really stupid question.... got my first i/o and can't figure out how to start it!

[jimmwaller]

hey.... this is emberassing, but...

I've always been an outboard guy, but i recently bought an i/o (1970 starcraft islander with a mercruiser 165 and a MC1 outdrive). The previous owner showed me how to start it, and I was pretty sure he just put the key in, turned on the battery, and turned the key and it started up.

I went to try to test it out this morning, and that's what I did. Turned on the battery, turned the key, lowered the outdrive, and... nothing.

I know the batter works because the bilge pump, blower, lights, etc. all worked. But I couldn't get the motor to even turn over. Is there a trick to starting these? Do boats have some kind of a kill switch, or something? Or I was also thinking, is there some "safety switch" in which it wouldn't be able to start if something is wrong (i'm thinking, like, if it's not in neutral or if the outdrive is up or something)?

Any help would be appreciated.

This is what my control panel looks like, if that helps!

thanks!

 

[Thagan]

Was it in neutral?

 

[jimmwaller]

hi, thanks for the reply. If it's not in neutral, will it not even turn over?

It may not have been in neutral. I didn't shift anything from when the PO started it for me, but maybe something got in gear somehow?

Another dumb question, but I'm not in front of the boat at the moment... I recall that in order to shift, you move the throttle lever "out" and then shift gears with it in the "out" position, is that pretty universally true?

thanks!!

 

[Old Ironmaker]

It might have a safety tether switch under the shift/throttle controls. Sometimes a battery has plenty of juice for lights. bilge etc. but not enough to turn over. My Merc controls has to be in neutral of course but sometimes I have to jimmy the controller a bit in neutral position to get the sweet spot. Older boats can do that.

Some guys put the boat in gear to trailer it.

Not a dumb question but I'm not getting what you mean, cold start? Most you squeeze the handle to get into gear. But a 70 era StarCraft I don't know.

 

[muskyfins]

It looks like the "out" may be referring to the "throttle only" position on the shifter. Some have a button; others you move the entire center portion of the shifter in order to engage the throttle while keeping it in neutral to start.

 

[JoLin]

Another dumb question, but I'm not in front of the boat at the moment... I recall that in order to shift, you move the throttle lever "out" and then shift gears with it in the "out" position, is that pretty universally true?

thanks!!

I'm guessing you have it backward. Pulling the shifter 'out' will keep the drive in neutral when you need to advance the throttle without putting it in gear. Pull the lever out, push it forward and start. Pull it back to the idle/neutral position and it snaps back into place. Next time you push the lever forward or back, it'll shift into gear and move the boat.

As for having to be in neutral to start or even crank the motor, the answer is probably yes. I've owned Volvo-Penta and Mercruiser I/O's and if the shift/throttle lever was left in gear, I wouldn't even hear a 'click' when I turned the key.

My .02

 

[alldodge]

Being a 1970, I don't think it has a man overboard kill switch. The way the throttle is located, I would think if there is anyway to get it in throttle only mode, it would need to be pushed in direction of arrow, then moved forward to throttle.

With the key being unable to turn the motor over, need to know IF (big if) the gauges come alive when key is turned to run?
If gauges do come alive, need to find out if the slave relay is getting power to supply power to the starter solenoid?

 

[jimmwaller]

wow, thanks for all the help, everyone. I'm a little.... uh.... slow about i/o motors, so maybe let me double check that I'm getting everything correctly?

so, according to alldodge's diagram (thanks alldodge!), right now the throttle control is in "in" position. If I move it in the direction of the arrow, it goes into the "out" position. When it's in the "in" position, it won't start or even turn over. I'd have to move it into the "out" position, and start it. While it's in the "out" position, its essentially in neutral. I can throttle it up and down but it's not in gear.

Then, when it's started, I can push it back into the "in" position. Once it's on and in the "in" position, moving the handle "forwards" will put it into forward gear, and/or moving it "backwards" will put it into reverse?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[alldodge]

No, Nope, not what I meant
Right now its in neutral and you should be able to turn the key and the motor should crank over. If it does not, then there is another issue.

If it does crank over and you need to pump the carb without it going into gear, you need to move the handle in the arrow direction to put it in throttle only mode

 

[jimmwaller]

alldodge, thanks for clarifying. To answer your earlier question, the gauges do not come "on" when the key is turned, but I'm not 100% convinced they're supposed to. The blower seems to work fine, though (although it was pointed out to me that that might not be determinative).

However, the whole boat (motor, etc) worked just fine only a few days ago when I bought it, and the batteries have been off since then. I doubt they're dead, I really feel like I'm just.... missing or forgetting something crucial.

Is there anything else I should check?

thanks!!


EDIT: After getting some clarifying comments and re-reading what was written, I think I understand throttle-only positioning now. So what I'm getting is: In the position that handle is in right now, the middle is neutral, and forward and back are the forward and reverse gears. So right now, if the handle is in the middle, it's in neutral and should crank over just fine. However, sometimes you want to be able to rev it up without going into gear. So to do so, you put it in 'throttle only" by moving the lever in the direction of the arrow. That way, you can move the handle "forwards" without putting it into gear. Then, when you're ready to actually put it in gear, the lever moves back "in" and at that point moving the lever forwards will put it in gear. Makes total sense.

One thing I noticed when playing with it: I would have expected a positive "feel" to let me know when I'm right in the middle, in neutral. Like, I expected it to "click" into place or something. But when I was moving the lever back and forth, it almost felt like there were 2-3 positions right in the middle. Like, as I was moving the lever up, I felt a slight bump and thought "okay, it's locked into neutral" but then I kept going up and there were a few more bumps. It felt like there were maybe 3 position right in the middle of the lever's travel.

Is this normal? Is one of these "positions" neutral?

thanks

 

[Thagan]

I'm not sure what you mean by 3 clicks. Center "should" be neutral. It should be just like any old outboard controls. Did you try to turn the key in each of the positions?

 

[alldodge]

Don't know about the multiple bumps, but suggest going to the basics.
The blower is not controlled by the key so it should come ON any time the switch is flipped. All gauges should turn ON when the key is turned ON. Some will not move but the fuel gauge (if its working) should.

Turn key ON, then turn further to START. While holding key in START position, move the throttle a tad forward and backwards to see if the starter engages. If the starter does not engage check for 12V at the + side of the coil. If no power is found check for power at the key switch.

 

[NYBo]

If you did have a kill switch, it would not interfere with the starter. It would cut off the ignition.

Not all controls have a detent for neutral. You may have to wiggle the handle a little. The neutral safety switch may also be out of adjustment or faulty.

These things being said, the fact that the gauges don't come to life when you turn the key points to something else, such as a bad connection or ignition switch.

 

[NYBo]

Also check for a main fuse or circuit breaker on the motor.

 

[H20Rat]

I would also pop the engine hatch and look for a battery cut-off switch. Not impossible he wired it up with some accessories on the hot side of the switch, but the main engine wire (aka starter) ended up on the cutoff side.

Possibly something that looks like this.

 

[jimmwaller]

thanks for all the tips. I will check all of those things this afternoon. One other thing I thought of?I was able to raise and lower the outdrive and adjust the trim. Are those typically connected through the battery selector switch? i.e. people have mentioned that the blower will work even if the batteries aren't getting power to the main dashboard because it's wired separately, but is this also true for the outdrive?

thanks!!

 

[muskyfins]

Where are you located? How far are you from the PO? Is it possible to have him stop by and give you a review of starting? Ocassionally on an older boat as many have mentioned, there is some little "trick" because the neutral safety switch or some other thing sticks or whatever. Or someone fixed something they shouldn't have and now, you have to "insert trick here" to get it to start.

Are you at a marina? Or have many boating friends? Maybe someone can take a look in person. At least then you'd know if its a trick starting problem or something we can start diagnosing.

 

[briangcc]

thanks for all the tips. I will check all of those things this afternoon. One other thing I thought of—I was able to raise and lower the outdrive and adjust the trim. Are those typically connected through the battery selector switch? i.e. people have mentioned that the blower will work even if the batteries aren't getting power to the main dashboard because it's wired separately, but is this also true for the outdrive?

thanks!!

I can't speak for what was done in 1970 BUT on my current boat the trim will work with the battery selector switch set to OFF. I'm told by the marina that rigged the boat that IF I were to turn the key with the battery selector switch OFF I would engage the starter but the engine would never kick over as the Ignition wouldn't have power. So I'd end up burning out the starter in this configuration.This is on a brand new 4.3 MPI. I don't recall if the blower functioned or not with the battery selector switch OFF.

I counted (4) unmarked switches under the steering wheel. I'd wager one is for the blower, one for the bilge pump, what are the other two for? Any chance its some sort of secret cutoff switch??

Other than that...we can toss ideas all day long but the quicker solution may be to contact the previous owner for a refresher. As mentioned there very well may be some sort of "trick" to starting the old gal. If it turns out there is, you might want to write up a quick instruction and attach to your dash as a reminder...just saying.

 

[Stingrayaxe]

Can you talk to the guy you bought the boat from? Boats that old have their own unique little problems. They PO might say "oh ya. When that happens do this". Might be worth a try. The guy that bought my old boat called me four times with questions. I was always happy to help him out.

 

[jimmwaller]

thanks all. I already contacted the PO and he said that there was no trick that they know of. Should just turn the key and start....hmmm.... going to look at it again now, will keep you all posted if I figure anything out. thanks again