HighLife
New Member
- Jun 1, 2011
- 20
- Boat Info
- "HighLife"
- Engines
- 350 GM Vortec V8 (300 HP 'Marine Power' package, 2008),
Alpha1 Drive (2009)
Greetings.
I have read much wisdom on this board in the past, so I figured I'd take a shot and see if perhaps some one out there might be able to help me out with my electrical/ignition problem.
I'll start with a little background: I am fairly new to Sea Ray ownership. After long dreaming of doing so, last fall I became the proud new owner of a 1985 260 Sundancer, and ever since have been 'living the dream.' One season in, many sunsets, countless adventures and misadventures, and much spiced rum later, it really has been all I'd hoped it would and more.
But unfortunately, along with the end of boating season here in Philly, came an electrical/ignition problem that has not only me stumped (that's easy enough -- my skills and know-how are limited) -- but also the good folks at my (now) home marina.
Currently I have two problems:
The boat won't come out of gear (without shutting it off), and it won't run very long without tripping the main circuit-breaker (the red button on top of the motor).
(Note- The boat has been re powered, by the P/O, with a 300hp MarinePower package, in 2008 I believe.)
Here's the sequence of events that led up to this:
1. While sitting at anchor (i.e., enjoying the aforementioned spiced-rum/sunset combination) I became inspired to finally replace the worn out lock-washer holding on the v-shaped-contraption that hits the switch that kills the motor when shifting gears. (I mention this because it's entirely possible that I screwed up this mechanism in the process, owing to the aforementioned limited skills and know-how, and perhaps the spiced rum. Although, if I did, I was blissfully ignorant of this at the time.)
2. When retrieving the anchor to head home, I discovered that the boat would not come out of forward gear (without shutting down the engine.) In bringing up the anchor I had to start the motor a couple times (to move forward against the current) and had to shut down, both times, in order to get back into neutral. But when I tried to start a third time to take off, it would crank, but now would not fire. So, after spending the obligatory period staring at the motor, wiggling wires, and pretending I'd somehow suddenly be divinely endowed with the ability to fix it (as the sun finished setting), I admitted defeat, and called for a tow in.
3.With the help of a couple of merciful souls back at the marina, we discovered that the PINK WIRE (running from the coil to the distributor) had power at one end -- but not at the other. In the middle of this pink wire there was as length of shrink-wrap tubing, contents unknown. (Note: At the beginning of the season, when it was discovered that my shifter-kill-switch was NOT functioning, this was then corrected by connecting the kill wire from the switch into this pink wire – with one of those squeeze-on, in-line tap things. We connected this tap in between the mystery shrink-wraped-whatever-it-is/was, and the distributor.)
4. Thinking that this shrink-wrapped-whatever it is/was was just a prior repair, I eliminated it (by splicing in a length of ordinary wire.) This left the boat in its current condition: It will start and run briefly, it will not shift back out of gear once engaged, and at some point the main breaker ends up tripped.
5. An autopsy was since performed of the shrink-wraped-whatever-it-is/was (which formally resided within the pink wire.) Turns out it wasn't just a prior repair: It's got some kind of electrical do-dad in it, that I need some advice on – so that I can replace it in kind. (Anyone know what this is/was please?)
Please excuse my long-windedness. I have often read on this post that when asking a technical question, more info is better than less. (Although I suspect that after reading this, that adage may soon be rescinded.)
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!!
THANKS.
I have read much wisdom on this board in the past, so I figured I'd take a shot and see if perhaps some one out there might be able to help me out with my electrical/ignition problem.
I'll start with a little background: I am fairly new to Sea Ray ownership. After long dreaming of doing so, last fall I became the proud new owner of a 1985 260 Sundancer, and ever since have been 'living the dream.' One season in, many sunsets, countless adventures and misadventures, and much spiced rum later, it really has been all I'd hoped it would and more.
But unfortunately, along with the end of boating season here in Philly, came an electrical/ignition problem that has not only me stumped (that's easy enough -- my skills and know-how are limited) -- but also the good folks at my (now) home marina.
Currently I have two problems:
The boat won't come out of gear (without shutting it off), and it won't run very long without tripping the main circuit-breaker (the red button on top of the motor).
(Note- The boat has been re powered, by the P/O, with a 300hp MarinePower package, in 2008 I believe.)
Here's the sequence of events that led up to this:
1. While sitting at anchor (i.e., enjoying the aforementioned spiced-rum/sunset combination) I became inspired to finally replace the worn out lock-washer holding on the v-shaped-contraption that hits the switch that kills the motor when shifting gears. (I mention this because it's entirely possible that I screwed up this mechanism in the process, owing to the aforementioned limited skills and know-how, and perhaps the spiced rum. Although, if I did, I was blissfully ignorant of this at the time.)
2. When retrieving the anchor to head home, I discovered that the boat would not come out of forward gear (without shutting down the engine.) In bringing up the anchor I had to start the motor a couple times (to move forward against the current) and had to shut down, both times, in order to get back into neutral. But when I tried to start a third time to take off, it would crank, but now would not fire. So, after spending the obligatory period staring at the motor, wiggling wires, and pretending I'd somehow suddenly be divinely endowed with the ability to fix it (as the sun finished setting), I admitted defeat, and called for a tow in.
3.With the help of a couple of merciful souls back at the marina, we discovered that the PINK WIRE (running from the coil to the distributor) had power at one end -- but not at the other. In the middle of this pink wire there was as length of shrink-wrap tubing, contents unknown. (Note: At the beginning of the season, when it was discovered that my shifter-kill-switch was NOT functioning, this was then corrected by connecting the kill wire from the switch into this pink wire – with one of those squeeze-on, in-line tap things. We connected this tap in between the mystery shrink-wraped-whatever-it-is/was, and the distributor.)
4. Thinking that this shrink-wrapped-whatever it is/was was just a prior repair, I eliminated it (by splicing in a length of ordinary wire.) This left the boat in its current condition: It will start and run briefly, it will not shift back out of gear once engaged, and at some point the main breaker ends up tripped.
5. An autopsy was since performed of the shrink-wraped-whatever-it-is/was (which formally resided within the pink wire.) Turns out it wasn't just a prior repair: It's got some kind of electrical do-dad in it, that I need some advice on – so that I can replace it in kind. (Anyone know what this is/was please?)
Please excuse my long-windedness. I have often read on this post that when asking a technical question, more info is better than less. (Although I suspect that after reading this, that adage may soon be rescinded.)
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!!
THANKS.
