Starting engine

Gerald389

New Member
Nov 7, 2020
4
Boat Info
1987 sea ray 21'cc seville
Engines
Mercruiser 165 hp
Recently purchased 1987 21ft searay 165 hp i/o to restore. Found out engine will not crank unless lower unit is completely down . Anyway to circumvent this ?
 
Well, no, that's normal. But it is a bad idea to start the engine while at high trim angles as you can cause damage. But there's nothing stopping it from doing so, other than the operator unless a previous owner made dome type of mod. But better info is needed... what type of trim angle are you talking about? "Doesn't crank" means it doesn't turn over - but that is different than "starting". Does the starter make any noise?
 
Engine starts no problem I just feel that I should be able to start engine with trim in a different position just not all the way down
 
OK, all the way down is one "piece of the puzzle". What about the other questions?
 
Only other ? What can I do to be able to start engine in different trim position than all the way down
 
You have three trim buttons. The lower and middle button control the outdrive during normal in-the-water operations. As you may already know, you have to hold both the middle and upper button to fully raise the outdrive to the "Trailer" position. The starter should work anytime the outdrive is in the lower positions between fully Down/In, and up to where the middle Up/Out button no longer will raise the drive. There's an interlock switch (usually bolted to the transom) that prevents you from starting the engine above that point. I'll try to find a picture of that shortly.
 
Have never heard of a trim/start lock out at the transom. Interesting. Something else to possibly give you grief while on the water..
 
Only other ? What can I do to be able to start engine in different trim position than all the way down
No, I meant the other question I asked about the starter... or any noise, like clicking. And, as I eluded to above, have you looked for something that a previous owner may have installed?

Also, how many times has this happened?
 
For the life of me, I can't find any literature on it. You know what they say; without pictures, it didn't happen. I think my memory is fading fast.
 

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