Boat wont start 30' Weekender

[Peter Martin]

I have a 30' Weekender, yesterday I got to the dock, prepared to go had my engines running, and began to hear a noise almost like an alarm, coming from a small box in the fuse area of the boat... I shut down the engines, and when I tried to restart, all I got was a clicking noise from the starter..
My initial thoughts are dead batteries, but I was plugged into a dock line.

Any Ideas , suggestions,
Thank you
Pete

 

[SevenTeas]

You had better figure out what that alarm was for. If one of the emergency shutdown switches did its job you need to figure out why.

Did you check the guages before you shutdown? What did they show?

 

[Dasch Boat]

The alarm you described sounds like the over heating alarm. Did you notice the temperature gauge ? I would give it a hour or so and try again, if the temperature gets too high shut it down and check the raw water strainers for eel grass or jelly fish.

 

[BruZerII]

The overheat alarms are for the water, oil and transmission. Check the gauges. If it's not showing on your oil or water temp, then it's you transmission. Check the transmission sensor to ensure both wires are attached. If the black one is loose or off, it shuts down the starting capability of the engine.

 

[Peter Martin]

The engine has not even warmed up when the alarm begins. Today I noticed even when I turned on the battery's in the boat before I tried to start it I was getting an alarm.
THis has me baffled
I turned off the shore power, and the batteries, and the alarm continued to sound..

 

[capecodcruiser]

being plugged in to "shore power" has nothing to do with your engines running. And even if your a/c converter/charger was working, it is not putting out enough amperage to start your motors if the batteries are dead. Time to find a mechanic.

 

[tobnpr]

No sensor alarms will ever "shut down" an engine. They are for warning purposes; they will not shut down an engine because doing so could result in a very dangerous situation.

If you were surfing waves entering a tricky inlet, the last thing you'd want is an engine shutting down, even if it were overheating.

I would turn the ignition key to the "on" position- most low oil pressure alarms will sound as soon as you do this, as there is no oil pressure in the engine yet. If turning the key results in a "click", it could be as simple as the starter solenoid. Leave the key "on", and jump the starter terminals with a screwdriver to see if the starter turns her over. Once oil pressure builds, the low pressure alarm should shut off.

If you're getting an alarm just by turning the battery switch "on", without even putting a key in the ignition, you've got an electrical fault of some kind, somewhere...the engine sensors are part of the ignition circuit and are not activated until you turn the key.