Evinrude 150 motor won't start, trim doesn't work

[capow]

Haven't used the boat in about a year. I went to tilt the outboard motor up today and it wouldn't go up. The solenoids? buzz when the tilt switch is activated. One doesn't always buzz. I switched the two and same result. It's weird. If I turn the ignition key to "on", the tilt/trim doesn't even make a buzzing sound.

And the engine won't fire either. Nothing happens. The gages move when ingnition is turned, but not even a click in the engine. The kill switch lanyard is on. The battery seems to be fully charged when I test it.

I have no clue and really don't know much of anything about boat motors...just that this one is giving me fits. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Evinrude 150 motor won't start, trim doesn't work

Welcome to iboats.

Check your 20 amp inline fuse at the starter solenoid.

 

[capow]

Re: Evinrude 150 motor won't start, trim doesn't work

Mr. Trim-
Thanks for the response. I assume you are addressing the engine won't fire problem. Where can I find the starter solenoid. Probably a dumb question, but I am obviously clueless.

 

[JB]

Re: Evinrude 150 motor won't start, trim doesn't work

Trace out the cables from the battery to the engine, Capow. Remove and clean every connection and inspect each cable for swollen or weak spots.

Your symptoms are classic for a low resistance corroded connection or corroded cable. Tight is not good enough, take them off and clean them.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Evinrude 150 motor won't start, trim doesn't work

The 20 amp fuse is located inline between the starter and the keyswitch. Your starter is the large, cylindrical object that connects to your flywheel via the bendix. It will be located on the port (left, facing the rear of the outboard) side of the motor. The POS wire from the battery will make its way to the starter via the starter solenoid. The fuse will be located in a 'bullet' type connector, which you will need to pull apart to access. This fuse could also explain why the trim will not work, as well as the ignition system being dead. It will control both.

Let us know what you find.

 

[capow]

Re: Evinrude 150 motor won't start, trim doesn't work

The fuse looks fine. I'm pretty confident it is the fuse you are referenceing. I replaced it with the spare anyway. Still the same problems. Was really hoping it would be that easy. Tracing all the wires from the battery to the motor seems like a monster of a job. I started to try that and had a heck of a time just trying to trace them out of the battery well. I'd be tempted to just take the thing to a shop, but I can't even get the motor up. Tried the manual release but no luck.

 

[littletunny]

Re: Evinrude 150 motor won't start, trim doesn't work

Jump the starter solenoid to see if the starter and subsequently, the motor turns over.. Is the battery fully charged?

It can be frustrating working on old motors but the folks on this forum are top noch and can troubleshoot pretty much anything as long as the info provdided is accurate.

 

[JB]

Re: Evinrude 150 motor won't start, trim doesn't work

The battery + cable goes directly to the solenoid, Capow. The Battery - cable goes directly to somewhere on the engine block. Those are the ones most likely to have bad connections.

OMC was bad about bolting the Battery - cable to a steel bypass cover. Probably 80% of the bad connections I have found are where that - cable (ground) is bolted to steel. After cleaning it I usually found a place to bolt it to the alloy block.

If you have a meter and know how to use it there are step-by-step instructions in "Outboard won't start" in the Engine FAQs for troubleshooting the starter circuit. The PT&T circuit is usually parallelled with the starter circuit, using that same ground connection.