Dead on the water

Took the boat out today, changed the stuffing box so i was messing with that first, got it to about 10 drips a minute, maybe it should be less but I figured i run it a little and adjust it again. We wanted to wakeboard but the lake was crazy packed and it was a small lake so we cruised around a little. found a nowake cove and anchored, ate lunch and swam a little. They decided to get the tube out and got it ready, fired up the boat and off we go. one down kill the motor he swaps out for another rider, then fire her up and off we go. Next rider down and kill the motor, swap out a rider, new rider hops on the tube, go to fire her up. Nothing. No crank, no click, pop, backfire, burp, fart nothing. check the gear, shes in neutral, check my batteries, both on, accessories work fine. But no crank. tried smacking the starter solenoid with wrench, no go. Had to get a tow in... does this sound like a starter issue or an ignition issue. The guy I bought it from said it didn't run when he bought it, and he put a new ignition switch in it from a parts store and it fired right up. Im wondering if this is the cause or more of a starter/solenoid issue? my batteries are good. I really dont like the looks of a starter job on this thing any Ideas?


92 Sanger FX22 direct drive ski boat, 350 mercruiser

Fired up great at home on the hose before we left. Fired up great each time I started it earlier today. Maybe the starter got wet from getting beat up in big wakes?



PS we were only tubing because the chop was ridiculous for wake boarding, to many nascar neds out today. We wanted to kill some time while we waited for the lake to clear out some.

Have you tried jumping the contacts on the neutral sensor?

Ignition switch at the dash is where I'd start. Prev owner told you he worked on it. My money is on a loose connection on the back of the ignition/key which jumped off when you were towing the tubes for double ups.

In my line of work, you start looking for trouble on what was touched last, I'd do the same here. Check the ignition switch, check voltage, clean contacts, voltage going from ignition to solenoid, etc.

Kill switch?

Checking your voltage at the starter would be my first stop. If yours is similar to my starter location on the 350 merc I fully understand not wanting to do the job. Its a pain, takes forever, and will leave your arms bloodied up. If it turns out to be the starter don't cheap out and get a crappy starter or you'll be doing it again quickly.

Jon, what do you mean by Jumping the neutral sensor? and if that works what would it indicate?

Jed, the connections are still intact, However the nut that scews onto the the ignition was loose... could that be an issue?

Brian, as far as I know I dont have a kill switch just a key for on and off. No saftey lanyard or anything. Its a 1992 so its a little old.. I wish I had a manual for this boat, but apparently they didnt make one for this year and Model.

William, How do I know if it is the starter? I am assuming if its not even clicking that its not getting any power? or could the solenoid on the starter be shot?

Im guessing its somewhere between the ignition switch and the starter... How do you test these, i am somewhat mechanically inclined, as I could replace a starter if I can get to it, i did the entire steering system and replaced all new manifolds and risers. I am pretty competent But i know little to nothing about electrical issues. I just never had to really deal with them. I can reconnect a wire from on old starter or alternator to a new one, but dont know how to figure out electrical issues...

You check it from the positive lead on the starter with a multimeter while trying to crank. If its not getting power you obviously have a problem ahead of the starter. With that engine setup you may pray thats the case. I'd rather chase a problem before the starter than trying to change the starter.

Don't know about that year of boat, but on my 2003, there are two relays by the ecm, one is the fuel pump relay and one is the ignition relay! You could swap those just to diagnose!

I am somewhat new to boats but I do know my boat has a sensor on the transmission that senses when the throttle is in nuetral. If you have the throttle in anything but nuetral it will not start; You won't get anything, no click, no crank....unless the throttle is in nuetral. I found this out while chasing something that sounds similar to your situation I found the sensor that had two leads(wires) connected to it via screws and used a screw driver to jump those wires while I had soweone try and start it. It could be this same kind of sensor on yours.

Okay, Now I am kind of a dumb ass. I admit it. So I was messing with it Sunday when I got home and I accidently left battery # 1 on the on position. And i just went to try to mess with it again and saw I left it on. So Im like great now I probably have a dead battery to add to it. Just for ****s and giggles I try to turn it over on battery 1. Nothing, same as before. Then I switch it to battery # 2 for accessories. and Low and behold after only making sure the nut on the ignitions switch was tight. I test my accessories and they worked fine just like before. But then I decided to try to crank it and it cranked right over like it wanted to start. WTF? I thought cranking was only battery 1 and accessories were only battery 2. SO now it will crank if on "BOTH" switch or just #2. Since I left the switch for # 1 on since sunday I am assuming its dead. I will check with the charger in a Minute. But I didnt think #2 would start it. I was pretty sure it either needed to be on #1 or Both for it to fire. Am I missing something here?

Also I did look at the neutral switch on the tranny but I have no Idea where it runs to. When I looked behind the shifter nob, there is some sort of solenoid with two prongs but no wire connected. Not sure what that is.

And FYI I did try all battery positions when on the water after it would not start. However, I was keeping it ON the "BOTH" switch when running prior to it not wanting to crank over.

So she fired right up on the accessory battery # 2 on the hose, I let it run for 15 minutes everything seems good. Let the switch on Both for a while, shut her down 2 or 3 times, tried battery #1 nothing, battery 2 fires everytime. Charge is good on both and both show power on the terminals on my tester. My roomate thinks the cell on # 1 might be bad. Im thinking either the battery or the switch isnt making a connection. I just dont understand why the # 2 didnt fire it up on the lake. I tried all 3 positions and nothing. Now at home # 2 works great for cranking and accessories. At least its not the starter. Any thoughts?

Bad battery switch. The old Perkos failed quite a bit and the new BEP mini switches give lots of trouble. Use a load tester at the starter connections to test and prove all switch positions and circuitry. It is simple and accurate. Seen it happen hundreds of times. Just because it passes enough juice to read 12 volts on a meter means nothing to the starter.

Originally Posted by Salister

Jed, the connections are still intact, However the nut that scews onto the the ignition was loose... could that be an issue?

This in combination with the battery switch could have been the issue.