Outboard ruins fishing trip

[BillR1]

It is a 115 Mercury 2001 carb outboard with 260 hours on the clock. After stopping to fish at Jumpinpin it decided to refuse to start. The motor is great with the problem seeming to be electrical and associated with the starter motor.

I turn the ignition key and all I get is a click when I press the throttle and a click only when I try to start it. The only method I could use to get underway was to short the starter contacts with a screwdriver which started the motor ok but sure heated the screwdriver up a tad.

Someone said it may be the starter relay. I think this is the box next to the starter. My plan was to remove this and get another one from the marine guys.
I just want to check if I am on the right track before I start pulling things apart. Any advice appreciated.

Bill

[mustang5]

Next time before using the screwdriver, give the starter a bit of a whack.. If it works straight up you know you have a dodgy starter.

Next up try take off all connections, spray with electrical cleaner, then reassemble and see where that leads you.

Try the simple stuff before going out and paying for relays and so forth.

Hope it all works out.

[NTMID8]

If you can hear a click then it usually means one thing, A "bad spot" on the commutator, the electrical section of the armature that contacts the brushes. They get dirty and worn down. The brushes sometimes wear out but not normally.My bet is a new set of brushes (pretty easy to replace) and she will be right as rain ;D

[Fed]

If you put your screwdriver across the 2 large terminals on your solenoid (start relay?) and it worked then either the solenoid is not getting power to the 2 small terminals or the solenoid is faulty.
Putting a voltmeter across the 2 small terminals then trying to start it will give you the answer, no point throwing parts at it without knowing.

[Steeler]

Mercury,solenoid is my tip.Good donks those ones,how does yours go when only running on the 2 cyl's ?.

[finga]

If you can hear a click then it usually means one thing, A "bad spot" on the commutator, the electrical section of the armature that contacts the brushes. They get dirty and worn down. The brushes sometimes wear out but not normally.My bet is a new set of brushes (pretty easy to replace) and she will be right as rain ;D

Sorry to say but that's not quite true. that stage is after another 3 or 4 steps.

If you hear a clicking and nothing happening then that's more then likely a solenoid or relay not playing the game properly...especially if the old screwdriver across the solenoid trick works.

Anyways...The outboards buggered. Throw it away.
Actually I'll do you a favour and throw it for you. I feel generous today so I'll even give you scrap price for it ;)

Seriously, it's very easy to diagnose if you have a multimeter or test lamp and some ears.
Firstly listen for the clicking sound and figure out where it's coming from.
You might hear the clicking in 2 spots.
Take a picture from where you hear the clicking, post it up and go from there.

If I remember those Mercs have a relay activating the start solenoid.
Can anyone confirm or deny this??

[Spaniard_King]

Sorry to say but that's not quite true. that stage is after another 3 or 4 steps.

If you hear a clicking and nothing happening then that's more then likely a solenoid or relay not playing the game properly...especially if the old screwdriver across the solenoid trick works.

Anyways...The outboards buggered. Throw it away.
Actually I'll do you a favour and throw it for you. I feel generous today so I'll even give you scrap price for it ;)

Seriously, it's very easy to diagnose if you have a multimeter or test lamp and some ears.
Firstly listen for the clicking sound and figure out where it's coming from.
You might hear the clicking in 2 spots.
Take a picture from where you hear the clicking, post it up and go from there.

If I remember those Mercs have a relay activating the start solenoid.
Can anyone confirm or deny this??

Key starter power direct to the solenoid Scott

[Steeler]

Starter Solenoid Test

1. Disconnect all wires from solenoid
2.Use an ohmmeter (R x 1 Scale ) and connect meter leads between solenoid terminals 1 and 2.
3.Connect a 12v power supply between terminals 3 and 4.Solenoid should click and meter read 0 ohms ( full continuity )
4. If the meter does not read 0 ohms ( full continuity ) replace solenoid.

Hope that helps.

[BillR1]

Thanks for the replies, they are much appreciated. This is a great forum with top members.

I have an ohmeter so I will do some testing before I start pulling things apart. I tried the old hitting the starter with a hammer trick (learnt in my youth due to the old bombs I drove) but that had no joy.

Apart from electrical problems the motor is a good one and runs well on 2 cylds at low speed.

My old man was an electrician but I could never cotton on to it very well, but I will give it a go. Don't want to put it in the marine shop unless absolutely necessary. Fishing is expensive enough as it is.

Bill

[Jarrah Jack]

I tried the old hitting the starter with a hammer trick (learnt in my youth due to the old bombs I drove) but that had no joy.





Bill

I usually get joy out of hitting something with a hammer. Won't say who comes to mind.;D

[finga]

Thanks for the replies, they are much appreciated. This is a great forum with top members.

I have an ohmeter so I will do some testing before I start pulling things apart. I tried the old hitting the starter with a hammer trick (learnt in my youth due to the old bombs I drove) but that had no joy.

Apart from electrical problems the motor is a good one and runs well on 2 cylds at low speed.

My old man was an electrician but I could never cotton on to it very well, but I will give it a go. Don't want to put it in the marine shop unless absolutely necessary. Fishing is expensive enough as it is.

Bill
Hitting the old starter motor sometimes usually just moved either the solenoid contacts a smidge or the brushes a smidge.
That's why hitting only worked for a limited number of times.

If you have a multimeter the easiest way to test the solenoid is to put the meter on the DC volts scale and put the two probes on the 2 big brass terminals on the start solenoid.
One of these will go to the battery and the other to the start motor itself.
Now with the probes on the terminals you should read 12V (battery voltage) or close to it. (there is a reading as the negative is back tracking through the starter motor)
Have someone turn the ignition key on as though they want to start the motor. (it might be an idea to pull the dead-man switch so the outboard doesn't start up)
If there is any reading over about 2volts then I'd be looking harder at the solenoid.
If there is still 12V reading on the multimeter then definitely the solenoid.
If you have a test lamp then this method still works. You just look at the brightness of the bulb.

Or just put the multimeter or test-lamp with one lead/probe on a good earth and the lead/probe on the starter side of the solenoid and crank her over and see what the reading is.
No light or hardly any voltage means the juice is not getting through something.

In my opinion a good test lamp is better then a sensitive digital multimeter for this.
The digital mulitmeter pick up all sorts of voltages but they may not have any current carrying capacity, if any.

These methods works better (in my opinion) then the ohm readings as it checks everything under load conditions which a lot of ohm readings can miss.
Things like dirty contacts can give a zero (or close to it) ohm reading but the contact area is insufficient to give the current required to make the starter operate.

Others will have different methods. These ones I've used and are simple...and you don't have to pull anything apart....yet.