1987 Catalina universal diesel won't start

Aug 15, 2021
30
Catalina 27 Port Aransas
Planned on a beautiful afternoon sailing on Jan. 1 in Port Aransas, TX. Prepped boat for engine start. Battery switch on, coolant seacock opened. Key inserted and gauges reacted. Voltmeter read 12+. Lit glow for 15 seconds as usual. Hit start button and voltmeter reacted but nothing from engine. No turn over at all. Heard clicking sound from engine compartment that stopped as soon as I turned the key off. Anyone have a clue what's going on? Thanks and happy new year!
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,077
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
As in any car/truck, low voltage to the starter causes the relay clicking sound.

The voltage reading you observe is almost always via direct connection to the bateries rather than via the start circuit which has multiple connections between the batteries and start motor, any or all of which can be deteriorated, corroded or loose if not routinely maintained and cleaned. Or it could be a bad start motor but you won't know that until you verify all wiring connections are solid and clean.
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
Based on my experinece first the check your battery terminals for loose connections or corrosion.

Same question came up on this thread by a 1987 catalina 30 universal engine owner and in particular refer to post #7 fuze on the wire from the start button to the starter solenoid in wiring harness Engine won't start! | Sailboat Owners Forums. If all else fails have a marine electrican troubleshoot.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
John's summary was very good.

Details here:

Engines 101 - The BIGGEST & BEST collection of M25 Series Universal Engine Information on the Internet, plus some M35, too :) This includes a link to the Critical Upgrades topic which has more engine information please read it too.

Diesel Engine - c34.org
 
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leo310

.
Dec 15, 2006
635
Catalina 310 44 Campbell River BC
sound like low voltage, yes you said your voltmeter read 12+ but under high load ie starter this could be 10-11 volts thats too low to turn the starter under a load
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
you said your voltmeter read 12+
12+ could be 12.7 which would be good or 12.1 which would indicate the battery needs to be charged. 12.1 could be 10 (battery near dead) when the starter trys to suck the life out of the battery as @leo310 is sharing.

Read Stu's "Engines 101" A great introduction to the care and feeding of your "Catalina" Universal.
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
That clicking sound is the starter solenoid engaging but the high Amp circuit from batteries to starter does not have enough voltage to turn the engine. Check the battery voltage under load, weak batteries when subjected to a load can suffer steep drops in voltage. Also check ground wire connections, make sure they are clean tight.
 
Jan 21, 2009
253
Catalina 30 Lake Perry, KS
The clicking you hear could be the starter solenoid or the fuel pump. The fuel pump runs as long as the key is turned on.
I had a similar problem with a Yanmar. I now have a Catalina 30 with the XP engine. The solution for the Yanmar was installing a relay which did the trick. I am not a mechanic but If anybody has put a relay on the XP engine I would be interested in a seeing wiring diagram.
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
Do you hear the clicking sound when you turn the key on? If so, that is the fuel pump clicking.
You say the voltmeter reacted. How did it react?
As the others said, your volt meter may show 12+ volts but bad electrical connections can limit the current need to turn over the engine. A bad battery can also show 12+volts but not have the power needed to start the engine.
It could also be as simple as a bad start button. In fact, I would check that first as it is the simplest thing to check. Open the panel, jumper between the contacts on the back of the button.