OMC 115 V4 jetboat starting problems

[wiguy85]

Have a euroline cyclone jet boat with the turbojet OMC V4 115 engine and had it out last week and it got really hot due to low part in the lake and sucking up muck and cavitating. Some of the wires got hot but didnt melt so i went over all the engine wiring and heat wrapped a lot of it just to protect it and put new plugs in. Able to spin over engine by hand so don't think it messed up internally even though it got hot and had to idle back to the dock while temp alarm was going off. Now i put new battery in and it will click and sometimes the starter will work but turn engine over slowly. The bendix/gear also stays engaged/up into the flywheel when not being cranked. New battery and starter looks good, just didnt have to time take it off and bench check it. Was wondering if anyone had this problem or know whats going on? Would engine being hot and starter being mounted to engine cause the starter to start going bad? Thanks

 

[BeaterSkeeter]

Re: OMC 115 V4 jetboat starting problems

sounds like the battery might be dead for starters. If it clicks or barely cranks over then it's a cranking amperage issue. It may have voltage but no amperage when you hit the starter. Charge the battery.
Also, if you can turn over the motor by hand with the plugs in then you might have piston/cylinder damage. You should pull the plugs out and compression test or in the least stick an led flexlight in there to look at the pistons and cylinder walls. Examine your spark plugs as well. If they are really light then that could show a lean condition and damage.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: OMC 115 V4 jetboat starting problems

a starter can handle more heat than a engine will transfer to it. new batterys are not always fully charged. the wire going to the starter may be to small or damadged or a poor connection. start by charging the battery and checking all connections are clean if the wire looks like its been heated then replace the main wiring (the big wires) from battery to starter solinoid. remember to also check the ground side of the battery and the ground connection on the engine then post the results

 

[SKEETR]

Re: OMC 115 V4 jetboat starting problems

FYI you can pull start that motor in the event of a problem like this on the water. Cut a 4' piece of line and tie a knot at one end and some kind of handle to the other. Insert the knot in the notch on the flywheel and wrap it around.
You may have overheated your rectifier causing it to not charge your battery. Does your tach work?
Re-torque cylinder heads after any overheat incident before assuming you have piston damage.

 

[wiguy85]

Re: OMC 115 V4 jetboat starting problems

FYI you can pull start that motor in the event of a problem like this on the water. Cut a 4' piece of line and tie a knot at one end and some kind of handle to the other. Insert the knot in the notch on the flywheel and wrap it around.
You may have overheated your rectifier causing it to not charge your battery. Does your tach work?
Re-torque cylinder heads after any overheat incident before assuming you have piston damage.

Well it turns over by hand, didnt say easily but it does. Ill comp test when i get a chance, battery is getting charged today. I did retorque all the bolts on the heads when finished wiring, im going to check it all over again but shouldnt be too much wrong with wiring considering it ran fine a week prior with the guy i bought it from. I was going to pull start just to see if it starts up after the comp test. As for the battery/starter, this was on the first try and didn't work. Still confused on why the gear is stuck up in the flywheel when just sitting there?

 

[BeaterSkeeter]

Re: OMC 115 V4 jetboat starting problems

If the gear is stuck in the up position it might be the starter solenoid but more than likely is the starter itself failing to return. The starter uses a ramp mechanism with a 1-way gear. It drops when you stop cranking as you know. The solenoid controls the electrical current to the starter when you crank it so unless the key is stuck on and the motor is cranking it shouldnt be up. Tap the gear down gently to get it to disengage from the flywheel. Disconnect the power wires and test directly with a different power source. You can leave it on your motor. If it does the same thing, its conclusively your starter.