HELP WITH MY YANMAR 4JH3E NO START PROBLEM

Feb 10, 2017
305
Hunter 41 Progreso
Hi to all i have good voltage on the starter motor but when i turn the key noting happen, even no tick noise. I have current on the panel when i engage the start position, so i have a fault solenoid ? beside the starter there is a 4 foot relay i cannot find it on my wiring diagram. I did not try it out. What it does ? Any help will be appreciate.
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
@Valerio a picture or 2 of what you are looking at would be most helpful (worth a thousand words). There is a fire suppression system in the engine bay that has given some issues that when the bottle charge pressure is below a given threshold it will prevent the starter from engaging.
 
Jan 11, 2014
12,741
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Hi to all i have good voltage on the starter motor but when i turn the key noting happen, even no tick noise. I have current on the panel when i engage the start position, so i have a fault solenoid ? beside the starter there is a 4 foot relay i cannot find it on my wiring diagram. I did not try it out. What it does ? Any help will be appreciate.
This is a known Yanmar problem. And it is often intermittent. The issue is an unsized wire running from the starter to the key switch. Coupled with a few corroded connections and there is not enough power to drive the solenoid.

On the starter where the large positive cable from battery is attached is a white wire. This wire is the culprit. It goes from the starter to the key switch and back to the solenoid. The fix is to get more current to the solenoid by replacing the wire. If you search the internet you will find multiple solutions including simple ones, i.e., replace the existing wire with a larger gauge (10 gauge is good) wire to fancy ones involving relays and rewiring.

I changed the wiring on my boat. The power for the solenoid runs from he positive bus bar to the key switch and then to the solenoid. This reduced the length of the circuit and the wire gauge was increased to 10 ga. Haven't had a problem since.
 
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Feb 10, 2017
305
Hunter 41 Progreso
Can i try to energize with another cable from a battery so I will know is that the problem? Or I will burn something?
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
It appears from the wiring diagram you can jumper from the battery terminal on the back of the starter (Red) to the WY wire on the solenoid, this should crank the starter with ignition in the on position it will start, that is if this issue is the wire going to the ignition.
AJumper.JPG
 
Jan 11, 2014
12,741
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Can i try to energize with another cable from a battery so I will know is that the problem? Or I will burn something?
Without being on your boat and seeing how it is set up and the access, I can't really advise you on how that could be done.

If you have a remote starter switch you could use that to by pass the ignition switch.
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
7,089
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Can i try to energize with another cable from a battery so I will know is that the problem? Or I will burn something?
You don't sound confident about wiring issues. As such, you should avoid these high-current circuits, until you really learn how they work, and how to diagnose, and safely bypass and jump circuits. You can get hurt, start a fire, and so forth.

This is especially so when jumping from an unfused circuit from the battery, as is likely the case with that starter wire.
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
I have the same boat as Valerio there is fairly easy access to the back of the starter if he removes the dressing table in the aft cabin but as @jviss points out a short in this circuit can produce some bad results, there is basically unlimited amps from the batteries.
 
Jan 11, 2014
12,741
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
I have the same boat as Valerio there is fairly easy access to the back of the starter if he removes the dressing table in the aft cabin
That's good. A remote starter switch would do the trick nicely and safely. Also handy for bleeding the fuel system. Close the seacock and use the starter to crank the engine and pump fuel through the lines.
 
Feb 10, 2017
305
Hunter 41 Progreso
DAYDREAMER41, the cable that i have to connect from the main battery is the small terminal in the middle of the solenoid?
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
DAYDREAMER41, the cable that i have to connect from the main battery is the small terminal in the middle of the solenoid?
@Valerio the jumper would go from the battery terminal on the back of the starter (heavy cable) to the white with yellow tracer wire on the solenoid. According the wiring diagram there should be a plug on that White Yellow wire, it may be a (2) position plug, (1) ground and (1) WY wire. I do not remember what terminal on the starter the WY wire lands on, if you touch the jumper to the black you will short the jumper (not good). You don't need a heavy wire to jump this circuit all the wire does is pull in the solenoid.
 
Feb 10, 2017
305
Hunter 41 Progreso
i think that is my problem because if i short both terminals of the starter it will turn but it will not engage, that because there is no imput on the solenoid and will not engage?
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
This might help @Valerio
Jumper1.JPG

DId you say the starter turns, but doesn't engage the starter to the flywheel of the motor? If the starter motor turns and doesn't engage with the engine flywheel then you have either a bad solenoid or a bad starter motor, I am not certain if the bendix drive works centrifugally or elector/mechanically.
When you say both terminals, the terminals I suggested to jump??
 
Last edited:
Feb 10, 2017
305
Hunter 41 Progreso
did you buy the spare from yanmar or is it a generic one? what other spares for the engine do you carry whit you?
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
7,089
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
That's good. A remote starter switch would do the trick nicely and safely. Also handy for bleeding the fuel system. Close the seacock and use the starter to crank the engine and pump fuel through the lines.
Wouldn't that start the engine?
 
Jan 11, 2014
12,741
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Wouldn't that start the engine?
Not if there is not fuel going to the engine. To bleed a fuel system fuel must be pumped through the system and air bled out. Depending on the engine there will be one or more places where the air is allowed to escape. Usually these are screws that are opened until fuel and not bubbles come out. Finally, one of the connections to an injector is loosened to get fuel to the cylinder.

Watch carefully so the engine doesn't start and if per chance it does open the seacock quickly or have someone shut the engine off. If the connections to the injectors are loose, fuel can not enter the cylinder. Also if you open the compression release the engine cannot start as there is no compression.
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,929
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
did you buy the spare from yanmar or is it a generic one? what other spares for the engine do you carry whit you?
@Valerio I don't have a spare all I carry are fuel and oil filters and belts for the water pump and alternator. I think its rather unusual for the starters to fail, especially in my case where the boat is only used 1/2 the year, the other half its on the hard.