Engine Start Issue

[mike cunningham]

When I depress my engine start button on the standard 2GM20F instrument panel I will often hear the start solenoid engage but no engine start. I will almost always get a start after depressing the button several times. The engine starts just fine, the problem appears to be lack of power to turn the engine over when the solenoid engages. I realize this is typical of a dead/dying battery but I believe my start battery is OK because, eventually, I get a good start and this has been going on since before I replaced the batteries several years ago and start battery voltage looks fine. I am not sure how I would run a start load test.

I have a battery isolation system installed so I don't believe there is any interaction between the start battery and the house bank. House bank is operating fine with good voltage and carries house load with no problems.

I plan to take a close look at ground and hot terminations at the engine and the battery switch. I wonder if anyone has any ideas re other items to check?

[Ereiss]

Mike,
You might also check the start button itself. There may be corrosion on its contacts.

[AlanK]

Undo the wiring harness connections (its a plastic block connector) spray with wd 40 or something, check for corrosion and reconnect. If that doesn't do it check the connections at the push button switch . Also try when its cold before your first start just connecting the wires without using the push button switch to see if that's it.

[Richard Abbinanti]

Mike is the problem fixed, if so how as I am having the same problem. Purchased new battery and will try to look at all connects today. When I turned on battery 2 the engine did turn over.

Richard

[dwight]

If the solenoid engages, the connections at the panel and switch are working properly. The solenoid is a relay, activated by the switch on the panel through the connections in the harness, that closes the high-current contacts to power the starter motor. It also physically "engages" the gear on the starter motor with the gear on the flywheel. If the solenoid clicks but the motor does not turn, you either have a problem with high-current contacts inside the solenoid (replace) or the relay is closing but you don't have enough power(voltage) "at the starter" to turn over the engine. Note that ALL connections between the battery and the starter will cause resistance and this resistance is cumulative, thus a new battery may not solve the problem.

Depressing the start button several times can sometimes cause the corrosion on the high-current contacts to be scratched thus providing sufficient electrical connection to power the starter. This can sometime work until the "scratch" corrodes thus insulating the contacts again. If after depressing the start button several time, the engine turns over slowly, it is most likely low power (voltage) at the starter.

First thing, always check voltage between the positive and negative terminals on the battery, must be 12V, more is better. Then put a voltmeter between the starter, high-current terminal and the battery ground. Read the voltage while cranking the engine. Check voltage between battery negative and each connection to find "bad," corroded connections in the high-current circuit.

[Richard Abbinanti]

This weekend when turning the key to the ON position and then pressing the button, nothing on Battery # 1. Then went to Battery # 2 pressed the button 2 times and engine turned over and started. There was no sound when trying to start engine with battery #1. I have had this problem for the lasted 2years. It’s just got more concerning. When trying to start the engine on Battery # 1 does not even try to turn over. It's like I am not even trying to start the engine.
Richard

[Rick Simonds]

First, I'd meticulously check every connection on the battery cable wiring. With such a high amperage load in them, a truly tiny amount of resistance greatly reduces the capacity of those cables.

BUT,...

(WARNING: RANT AHEAD)

After they check out as bright and shiney, my $.02 worth is that the engine panel wiring is one of the very few places where Freedom really went fully crappy and cheapo when building my boat, especially the @#%& connector plugs on the engine. My Yanmar 3GMD has all of the engine's wiring coming together to 2 plastic, multi-pin plug connectors at the back of the engine. The mates to those plugs are part of a wiring harness that goes back to the instrument panel. There is actually an "extension cord" in my wiring harness, with another set of plug connectors that are under the aft bunk. There's another set of plug connectors at the instrument panel.

Those connectors aren't worth a damn. They make it fast, easy and idiot-proof for the factory to wire the engine panel, but over time the connectors fail, especially the first set being constantly shaken by the running engine. And, in my case, there are are 4 (!) sets of them. I had the same sort of intermittent "no start" symtoms and the trouble nearly always traced back to those connectors in the wiring harness.

My final, permanant solution was to replace the whole start button circuit with continuous, marine quality wiring, how it should have been done in the first place. I ran a continuous (NO CONNECTORS!), heavy gauge, premire quality, pre-tinned "Anchor" brand wire with adhesive shrink wrapped, pre-tinned copper teminals between the starter solonoid and the key switch / start button. Never a problem since.

And, unrelated, but while I'm at it, the guy at the factory who wired the light in my head compartment using a cheapo automotive butt connector that was just crimped onto the bare, untinned wires, AND THEN HID HIS LAZY, CHEAPO CONNECTION BEHIND A BEAUTIFULLY FITTED AND PERMANANTLY MOUNTED PIECE OF TEAK TRIM, that took me 2 days to find, .... that guy deserves a full-windup kick in the pants.

(Rant over. Whew! Thanks, I feel much better now...)

[GeoffSchultz]

Rick, Freedom didn't make the cable harnesses or connectors. Those are Yanmar parts.

I had the same problem with my 3jh2-tbe. If you look at the wiring diagram, you'll probably see that there's an optional relay that provides power to the starter solenoid. There's too much voltage drop that can occur, especially on corroded starter switches & connectors, between the switch & starter. The optional relay draws much less power and energizes the starter solenoid. Once I nstalled the relay, my issues went away.

-- Geoff

[mike cunningham]

Thanks for the many responses.

In my case the solenoid always engages when I depress the start button so I am pretty confident the start button and wiring to the solenoid are OK. I do agree, however, the harness is a mess, and is on "the list".

When I have gotten the engine to turn over, it does so robustly. There is no indication of low battery voltage i.e. slow or sluggish turnover.

So I guess I am left with the connector chase which I was hoping to avoid cause the starter is in a God awful location for access... which is probably why I am doing the connector chase.

I swear, if I ever buy another sailboat, I will go straight to the mechanical spaces and look at access, if its crappy I am going to walk. That may limit me to about six or seven sailboats in the entire country but so be it.

Unfortunately I probably will never buy another sailboat because my 30 is perfect in every other way.