Merc 3.0 no start, just a click

[qrntna]

Hi all,

Got stranded out on the water today and have done a lot of searching/reading on this site and testing since. I suspect my starter is to blame, but I was hoping for a quick sanity check before I go pick up a new one. This is a 2003 Bayliner with 3.0 Merc.

Here is where I'm at so far:

1. Battery is good and charged, reading 12.9v
2. Slave solenoid gets 12.9v on red post, zero on other large post until key is turned, then 12.9v (seems like slave is working)
3. Jumping the slave with a wire still just gets me 1 click (plus a lot of sparks)
4. Starter solenoid has 12.9v at orange wire / top post
5. I tried to jump the starter solenoid from the orange wire / top post to the bottom post. One time the starter spun/whirred, but the other time it didn't. Lots of nasty sparks both times, so I don't really want to do that again while the starter is still in the engine bay
6. I removed and cleaned most of the connections, and they all visually look pretty good at this point
7. Have not yet specifically tested from the yellow wire at the starter, nor have I tested the fuse on the starter. I will test those in the morning, but assuming they check out, then I'm thinking next step is to pick up a starter...

A few other misc details:

1. The boat had on occasion not started when key turned before, but never consistently stranded us. Previous I had played with the kill switch harness which I always thought felt a little loose, and after fiddling with it the boat would eventually start right up. When I was stuck today, running out of options to avoid a towing bill I cut out the kill switch entirely to see if I could isolate the problem that way - to no avail. From what I have read since then it seems like this is definitely not the culprit, but please let me know if that's possibly not correct
2. I noticed on my starter solenoid that the thin yellow wire/post had no nut holding the wire on, which obviously sounds wrong (and may have been the reason why I would on rare occasion get the no start problem (which would fix itself) before??). Out on the water I tried holding that wire firmly on the post while cranking, but still could not get anything more than a click a the slave solenoid. I have since fastened it on with a nut but still not getting anything out of the starter.

Many thanks for any quick opinions here to either save me a trip tomorrow or make me feel more confident about yanking out the starter!

Matt

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Sounds like you verified the starter is the problem with both large posts showing 12+ volts and only getting a click. That click is the solenoid engaging. To me the next step would be to pull the starter out, you could do the same test with it off and see if the the same results happen.

 

[SSTKO81]

Hi all,

Got stranded out on the water today and have done a lot of searching/reading on this site and testing since. I suspect my starter is to blame, but I was hoping for a quick sanity check before I go pick up a new one. This is a 2003 Bayliner with 3.0 Merc.

Here is where I'm at so far:

1. Battery is good and charged, reading 12.9v
2. Slave solenoid gets 12.9v on red post, zero on other large post until key is turned, then 12.9v (seems like slave is working)
3. Jumping the slave with a wire still just gets me 1 click (plus a lot of sparks)
4. Starter solenoid has 12.9v at orange wire / top post
5. I tried to jump the starter solenoid from the orange wire / top post to the bottom post. One time the starter spun/whirred, but the other time it didn't. Lots of nasty sparks both times, so I don't really want to do that again while the starter is still in the engine bay
6. I removed and cleaned most of the connections, and they all visually look pretty good at this point
7. Have not yet specifically tested from the yellow wire at the starter, nor have I tested the fuse on the starter. I will test those in the morning, but assuming they check out, then I'm thinking next step is to pick up a starter...

A few other misc details:

1. The boat had on occasion not started when key turned before, but never consistently stranded us. Previous I had played with the kill switch harness which I always thought felt a little loose, and after fiddling with it the boat would eventually start right up. When I was stuck today, running out of options to avoid a towing bill I cut out the kill switch entirely to see if I could isolate the problem that way - to no avail. From what I have read since then it seems like this is definitely not the culprit, but please let me know if that's possibly not correct
2. I noticed on my starter solenoid that the thin yellow wire/post had no nut holding the wire on, which obviously sounds wrong (and may have been the reason why I would on rare occasion get the no start problem (which would fix itself) before??). Out on the water I tried holding that wire firmly on the post while cranking, but still could not get anything more than a click a the slave solenoid. I have since fastened it on with a nut but still not getting anything out of the starter.

Many thanks for any quick opinions here to either save me a trip tomorrow or make me feel more confident about yanking out the starter!

Matt

I think you nailed the starter to the wall. SOMETIMES you can give the starter a little tap with a hammer, screwdriver butt, etc and it will dislodge from whatever is hanging it up (you could try it just for piece of mind though it doesn't change the fact that it sounds like your starter is kaput)

 

[qrntna]

Thank you for the peace of mind here. Just a couple other questions:

1. What are the typical symptoms of a starter going bad, before it’s totally shot? For example would an occasional non-start as described above be a symptom? How about the starter motor needing to crank for prolonged periods (a couple seconds) before engine fires - is that a starter issue or something different?
2. Should the kill switch have had anything to do with this? From some reading it sounds like generally the kill switch kills the engine when the switch point is connected / turned “on” - therefore since I’ve cut the kill switch wires (and not connected them), I don’t think this should be impacting anything, right? It should work as if the kill switch is always on “run” I think.
3. I had also read that the circuit activated by turning the key to “start” generally works like an “or” switch with the kill switch - which I think means that even if the kill was malfunctioning before, this never should have stopped the boat from cranking, even if kill was stuck in the wrong position. Is this how the wiring works for this mercruiser?
4. 
   thanks!

 

[qrntna]

I just tested voltage from the slave solenoid to the yellow wire small post connected to the starter. When I turn the key I am seeing a 1v drop between the slave solenoid and starter (which I think should be zero).
When I test from the yellow wire post on starter to ground, I get 9.5-10v instead of 12v. That yellow wire connectionappears to run from the slave solenoid to the starter (the wires at both connections are same color and gauge) but it’s hard for me to tell for sure given all the wire sleeves.

Can anyone confirm that this should be the same wire?

I just tried jumping from the yellow wire at slave solenoid to yellow wire at starter with the key turned, but no luck.

It kind of looks like I have 12v from slave solenoid red post to ground, but only 10v from the slave solenoid yellow post to ground when key turned. Would this indicate a bad slave solenoid? Mind you I have also tried jumping the slave solenoid with no luck, so I’m not confident that swapping out slave solenoid will fix anything…

 

[qrntna]

I just tested voltage from the slave solenoid to the yellow wire small post connected to the starter. When I turn the key I am seeing a 1v drop between the slave solenoid and starter (which I think should be zero).
When I test from the yellow wire post on starter to ground, I get 9.5-10v instead of 12v. That yellow wire connectionappears to run from the slave solenoid to the starter (the wires at both connections are same color and gauge) but it’s hard for me to tell for sure given all the wire sleeves.

Can anyone confirm that this should be the same wire?

I just tried jumping from the yellow wire at slave solenoid to yellow wire at starter with the key turned, but no luck.

It kind of looks like I have 12v from slave solenoid red post to ground, but only 10v from the slave solenoid yellow post to ground when key turned. Would this indicate a bad slave solenoid? Mind you I have also tried jumping the slave solenoid with no luck, so I’m not confident that swapping out slave solenoid will fix anything…

And I have also tried to jump red post at slave solenoid all the way to yellow post at starter, but just got a click again. Since that should have gotten 12v directly to the starter, I assume it must be the starter after all?

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Yes, that starter itself is your issue, unless the motor is hydro locked. You could pull the spark plugs out a see if it cranks with them out, and any water shoots out any of the holes.