Just bought Mariah Z308
 

:)
My husband and I just made a trip out from Upstate NY to IA, about 13 hour drive each way. We purchased a 2000 Z308 Mariah. We have been looking at this for at least 5 years.
We are very excited about cleaning it up and getting it on the water. It did not come with the factory manual for the boat or the twin 350 mag engines. Do any of you know where we can get the manuals?
The engine turns over but does not start. We are guessing that there might be a safety pass code to start the engine. Not sure how to reset.

Re: Just bought Mariah Z308
 

First off, congrats on the purchase! The Z302/308's are very nice boats.

2nd... the 'where can i find a manual' question. ;) Please read the "Sticky" at the top of this forum or the FAQ's. Then read "The Benefits of Becoming a Contributing Member of the MOC". :)

There are a number of Z302/308 owners here and i'm sure one of them will chime in on your starting issue. BTW...is your Kill Switch set to "RUN"?

Re: Just bought Mariah Z308
 

Congrats... I'm very familiar with that boat, as I have been watching it for the last 4 years and almost bought it two months ago.... :)

As mikeyt mentioned, we have all the manuals you'll need in the contributors section. The Mariah "manual" is pretty useless, and is basically a generic book made for all models that primarily just covers the basics of operation, general boating tips, and rules of the road. They used the same "manual" from 1990 to 2001, and the only thing that changed was the physical size of the book. It's definitely obvious Mariah spent more time concentrating on making boats then making manuals. They used to supply a binder, with the "manual", and then there were separate instruction manuals for the individual systems, (a/c, water, engines, etc) that were made by the manufacturers, and we have them here as well.

For your question of the engines not starting, I know the engines haven't been run for at least 3 years, and this can sometimes cause some issues. There isn't any specific "safety code" that'll keep the engines from starting. There are, however a few things to check.

1) lanyard/"kill switch". make sure this is attached and the switch is functioning properly. If it's not connected properly, or malfunctioning, this will cause the engines to crank, but not fire. Pull the lanyard completely off the switch and reattach it, and make sure it fits right, and is activating the switch.

2) fuel pumps/cool fuel system. If you turn the key into the ON position, (not START) you should be able to hear the fuel pumps pressurize. I don't know how to describe the noise, but you'll definitely know it when you hear it. Have someone open the engine bay and listen, it's a faint noise, and your engine warning alarm system beeps may drown out the sound of the pumps at the helm. If the fuel pumps aren't pressurizing, then you'll need to replace them. I just had to replace mine last year, and since yours is a 2000 also, that'd be one of the first things I'd check.

If you can't figure it out, you may have to take it to a Mercruiser service facility to have diagnostic checks done on the engines. Keep us updated. If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask. We're all here to help.

Re: Just bought Mariah Z308
 

Thanks so much for the feedback Chris. We will check it out.
Tracy