Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

[EdRex]

First of all, thanks in advance to all of you in this forum. Although I just joined today, I have been lurking about for a couple of months, trying to get some pointers on my brand new 22 year old boat. The info in here is invaluable, and kudos to those of you who take your time to help noobs like me.

That being said...A little background (this is for fun, the next paragraph will detail mechanical issues for you hardcores!). My folks bought an '87 bayliner capri 1700 bowrider off the showroom floor in '87. My dad is had always been a sailor, and the capri never did it for him. It has about 200 hours on the force 85 hp, and has been properly stored for about 10 years. By the way, after about 40 hours of cleaning, I would be willing to wager that I have the closest thing to a mint condition bayliner that exists anywhere, I'll post pics later.

As for my problem...I have read all the posts about firing a motor that has been sitting. I understand that I need to do an impeller kit, maybe a carb kit and the such. I finally mustered the stones to try to fire it up today (with muffs) just to see what would happen. It cranked like a champ (new battery) for a few minutes, and began to come to life, and then nothing. I would turn the key and nothing. No click from the choke, no nothing. Did I smoke the solenoid? After doing some reading here, it seems that there are separate solenoids for the choke and starter, could they have both failed?

Sorry for the ramble, any info would be greatly appreciated.

Keep it up, you guys rock...

 

[EdRex]

Re: Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

Is there possibly a fuse somewhere in there that I could have blown?

 

[moparman]

Re: Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

there should be a circuit breaker at the motor,look at it, but there has to be a reason for it to trip.Welcome to IBOATS. moparman

 

[pnwboat]

Re: Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

Could be any number of things. Start with the basics. A boat that has been sitting for long period of time is a prime candidate for corroded connections. Just because the connection looks cosmetically clean on top, there may be some corrosion built up on the underside where the metal actually makes contact. Verify battery connections on the battery, all cables/wires on the starter solenoid. Check battery cable on starter itself. Check ground connections. The battery cable ground connection should be attached directly to the block. Check fuses. Also if the fuse block is the open type that is exposed, check the metal prongs that the fuses snap in to. Sometimes corrosion builds up on them. Very doubtful that both the starter and choke solenoid's are bad. I would suspect that either bad positive or ground connection on the battery circuit since nothing works.

 

[81 beachcomber]

Re: Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

there should be a circuit breaker at the motor,look at it,

mine always trips, should be just under the starter or around that are. little button on the top to reset it, push it and give er a try.

 

[john from md]

Re: Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

My '85 Capri has a 20 amp fuse in the battery compartment. It also has a circuit breaker on the left side of the engine beneath the rectifier. Either could cause your problem, especially if you were cranking for a while.

Hope this helps,

John

 

[EdRex]

Re: Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

Thanks all for all of the suggestions. I had this on my mind at work and decided to swing by the house on lunch to peek at the fuses (this might be becoming unhealthy).

I looked at the inline fuse in the battery box and it looked perfect. I gave my best look at the exposed fuses underneath the control console. Everything looked fine, but there was some light surface corrosion on all of the contacts.

I think my best bet (unless there's any better advice out there) is to replace all of the fuses, regardless of what they look like, and brush all of the contacts shiny. I would love to know, however, which fuse I should be looking at under the dash, for special attention (the one tied to the ignition).

I am a professional chef, not a mechanic, so I think I had better get a book. I got the boat for free, and it takes some of the fun out if I have to start spending $190 per hour to get her fixed up. Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted.

 

[EdRex]

Re: Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

Important forgotten detail: Lights, stereo and bilge pump work fine.

 

[john from md]

Re: Non-Mechanic wants to know why his starter no startee

Lights, sterio and bilge pump are usually wired separately from the ignition switch so that you can use them with the engine off. It appears that your power problem has to do with getting power to the to the switch.

The best thing to do is to start checking for power from the battery on up. The key points will be 1) the circuit breaker, 2 the red wire on the terminal strip, 3 the red wire on the switch. I'm willing to bet that you will find your problem somewhere in that area.

First thing you need, (like a chef needs a knife (G) ) is a meter. You can get an inexpensive one at Kmart, Walmart, Advance auto etc.

Replace the fuses as they are cheap anyway.

Let us know how it goes.

John