeback on, he left the blower switch on and all of a sudden it would start running again, then he would turn the ignition key and click...nothing.
He said that not even the float switch for the bilge would power the bilge pump, it is wired directly to the + terminal of the battery with an in-line fuse.
My brother had checked several connections under the console and found one that he was suspicious of, he tried to start the boat several times to no avail and had a tow boat coming, then all of a sudden he just tried it again for the heck of it and it fired off and he motored back to the dock just fine. THe big issue is that he didnt do anything specific between the last two attempts to start the engine, the 2nd to last failed and the last worked.
A couple of side points:
* had an issue with a connection on the ignition fuse before, but when that occurred I still had power to the trim switch and the float switch still powered the bilge.
* He found what he thought may have been a bad connection at the ignition fuse that he re-secured.
* there were no blown fuses.
Any suggestions or ideas, seems like possibly a bad connection on a ground at the main panel under the console? Why else would we loose all power when turning the ignition?
The boat is a 86 Wellcraft with a 5.7L Merc./Alpha 1. He had taken the boat out and anchored out to swim, when they had decided to leave he turned on the blower as he should while they stowed their stuff and got ready to return to the dock. He went to start the boat and heard a click when he turned the key and lost all power. Nothing worked, lights, trim, blower, bilge, etc.
The power would intermittently comeback on, he left the blower switch on and all of a sudden it would start running again, then he would turn the ignition key and click...nothing.
He said that not even the float switch for the bilge would power the bilge pump, it is wired directly to the + terminal of the battery with an in-line fuse.
My brother had checked several connections under the console and found one that he was suspicious of, he tried to start the boat several times to no avail and had a tow boat coming, then all of a sudden he just tried it again for the heck of it and it fired off and he motored back to the dock just fine. THe big issue is that he didnt do anything specific between the last two attempts to start the engine, the 2nd to last failed and the last worked.
A couple of side points:
* had an issue with a connection on the ignition fuse before, but when that occurred I still had power to the trim switch and the float switch still powered the bilge.
* He found what he thought may have been a bad connection at the ignition fuse that he re-secured.
* there were no blown fuses.
Any suggestions or ideas, seems like possibly a bad connection on a ground at the main panel under the console? Why else would we loose all power when turning the ignition?
