2002 340 sundancer battery switches

dennisb84

New Member
Jul 13, 2015
3
long island
Boat Info
2002 340 Sundancer
Engines
8.1 v drives
Something mysterious happened. I had no DC Voltage, and couldnt start either engine. I pressed up on the battery switches but the dc volt meter on the panel showed no volts. After getting towed back to the dock, I tried one more time, and it fired up as normal, showing 14 dc volts, and motors fired right up as normal. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks
 
Were your gear shifts not in neutral? That will prevent your engines from starting...
 
I had a similar problem on my old 240 sundancer it was the slave solenoid on top of the engine..easy fix for me
had a dead spot when turning the key.
 
the "system power" starts at the main battery cable connection at the starter.
From there depending on mercruiser the power goes thru a 90A fuse link and then goes thru the 50A circuit breaker. thru the main engine harness plug, up to the dash.
A Fountain I just did had the system power and the alt feed together at the 90A fuse block. Redone to only have the alt feed at the block and system power directly to the battery lug on the starter
 
Dirty contacts on the battery switch solenoids? Were the indicator lights on the battery switches illuminated? Did you try cycling the switch off to on and back several times?
 
I had a strange starting problem on my 2002 340DA with the same engines, Mercruiser Horizon 8.1's. When the boat was surveyed, and the engine surveyor was pulling codes off the engines, he disconnected the wiring harness. When we later that day were heading out for a sea trial, one of the engines wouldn't start on it's own battery. It would start using emergency start, then stop once you let go of the emergency start button. Apparently when he put the harness plug back together, it didn't seat properly. He knew right what to look for, and said it wasn't that uncommon to have to jiggle them. It happened again this weekend, and I knew what to do... but it's not the most confidence inducing activity. Whenever we are heading out and "she who must be obeyed" sees the engine hatch being opened and I do anything other than a cursory scan of the bilge, I get that look, you know what I mean. My plan when I have some tinkering time on the boat is to disconnect both harnesses, use electrical cleaner on them, and then reassemble them with dielectric grease. I also am going to look at the hose clamps that are wrapped around them to make sure they are securing the plugs together properly. Incidentally, when this happens, you can hear the battery solenoid click when you try to energize it on the panel in the cabin, but no voltage shows on the meter. Sounded similar to your situation. Intermittent electrical problems are so frustrating.
 

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