Turn the key and push the button...nothing happens

[tyson_troy]

Went down to clean up and run the engine in hopes of a July 4th sail but, when I turned the key and pushed the start button nothing happened. Usually, there is the buzzer that wales at me but that didn't squeal either. I replaced the batteries a few months ago and I switched to the starting battery and checked the meter in the boat...good volts. It also started when I went out about a month ago. Although, it took several pushes of the button to get it started. I've read the posts on the "Hunter harness" and installing a relay near the engine but, this was different. I was stumped. I then remembered that I had a replaced switch onboard so I connected it to see if it might have been the switch. Same thing...nothing happened. Two bad switches...possible. I'm now thinking it might be a bad connection, either a ground to the engine or the connection to the starter. The weird part was that nothing happened when I turned the key. I guess I could jump the starter with a screw driver but, this is only a patch and not a fix. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Looks like I will spend the 4th troubleshooting instead of sailing.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Don't know about your engine, but on many there is a fuse (or a breaker) on the wire between the engine start switch or button and the starter solenoid. If you have any other solenoids, like a stop solenoid, check that, too. Good luck. When mine failed like that it took me 31 minutes to find and replace the fuseholder.

 

[kloudie1]

The fuse is in a strange looking little green plastic box close to the starter. Usually below and aft of the air cleaner/silencer. The little box is kinda wonky and ya might need to tape it closed once you make sure the connections are good.

 

[Stephen Trapani]

I've had problems with that fuse box too. Not the fuse blowing, but corrosion in the connections.

 

[tyson_troy]

Thanks, everyone for the info.

I'll start with the fuse. I remember finding the little green box when I was troubleshooting but I didn't open it. Crossing my fingers that this is the issue. Sounds like a quick fix.

 

[Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi]

Check and make sure your cut off cable is not still pulled out. Has happened to me.

 

[Jeff]

Corroded or lose battery connections can contribute to this symptom.

 

[Benny17441]

If the fuse does not do it go ahead and inspect the harness from the control panel to the engine. It is usually routed around sharp fiberglass edges and with time and hull flex the insulation of the wires may get chaffed and you may experience random shorts or complete loss of power depending on which wires may get damaged. A visual inspection of the outer insulation specially around bends should reveal the actual fault location.

 

[Dave Groshong]

Connection corrosion! They may not even look bad, but take them off and wire brush them.

 

[Warren Milberg]

If you get intermittent starting, I can't see how the fuse could be the problem. The fuse is either blown or it is not. I also don't understand why you dismiss the "Hunter Harness" as not being the issue. To me, your problem starting sounds like the classic case of the solenoid not getting the needed volts/amps to crank the starter. I've written a lot on this issue and it is available in the SBO Knowledgebase under Yanmar engines. When I had this exact same problem many years ago, I fixed with by adding a simple 12vdc relay (with a 30 amp ATO fuse in the line) to the solenoid. Never had a starting problem since.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Warren's right. However, many skippers might confuse a "bad fuse" with a "dying fuseholder." When it happened to me, the fuseholder was in the process of disintegrating - it looked fine visually, but when I touched it, yikes. New fuseholder, old fuse, worked fine.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Relay work-around...

Here's the relay work-around for the wiring between the starter button and solenoid being the culprit...

 

[tyson_troy]

Fixed!!

I found the issue. It was a loose connector. It was one of the two clamp connectors that clamp onto the ends of the fuse next to the starter. I went to the boat late on the 3rd and found the problem in under 10 seconds. I checked the fuse which, was fine, reconnected it and fired her up. Just like nothing was wrong. Thank you for all of the advice. I was really starting to sweat it if it was a blown fuse because it may have been something else that blew it. It also saved me some major $$.

Best part was, we had an amazing sail on the 4th. Winds were 10-15kts, seas were under 2ft and the water was warm with great viz. One of the best days this year!

Thanks again for the help.