Okay, for those who don’t want to read the whole thread. My motor wouldn’t restart on Lake Moultrie about a month ago. Ran the boat for about a half hour to our beach. Shut it down. Let it sit for a few hours. It wouldn’t crank. I’d get a few sputters out of it, but no sustained runs. Took it to a mechanic, and they found a loose battery connection. They also ran a full diagnostic on the motor, and reset my RPM connections to get a true reading.
A month later, today, we took the boat out again for the first time since the repair. It has sat for about a month. Went up to Moultrie, ran the boat for about a half hour. Stopped to swim and eat. Shut the motor off. It restarted, we ran at a low RPM because we weren’t in a real hurry to get anywhere. The motor conked out after a few minutes. Same thing. Wouldn’t restart. I could get a few sputters out of the motor, but no sustained runs.
Thinking about the battery connections, I checked the leads to the battery. I couldn’t even undo the wing nuts they were on so tight. I took the motor cover off and followed the leads up to the motor. Those connections are all solid as well.
Got the boat back home, and just for kicks I tried to crank it. Sure enough, it starts. First time. No hesitation. I shut it down and restart it multiple times to see if I could maybe drain the battery enough and sure as shootin’ it kept starting perfectly each time.
I’m starting to think that maybe my actual batteries are the issue. I have two. One hooked up for cranking and the other for the accessories. They are connected by a common ground cable. The one for cranking is the original I got with the boat coming on 4 years ago. The other is also just shy of 4 years old. They have good charges on the meter. Is this too old for marine batteries?
With it not starting on the lake, the batteries weren’t getting recharged. So why would they crank perfectly in
How old are the battery cables? Corrosion can exist and it not be visible. If you suspect the cabling, disconnect the cable at both ends and get a multimeter out. You want to test the resistance in the cable, or find out how many ohms is has. Corrosion=Resistance. Resistance is the opposition to current flow. The more corrosion in the cable the more difficult it would be to start, perhaps it won’t crank at times.
Put the multimeter on ohms, then put one lead on one end amd the other lead on the other end. A perfect cable will have no resistance, or zero ohms. A cable with corrosion will have ten ohms, twenty ohms or more. If there is high resistance, that cable needs to be replaced or at least have your connections looked at.
Very important to disconnect the cable first and not have it connected anywhere, or else you could possibly get a false reading.
Thanks Ricky. My cable ends are all clean. Recently serviced and tightened. However, I have to admit I don’t know that as a part of the diagnostic check the boat received included an ohm check of the cables. I’ll have to do that myself tomorrow. I only suspected the cables because the last guys to look at it said that was my problem. So being it was exactly the same thing before it was “fixed,” that was the first thing I looked at. But what’s throwing me off is I couldn’t get it to not start in the back yard.
I have a similar problem on my motor. It is only a 60 hp evinrude, but the motor will run great and then occasionally shut off. Sometimes it wont crank at all and sometimes it will crank and kind of run like it is not hitting on all cylinders. I spoke with my mechanic and he told me to unplug the big red plug under the cowling ( I can’t remember what it is called now) If I do that and jump it from the starter to the solenoid it will crank and run fine. He said it is a short in the ignition system somewhere. Mine did the same thing though, it left me stranded on the water and I got towed in and got it on the trailer at home and it cranked right up.
Sounds like safety switch is flakeing out. Vibration/bouncing around and so on. Just my guess, but there may be other switches in there that could stop starter from turning over. That is what’s happening correct?
The one time I had pulled out the lanyard for the safety switch and forgot to reinstall it, the ingnition switch was compeletly dead on my boat. The starter would not engage at all. The starter, in my case, always engages. I turn the key, the starter turns every time. I sounds strong and good. Meaning, it doesn’t labor or struggle. The starter comes up instantaniously too. Every few attempts, it catches and lites off. The motor runs for a few revolutions, and then quits. It won’t sustain a run. It will try to start, just not sustain a run when it’s acting up.
no problem sirecks, try what I was explaining if it made sense to you. Yours sounds just like mine does. It would turn over and sound strong but not run. Runs perfect if you unplug it.
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. The problem is that right now the boat is working. I can’t duplicate the problem I was having on the lake in the backyard. It starts up with no problems at all in the back yard. And, the boat is currently up at the mechanics for them to take another swing at. So I can’t try it until I get it back.
Also, to add here, I checked Ricky’s suggestion out and I ohm checked the cables. Perfect “00’s” on the meter every time for each cable I checked. They have perfect resistance readings.
that sounds like mine. My mechanic told me to wait until it was doing it all the time and it would be easier to find. That way I didn’t have to pay him for so many troubleshooting hours.
I’m blessed in that the guys aren’t going to charge me for a second round of diagnostics, being they did this the first time and handed it back to me calling it “fixed.” However, if everything turns up running, clean, and working great, then they might take it out on the lake to try to duplicate the issue. Then I’ll be charged the hourly fee. That is, if we decide to go that route.
if your starter is spinning over and trying to start without bogging, you dont have an issue with batteries, battery cables, or connections.
all of those issues will result in a slow or no spin issue with the starter.
you need to be looking for spark or fuel issues.
i would be looking toward fuel pressure or some type of “vapor lock” situation
after running and sitting, you may be getting heat soak and fuel “boiling” out of the vst, of a leaking fuel pressure regulator, etc.
Hey all. The boat actually duplicated its issue with the mechanics the other day. It died long enough for them to trouble shoot the issue down to a bad main computer. That is where the intermittent grounding issue was coming from. So the computer has to be replaced. Not the cheapest of repairs, but much cheaper than buying a whole new motor, and the boat has to be fixed.
Thank you all for your input and ideas. I’ve learned a lot trying to understand what was going on with the motor. This is why I stick around this site. Helpful and knowledgeable folks like y’all.
make sure the shop agrees that if the computer replacement doesnt fix the problem, you dont have to pay for a computer that you didnt need.
a computer failure on a 2001 OX66 is not a common issue
I would agree that an ECU failure on these outboards is not a common issue. We verified constant power(B+)coming from main relay, The fuel pump is energized by the ground circuit via the ECU(Closed first five seconds of key on & closed with outboard running). We observed a loss of fuel pressure as well as loss of ground signal (good resistance in harness)from the ECU. With consideration the the cost for a replacement ECU; We relayed the information and confirmed issue with a Yamaha Tech rep.
Shain, I can’t thank you guys enough. Not only for being patient with the boat and actually finding what was wrong, but for being patient with me as a customer. You guys are truly professionals, and if I ever have any issue again, I will be coming straight back to you guys.
I just called them today actually, and they were in the process of putting the new computer on. I should be able to go get it on Monday.
Now, the question is, how many times do I take it to the lake and NOT get stuck before my confidence is back up and I can take her off shore again? LOL!!
