posted 09-03-2009 09:57 PM ET (US)        

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/004010.html

I was the one who mentioned that I could "jiggle" the steering wheel and the motor would start right up. This has gone on, off and on for months now. A Mercury service center has said that they couldn't find the problem.

Well this morning I noticed the motor was particularly reluctant to start, but again a jiggle of the steering wheel fixed the problem. Running down the lake this afternoon, on absolute glass smooth water running 40 MPH at WOT, I saw my RPM and Volt gauges start to become twitchy and erratic. I slowed the boat down and it promptly died and wouldn't restart. My wife noticed an "electrical fire" smell. I removed the cowling, and the smell was more intense. The red cap that covers the high voltage wire to the starter and it was smoking and melted.

A photo of the engine for reference purposes

http://gallery.me.com/coloktm/100027/photo2/web.jpg?ver=12520290980001

A photo of the melted cap.

http://gallery.me.com/coloktm/100027/photo/web.jpg?ver=12520290890001

The nut that holds this high voltage wire onto the starter was slightly loose. I tightened that up, and still the engine wouldn't start. I tried several times, turning the engine left and right and couldn't get it to engage the starter and turn over the engine.

I had to be towed back in.

Now, I was with my dad (who was in an '84 Outrage 18 with a Johnson 2 Stroke, yeah, I heard about it!) and he towed me back and I was also on an inland lake. I frequently hear of people going miles offshore with the Montauk and 90HP merc and more than a few people have had this non-starting problem. It's bigger than just not starting, this problem caused the boat not to run which could strand someone dangerously far offshore.

Again, this is all on a boat that is 6 months old and has never been in saltwater.

Any ideas that people have would be greatly appreciated. Off course if there is any quick fix, I'd love to hear it so I can get back out on the water for the rest of my holiday weekend. I'm going to take the boat to a Merc mechanic tomorrow.

posted 09-03-2009 11:49 PM ET (US)            

Have you solved the problem with the loose rigging grommet on the motor?

If it is still loose, I think you have a wire binding or something rigging related and should focus your energy there.

I would hold off on the mechanic until I had looked at all the wiring going from the engine to the console. There is a symptom that is overcome by turning the wheel. What does turning the wheel do in the console (to the wiring) and the tunnel and inside the motor cover. Get a helper to turn the wheel and get your head inside the console and watch each wire and what happens.

Does every wire have slack, can it move? Is it binding? Where and why?
Do the wires move with the engine or bind?
Are the crimps on the ends of all the wires?
Any nicks on the wires?

posted 09-04-2009 06:43 AM ET (US)            

So I agree, the loose terminal could have caused the starting condition, what would've caused the massive generation of heat to melt that boot while under power running down the lake? Also, I should note, when the key is switched the on position (normal running position) heat is still being generated as evidenced by the smell of burning plastic returning.

posted 09-04-2009 07:29 AM ET (US)         

But, here again lays the absolute beauty of this site:

Thank you for the heads up on potential problems and potential solutions.

I have complete confidence in my motor, but it aint like I can just ruck-up and walk home and simply curse the distance (and silently the wife and daughter for having fun in Chicago while I was needing a ride... But I digress :-)... now at least I have some awareness and confidence in at least knowing where to start looking should I need to (even if it is just in the drive when I go to warm it up).

Have a SAFE and very Enjoyable weekend everyone - I hope that if you can't be with family, that you are at least with friends (I guess if you are reading this, then you already are - with both)

Once a Whaler Owner, Always a Whaler Owner - no matter what you have in the water after. Thanks again for a Great site Jim H.

Happy Boating - I'm outta here. OohRah!!

posted 09-04-2009 07:42 AM ET (US)            

About the only thing that's going to cause that melting is a short.

posted 09-04-2009 09:26 AM ET (US)            

The starter positive and negative wires are a very large size (compared to the other engine wires) due to the high amperage/voltage required to power the starter.

While not the electrical guru like Jim and others, a loose connection lessens the contact area and causes more resistance and heat.

I would take the nut with you to a hardware store and buy the correct size stainless lock washer and flat washer.

A dealer or full service marine supply house will carry the wire boot. Normally it is installed before the ring terminal and then heat shrunk. If you get one in a slightly larger size, you can slip it through the ring terminal.

Can you confirm you do or don't have a loose engine grommet.

posted 09-04-2009 11:02 AM ET (US)            

I dropped the boat off just a few minutes ago with a mercury authorized service center, I'll keep updating as I move forward.

posted 09-04-2009 02:07 PM ET (US)         

Thanks also for the oictures - Very Helpful!

Good luck when getting it repaired - hopefully whatever they find or do fixes it for good.

posted 09-04-2009 10:19 PM ET (US)            

Things to check to prevent this: Check the tightness of the nut on the positive terminal of the starter, this must be very tight and this is what ultimately started the cascade of problems that led to the failure. Check your battery terminals, again, these should be very tight. It's easy to miss the connection under the red boot because you can't see it, just pull back the boot and inspect.

Another item that was brought up: why is that high volt wire hot all the time, it's supposed to be. It's a direct line from the battery, it's the ignition switch that fires the solenoid that is the 'switch' in the line. The big cord is always hot and not switched, which is also why a short here is fatal.

I can't say enough about the shop that worked on my boat today, many dealers couldn't help me which is understandable on the morning before labor day weekend. SportBoatsUSA in Ozark, MO a Mercury Premier Service Center saw me, a mechanic, Larry, who was very sharp and knew his stuff had the problem diagnosed. They proceeded to take a starter off a new boat with a similar motor and install it on mine to get me out for the weekend. This kind of customer service is why I will bring my boat back here again and again for service. I had the boat back in 3 hours and my weekend is not interrupted much at all. Kudos to them.

posted 09-05-2009 10:38 AM ET (US)            

Good point on the unsuitability of self locking nuts on electrical connections. Obviously my head was in a dark space when I offered the suggestion.

Thanks for debunking the idea.

posted 09-07-2009 04:59 PM ET (US)            

When a connection has a little resistance and generates heat, the heat tends to warm up everything in the connection, which can result in the connection becoming looser due to expansion. Also, as some metals are heated their conductivity decreases, so there is more resistance. More resistance gives more heat. More heat give more resistance. You can see where this leads. Soon there is a lot of heat, and the connection begins to melt things around it.

In marine electrical practice it is common that certain connecting posts will have a black spray-on or paint-on insulating rubber-like material applied to them after all connections have been assembled under the terminal post. If you have to disassemble a connection that has been painted like this, be careful when reassembling it that you don't get the painted insulation into the electrical connections. It is better to scrape off the painted-on insulation or to discard the small washers and use new ones.

It is also quite common in low-voltage and high-current connections that there be a star washer used between the connectors. The star washer has small points that will tend to indent themselves into the connector metals. This helps to insure that there will be a good electrical connection. It is common that a flat terminal surface will have some insulating film on it, perhaps only a few molecules thick, which can inhibit current flow at low voltage. These star washers are usually made of copper, usually a hardened copper, and they will also help to act as a lock washer.