Yanmar difficult to start

[miguelgdelrey]

Hello

I have been having problems starting the Yanmar engine on the Hunter 49
The engine is a 110hp Yanmar.
Battery is fully charged. Nuts and bolts are clean an tight at the engine and at the battery.
When moving the shift lever the engine sometimes starts.
Might the problem be with the shifter?, is a Lewmar.

Have anyone had a similar problem?

Miguel

 

[Bill Roosa]

What are the symptoms?
Clicking and the engine does not turn over?
Engine turns over but does not start?

The most common problem is the voltage supply to the "s" terminal on the solenoid. Hunters are legend for this. The "s" terminal is the low amp wire on the solenoid that is controled by the ignition switch. it powers up the solenoid coil and activates the high power contacts inside. Those high power contact actually power the starter motor. so if you can't get the solenoid to engage you get click and not turnover. As a quick fix try this:
Pull the wire off the "s" terminal
locate the large cable on the terminal on the solenoid that goes back to the pattery + terminal. If you have a volt meter it will be the one with battery voltage on it when you ground the other volt meter probe to the engine block. The other wire will show 0 volts to ground
Take a screwdriver and short between the "s" and the battery cable.
Note: there will be sparks and the engine will jump around but there is not much that you can get wrapped up in or set on fire so no worries.
If the engine cranks then you have the standard Hunter start problem. There are several fixes but I prefer to just run a dedicated wire from the ignition to the "s" terminal and bypass all the 12ish connectors that are causing the problem.

Also, if the engine cranks but will not fire up check to see if the engine stop knob is fully retracted and that the other end of the cable is in fact attached and working correctly.

Good luck.

 

[miguelgdelrey]

Thanks Bill

When clicking the engine does not turn over.

If I move the shift lever like trying to put it in neutral then the engine start.

If the transmission is not in neutral will the engine start anyway?

Could the transmission be blocking the engine to rotate?

 

[Ed Schenck]

Interesting that the shift lever comes into play. My 3YM30 doesn't care, it will start just as well in any gear. Have they added a micro-switch so it only will start in neutral? I would call Hunter Marine. If it does have a lockout I can see where it could get out of adjustment and need a shift lever wiggle.

 

[Bill Roosa]

I know that the transmission does have a micro switch for that purpose. On my 40.5 it is not hooked up though. I've never heard of Hunter using it on any model.

 

[robertsapp]

This has been discussed before. The wire that runs from the start button to the solenoid has several connections in it, which in time corrode and build up resistance. It runs in the same general vicinity as the transmission shift cable. What often happens is that resistance in the wire connections results in enough voltage drop to prevent the solenoid from engaging, but moving the shift lever jiggles the wire enough to "remake" one of the connections and allow the solenoid to engage. Replace the wire from the starter button to the solenoid with a continuous length of at least #10, maybe #8 if you can afford it, and I'll bet your problem is solved.

Or, it may be something completely different. If you replace the wire and the problem persists, well, the advice is worth what you paid for it.