boat not starting

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Home Bouy

Member
Jun 14, 2018
45
Hudson Valley, NY
Boat Info
1999 310 Sundancer
Engines
Twin 357 MAG Bravo4V
Bravo 3 Drives
Newbie here again.... Owned boat for a couple months now and have had boat at marina. 1st problem with engine trying to start. I have not started boat for about a month due to being busy. Engine cranks but not starting. I do have oil in bilge but engine oil level good. (see drain pan hose leak post). Also, when engine cranks, it makes a winding noise right after like if starter is skipping. I attemp to start engine briefly because i'm sure it can be detrimental to engine. I dont think its a fuel issue because i smell gas at carb area. 5.7 merc. Might be flooded but winding noise worries me.
 
Although the engine cranks, is it turning over fast enough? A weak battery might turn it over but not fast enough to start. The winding at the end sounds like a starter issue but it's working since it turns over.

Do you have a battery charger on the boat? Is it keeping the batteries topped off properly? How old are the batteries? If lead acid batteries, do they have water in them? If you're away from the boat a month at a time, you might want to make sure all these items are working as expected.
 
Shore power connected and dual battery swithed to ALL. Inverter lights on. I have a battery jump starter on my boat.. I'll try that. Thanks!!!
 
If the boat starts on the emergency switch, have those batteries load tested and replaced if necessary.
 
If the starter is whining like it is free spinning and not engaging then the problem is in the starter.
The Bendix Gear is not getting thrown forward on the shaft and engaging in the flywheel. Likely because the shaft is gummed up.
Common problem on older starters in cars and boats, especially when they sit around a long time.
If this sounds like what is going on you can try whacking the back of the starter while someone is cranking to see if you can free it up, but ultimately you’re better off just changing the starter so it doesn’t keep happening.
It has happened two or three time to the starter on my nearly 23 year old snowblower and I was always able to correct it by removing the starter and soaking the crap out of the shaft with PB blaster to clean up the gunk, but I don’t have to depend on my snowblower to get me home and it’s stored in my garage next to my toolbox.
Whenever it happened to me on a boat or in a car I always just changed the starter.
Re the oil drain hose: Nice idea, but can be problematic and getting rid of it is a great winter project.
Drain the engine oil, remove that contraption, replace with a good old drain plug, refill with fresh oil, and do all future oil changes with an oil pump that threads right on to your Mercruiser dipstick tube.
 
Marine batteries have a life span of about two years on the average and if connected to a charger 24/7 they can be boiled dry or overcharged if too old. Just replaced two batteries that were working fine and had them on a shore hookup and being maintained, well both died at the same time and they were both 5 years old. In your area the batteries are subjected to below freezing weather and if the batteries are not removed for the winter they can freeze and die, not true for Vegas as it doesn't get that cold here it is the heat that kills them. Invest in a new battery and don't keep it charging unless it's running something. If you are not using the boat for long periods of time then come down and start it every once in awhile to keep things moving.
 
Might want to check your chargers output as well.

If it's an OEM older charger an upgrade to a newer smart charger is a good investment since batteries can be so expensive.
 
Good idea. I returned a few days later and engine started without a problem. I’m only running Refrigerator to keep beer cold and battery charger. Not sure if charger is original to boat. I’ll look into it. Thanks!
 
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