Thread:

525 won't crank

Dang, I seem to be having my unfair share of problems with the boat I just bought.

I went to take it out today and it won't crank at all, no click form the solenoid, nothing. Batteries seem to be fine but are original Optimas that are 7 years old. My Smart Craft is only reading 10.5 volts (analog guage shows 12+) but all of the other electrical componants seem to be working fine. I even took one of the Optima's out and put it in another boat I have and it seems to crank fine. Check all fuses I could find, all seem fine. Any ideas? Starter Solenoid maybe??

Sounds like it is either the soleniod or the ignition switch. It should still crank slowly with low voltage. I would check for voltage at the starter trigger wire on the soleniod when trying to start. If you have voltage there, most likely the soleniod.

I jumped the ignition switch with a screwdriver, no luck. Guessing the solenoid might be it. I believe the shifter also has a switch. May need to check that as well.

There is a merc fuse that could possibly be blown.

If you jumped the soleniod with a screwdriver and nothing happened, its the soleniod since you bypassed every switch with the screwdriver. My $.02

I didn't jump the solenoid yet, just the ignition switch. The solenoid is tougher to get to. Boats in storage so I'll have to return with more tools.

Try whacking the starter a few times with a mallet or hammer. Brushes wear out and lose contact. A few whacks is all it takes to get contact again, worth a try. Learned that from my shops mechanic a few months ago. Work truck was doing the same thing on a Friday trying to go home. Called our mechanic, he said whack it with a hammer. I did, truck started right up. Good luck!

I guess I'll put my buck three ninety eight in ahhhh solenoid

Originally Posted by TX-HOWARD

Dang, I seem to be having my unfair share of problems with the boat I just bought.

I went to take it out today and it won't crank at all, no click form the solenoid, nothing. Batteries seem to be fine but are original Optimas that are 7 years old. My Smart Craft is only reading 10.5 volts (analog guage shows 12+) but all of the other electrical componants seem to be working fine. I even took one of the Optima's out and put it in another boat I have and it seems to crank fine. Check all fuses I could find, all seem fine. Any ideas? Starter Solenoid maybe??

Batteries are gone, if you are going to replace your blue top optima's I got o'reilly's to match a online price of 182.95 in Havasu. then buy some " battery tender brand " chargers that condition the batteries when not in use.

Originally Posted by HammerDown

Anything below 12.50 I call junk!

Yeah agree, according to smart craft they're at 10.5. Seem to work fine in my other boat but they are 7-8 years old so new batteries are coming. Not sure that fixes my problem but atleast I rule them out>

Originally Posted by TX-HOWARD

Dang, I seem to be having my unfair share of problems with the boat I just bought.

I went to take it out today and it won't crank at all, no click form the solenoid, nothing. Batteries seem to be fine but are original Optimas that are 7 years old. My Smart Craft is only reading 10.5 volts (analog guage shows 12+) but all of the other electrical componants seem to be working fine. I even took one of the Optima's out and put it in another boat I have and it seems to crank fine. Check all fuses I could find, all seem fine. Any ideas? Starter Solenoid maybe??

you need to jump it on the engine (assist solenoid cant say slave anymore) some where after the neutral safety switch if it will crank check the switch in the remote at work we have a remote key harness that we plug into the engine to see if the problems with the boat or the engine