My old West Marine batteries for my 1986 Hunter 34 were about 6 years old and had gotten to the point that they didn't have enough juice to start the engine, so I replaced them. Same West Marine batteries, identical model. The engine is a Yanmar 3GM 30F. I left the batteries charging for several days, and the meter device says they are fully charged. Yet all I get when I turn the key is a "click". The engine does not turn over at all. Suggestions as to what's wrong and how to fix it?
Installed new batteries, engine still won't start
- Thread starter GordonSmith100
- Start date
Check the voltage of the battery at rest and while starting. Also check the voltage you’re actually getting at the engine. It’s likely that you have a bad connection somewhere between the battery and the engine causing a voltage drop along the way.
Is a constant series of “clicks” or just one? There is a fuse, in a fuse holder, located somewhere close to the starter. I say somewhere near because the holder could be further down the line. Check that. And are your connections on the battery tighten down securely and clean? And like David stated, what’s the voltage at the engine?
How many batteries does that Hunter have? The previous owner of my boat replaced the house batteries but didn't realize that the boat had a separate start battery, it was in a different location.
What charger do you have?
What is your "meter device"?
What charger do you have?
What is your "meter device"?
Check wiring between starter button and starter solenoid. Common problem of poor connections within the Yanmar wiring harness. Much is written about that within this forum's archives.
New batteries shouldn't need charging... If they did, something is wrong.. Batteries will always equalize.. A bad battery will draw good ones down to it's level.. Clicking is sometimes the starter solenoid...If you can rule out the batteries, have someone tap the solenoid with a hammer while the starter button is depressed
As Roy says, the wiring multi connectors is a prime suspect as well as the green fuse holder Sailcapt references ( just aft and port of the engine) . Cleaning the connections in the two rubber plugs in the harness will help. Running a new heavier wire to the panel, bypassing the connectors will fix it. Another way is to install a relay at the starter to carry the heavier current. Search the forum for “Yanmar starting” and you will find details.
GordonSmith, some info here might be useful to you.
Ken Y
Catalina 320 start problem
I went to start my Yanmar YGM30F last weekend after a sail and nothing happened. I turned the key and the usual beep was missing. The start button did nothing. Batteries were charged and showing 12.7 volts. Everything else electrical was working. 15 mins later I tried again and it started and...
forums.sailboatowners.com
Ken Y
Check the electrical connection of the ground of the engine block. You often get corrosion at this point as it is situated in a place where you often get salt water from leaks on the siphon break/heat exchanger, ….. situated just above this bolt on the engine block. Ask me how I know this.
On your 1986 hunter 34 you do not have a separate solenoid, do you? The solenoid is part of the starter, the problem is the wire connecting your key switch to your solenoid is undersized and will not pull in the starter totally, as the boat ages this problem develops. Replace that wire and your troubles will disappear, Hunter changed the design in the latter years to fix that issue.
Thanks for the info. I know how to test at the battery. Where to test at the engine?
You’ll need to find the positive and negative cables there. The positive is probably on the starter. Negative might be on the starter or somewhere around there. You’ll want to see the voltage there when the start button is being pressed, which makes it a two person job. If the voltage at the engine is much less than the voltage at the battery it means there’s a bad connection or bad wiring somewhere in the circuit.
You have 2 places to check.
- The Solenoid to be sure you are getting 12 volts to trigger the starter
- The starter to be sure you are getting the needed 12 volts to drive the starter.
That was my first thought too.
And new batteries should not need several days of charging.
I did a little research on the Hunter 34 and at least some of them have a 3rd battery, the start battery. It is not located with the other batteries. At least that's what I found online. The previous owner of my boat replaced the house batteries but missed the start battery because it was in an out of the way location. Just trying to help.