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Mercury MerCruiser

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Old 05-14-2010, 08:16 PM   #1

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Default Starter question

When I turn the ignition I get nothing, not a click or anything. If I turn the ignition off and retry it several times it will start normally. I have replaced the ignition and the battery, and all electrical connections are tight. I am considering replacing the starter/solenoid next. Any thoughts before I begin?
Thanks for any input.
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  • Old 05-14-2010, 11:35 PM   #2

    mikeyt is currently offline
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    Default Re: Starter question

    The connections may be "tight" but are they 'clean'? Usually no response upon turning the key would indicate a battery problem but i would check the connections at the starter/solenoid too.
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    Old 05-15-2010, 01:41 AM   #3

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    Default Re: Starter question

    The connections all appear to be clean, and since it will start fine after several tries I was thinking that there might be a "dead spot" on the starter.
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    Old 05-15-2010, 03:13 AM   #4

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    Default Re: Starter question

    When you turn the key on do the gauges register anything?

    If not, then check the battery connection and the power lead to the switch.

    If they do, then the battery connections are probably clean and tight. The problem is most likely not a "dead spot". It does sound like a poor connection somewhere.

    Let us know what you find.
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    Old 05-17-2010, 12:02 AM   #5

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    Default Re: Starter question

    Thanks for the input. When I turn the key the gauges and everything else work fine. I am trying to figure out if it is the starter/solenoid or the neutral safety switch. I don't want to replace anything unless I am reasonably sure that is the culprit. Can anyone tell me where the neutral safety switch is located on a Mercruiser 4.3 LX?
    Thanks!
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    Old 05-17-2010, 01:10 AM   #6

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    Default Re: Starter question

    All right, heres a full diagnostic procedure:

    So you hit the ignition switch so you can go home and either nothing happens, or you here a click from the engine, but the starter doesn't crank......... Now what ?
    If you have a test light, you can find out in only a few minutes what the problem is. I like test lights because they are faster and easier to use than a meter. A meter will work fine for all the tests.

    Start by checking that you have a good battery that is fully charged, clean tight battery connections with good battery cables of the proper size. This includes both the positive and negative cables. If you don't have this to start with, the rest of the tests are worthless.

    So, where do you start looking for your no start condition? That depends on what you hear. If you DO NOT hear a click, we will start at the ignition switch, if you hear a click, we will head for the engine compartment.

    Let's say we have no click, and the shifter is in the neutral position and we have already tried wiggling the lever to be sure it's in neutral. Grab your test light and head for the back of the instrument panel. Hook the clip to a good ground (usually on the fuse panel). Now, touch the light to the B terminal on the ignition switch ( big red or red/purple wire) the test light should light. Now move the test light to the S terminal with the yellow/red wire and have someone turn the key to the start position. The test light should light, if not, you need a new ignition switch.

    Let's say it lit up, so the switch is good. While the problem could be the neutral safety switch, it's a real pain to get to in order to test it. So let's check to see if we have power going through the neutral safety switch.

    Time to head for the engine compartment. Now, locate the slave solenoid or relay, on the engine. Notice the 4 wires to it?

    Hook up your test light again with the clip on a good ground. Now touch terminal C of the slave solenoid with your test light and have your helper turn the key to the start position again. The light should light up? If it did, touch your test light on terminal A, if it lights, hook your test light lead to it, and put the probe on terminal D (the ground) if it doesn't light, then you have a bad ground for the slave solenoid and without that ground the slave solenoid will not work.

    If the test light did not light up, then the problem is 1 of 3 things either the connection at the main engine harness plug is bad, or you have a bad neutral safety switch or a bad connection between the ignition switch and the slave solenoid.

    If you are at home, this isn't a problem and you can track the problem down. But if you are out on the water what can you do? Simple. Use a test lead on the slave solenoid to jump between terminals A and B or A and C and the engine will crank. Make sure the ignition switch is in the run position and the engine will start.

    Ok, lets say when you hit the switch you hear a click from the engine, but no cranking of the starter. Now what do you check.

    Simple, back to the slave solenoid (near the carb) on the engine. Hook up your test light clip to a good ground and touch the tip to terminal A, if it lights, touch it to terminal B and have your helper hit the starter switch again. If you hear a click and the light does not come on, then the problem is a bad slave solenoid. If you are out and need to start the engine, you can disconnect the wires from terminals B and C and hook them together and you will be able to bypass the slave solenoid all together and it should work. If not, due to long wire runs, just jump between terminals A and B to crank the engine over. If the light does come on, move on to the starter solenoid itself.

    Touch terminal B on the starter solenoid itself, if the test light lights up, then you have a problem with the starter itself. Time to pull the starter and have it tested, repaired or replaced. If you are out on the water, you may be able to tap the solenoid (Gently, don't want to break things) while holding the switch to the start position and see if it will work. If not, you need a tow.

    One other thing to keep in mind when checking with a test light or a meter either one. Check the terminal of the unit itself and also check the wire at the terminal. A corroded or loose wire end could also be the problem.

    While this may sound like a lot of work, it only takes a few minutes to check things out.
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    Last edited by mikeyt; 04-15-2019 at 03:58 PM.
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    Thank you mikeyt for this useful post!
    PROPNUT (05-19-2010)
    Old 07-07-2010, 07:43 PM   #7
     
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    Default Re: Starter question

    I just got the same issue this week-end, PROPNUT, did you resolve your issue? I will try mikeyt's excellent instruction (If I can find that engine solenoid or relay!

    Thanks all!
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    Old 07-08-2010, 12:23 PM   #8
     
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    Default Re: Starter question

    Hi! How do you determine terminal letters? I see none on there...

    Thanks!
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    Old 07-09-2010, 04:26 PM   #9

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    Default Re: Starter question

    I never was able to find any letters on the relay solenoid either. Fortunately, it has been starting reliably for me. Hopefully, it was just a bad connection or the neutral safety switch not lining up perfectly.
    Everything else checks out ok. I replaced the ignition and the battery early this spring and it was still not acting right. I double checked all my connections and so far it has been starting right up.
    Let us know what you find out.
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    Old 07-09-2010, 05:17 PM   #10
     
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    Default Re: Starter question

    Wow! you sound just like me! I had to change my ignition as well on my first ride this summer, and then on my second ride, nothing... I knew my batteries were fine as I have a dual battery system with inboard dual independent charger. So just in case I jumped started the battery with my truck beside the boat and it started. So I figured maybe my batteries were just VERY low, but it still didn't make sense once I took both batteries out of the boat to charge them on my digital charger and it said the batteries were already at 100%. I cleaned all connections and hooked my batteries back. The engine started but intermittently it did not start about 4-5 times. After 20 starts, it didn't do it again... and it starts every time now.

    now my question is, can a solenoid or another part be intermittently defective or is it a functional/broken type of devices?

    Let me know if your situation is similar...

    Thanks!
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