1994 Force 50 Ignition/Trim Problem

[unkledaddy]

I have a '94 Force 50 on my pontoon boat with very few hours on it. Bought new and hardly used. I took it out two weeks ago and it ran fine with new water pump, plugs and fuel filter. After about an hour I shut it off and when I tried to restart it nothing happened. It was like the ignition switch wasn't working. The trim button didn't work either, but the trim relays kinda' buzzed a little. Started it by hand on the first pull, and everything was back to normal until yesterday. Same thing happened when I tried to restart after stopping. This time however I couldn't get it to start by hand. Didn't want to let me pull it. Almost like it was in gear or something. My friend came to tow me in, and after a couple of minutes under tow I tried the ignition switch and it cranked and fired right up. Ran upriver for a few miles and put her on the trailer. Everything is working fine once again. I think the trim relays are powered through the starter solenoid but I don't know where to look for the problem when it's working properly like now. Can anyone out there give me some guidance to fix this problem? Thanks in advance.
Unkledaddy

 

[roscoe]

Re: 1994 Force 50 Ignition/Trim Problem

Very likely loose, corroded, frayed, or otherwise compromised cables to or from the battery.
Trace both wires back from the battery, remove, clean, then tighten all connections.

 

[unkledaddy]

Re: 1994 Force 50 Ignition/Trim Problem

Roscoe,

Thanks for reply. I have 2 new batteries with clean terminals on everything and the harness connector is clean, tight and covered in dielectric grease.

I'll double check all connections as you've suggested and concentrate on starter solenoid connections now.

Pete