Seems like my motor isn't getting any juice...

[martsmth]

So against my better judgment I took a boat as payment for some work that was done awhile ago. 1986 bayliner (rough shape, but it floats), trailer, and an 80hp two stroke Mercury outboard. Supposedly ran like a top a week or two ago.

The battery is charged, lights work, radio works but there is no juice at the motor. Choking and trying to start yields no response whatsoever, no noise, just dead silence.

The throttle control/ignition doesn't seem to be getting any juice at all. When I push in the key, I'm pretty sure i should be getting a response from the choke solenoid, even if it was bad, it should still "respond" i would think? I'm getting no response whatsoever

I isolated the throttle control/engine to the battery with no other accessories (lights, radio, etc.) and the result was still the same. Isolated all accessories without the throttle/control/engine and everything worked. It seems like the electric problem is with/in the engine.

Try to turn the key over to start and nothing.

My thought is that there is a fault to ground somewhere in wiring in the motor itself?

If that is indeed a probable issue, where is the first place to start looking for wiring problems?


I made sure that the throttle was in the neutral position...

Any of your best guesses/info would be great, I'm going to try to deal with this myself before I call in the pro's.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Seems like my motor isn't getting any juice...

Pos battery cable connects to the starter relay where it splits off, going thru the main fuse, into the motor wiring harness, which plugs into the main wiring harness at the large cannon plug.

Check the main fuse with your test light, pull the cannon plug apart, the two large pins are the battery pos and neg. If the plug feels a bit 'loose', use an exacto blade, carefully slide it into the slot on the male pin to swell the pin just a wee bit.

 

[martsmth]

Re: Seems like my motor isn't getting any juice...

Interesting...I did check the fuse, located in the rubber housing there. Fuse was ok, I didn't test it each end of the wire for juice.

I'm trying to clarify, you're suggesting that even if the fuse itself isn't burned out, the fuse itself may not be making a connection at each end, where the fuse actually contacts to it's housing?

I believe such a condition could lead to the problems that I'm having now. There really doesn't seem to be a lick of electricity going to the motor.

I imagine that you suggested that because it's one of the first things that could be wrong. Do you mind if I ask you...what do you think the 2nd, 3rd, 4th...etc most likely thing could be? lol

I trailered it about 30 miles or, over pretty decent roads and I'm a pretty conservative driver, especially when towing. I suppose I could imagine something "coming loose"...such as a fuse inside it's housing, like you suggested. Does anything else like that come to mind and that I should look for as I follow the electricity around the motor?

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated...This is gonna be a great little boat if I can just get the motor started, aah ha!

I'm going back to the boat this evening and am going to hit it with whatever I can gather up before then.

 

[attitudeadjustment]

Re: Seems like my motor isn't getting any juice...

I'm no expert, but have had to do sometroubleshooting on my son's boat.

There is usually a lockout switch to make sure you don't try to start the engine in gear - some are in the control box, and some are under the engine cover. You might want to check that - it'll appear pretty dead when you try to start the engine if the switch thinks you're in gear. I've seen many people think their battery is dead, but they jiggle the gear shift lever to make sure the switch thinks it's in the neutral position, and the engine fires up.

Might want to also check the solenoid. They're usually pretty reliable, but if it's bad, you might get the condition you're describing.