BAd Starter? Solenoid? Neutral Safety SW?

Ok, I changed out the starter slave solenoid and the problem is still there. All the solenoid does is Click. I can use the old check of crossing a screw driver to the terminals and the engine turns over but with the key only "Click". Now I'm confused. The chances of getting a bad solenoid are very slim but it could happen. I checked the wiring and everything looks connected. If it is the battery then when I cross the terminals it would not crank. battery is holding at 12.3 volts. The only thing that pops into my head is grounding for the solenoid. The ignition has 2 wires to the solenoid of which one is a ground. with 1 removed there's no click. I have no directions to go can you offer advise.
 
Try jumping 12volts from the battery to the small y/r on the slave. Might have a connection issue from ign. switch to slave. If jumping the 2 larger connections on the slave get the motor to spin, your problem there or further upstream.
 
Ok, I changed out the starter slave solenoid and the problem is still there. All the solenoid does is Click. I can use the old check of crossing a screw driver to the terminals and the engine turns over but with the key only "Click". Now I'm confused. The chances of getting a bad solenoid are very slim but it could happen. I checked the wiring and everything looks connected. If it is the battery then when I cross the terminals it would not crank. battery is holding at 12.3 volts. The only thing that pops into my head is grounding for the solenoid. The ignition has 2 wires to the solenoid of which one is a ground. with 1 removed there's no click. I have no directions to go can you offer advise.
To the solenoid, one wire is potential (becomes energised when you turn the ignition on, provided it has a good ground), and the other is a ground. I would get a test light, connect it to a good ground and the use the pointer end and touch the "C" terminal on the Solenoid, then have someone turn the key and see if it lights. If it does light you have a good ground and potential (terminals "C" and "D" on the slave solenoid). If you still do not feel confident that you have a good ground at the slave Solenoid, take a multimeter and set it to test continuity, with alarm. Take one lead and hold it on the chassis ground, or directly to the negative terminal on the battery, and the other lead to the "D" terminal on the Slave Solenoid. If you hear an alarm, you have a good ground on the Slave Solenoid. Don't forget that you do have another Solenoid on the actual starter, but if when you cross terminals "A" and "B" and the motor cranks, you have pretty much confirmed a bad Slave Solenoid. It is not at all unheard of to have received a new Solenoid (Or any other electrical component) that is bad out of the box.
I hope this helps.
 
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B goes to the starter solenoid inner small lug A should have constant power. Jumping A to B should spin the starter.
Yes, No
Jumping from the + battery to C will energize the solenoid if the ground is good and spin the starter.
Jumping A to B spins motor, jumping C to A does not= a bad slave solenoid
 
Bt Doctur, B is the yellow/blue that goes to the starter solenoid small terminal. A 12.3 v constant. Jumped A to B starter spins motor turns over. C is feed from Ing switch D is the ground. Slave clicks when Ing is turned to start but will not spin starter (no power terminal B/small side of starter solenoid). Does this help.
 
I pulled the old solenoid apart to see how it works. Very simple concept. Copper plate is pushed against both 12v (Hot) terminal and the delivery terminal allowing the 12 v to pass to the starter. There's only one thing that can stop the flow of current.....improper contact or no contact. What should the voltage from the switch to the solenoid be. I can check that tonight.
 
FL Boater66, I did read your post. Thank you! I did all those test last night. We are in agreement it indicates another bad solenoid. I'm just trying to make sure I'm not missing something else that others may have tried or found. I am going to replace the solenoid when I get home tonight. I not only have read this entire post but several others on this site and have tried almost every test recommended. I'm just trying to cover every path before determining a bad new solenoid.
 
FL Boater66, I did read your post. Thank you! I did all those test last night. We are in agreement it indicates another bad solenoid. I'm just trying to make sure I'm not missing something else that others may have tried or found. I am going to replace the solenoid when I get home tonight. I not only have read this entire post but several others on this site and have tried almost every test recommended. I'm just trying to cover every path before determining a bad new solenoid.
Try jumping 12volts from the battery to the small y/r on the slave. Might have a connection issue from ign. switch to slave. If jumping the 2 larger connections on the slave get the motor to spin, your problem there or further upstream.
Put 12 volts to the small y/r before you replace it
 
Scoflaw, good suggestion. If that works then it might be low voltage from the ignition switch to the solenoid not allow for full contact inside the solenoid.
 
UPDATE - SO, things are not going as I had hoped or anticipated. I must say that I am a bit humbled here. I was an Avionics Specialist on F-15E Fighter jets, yet it appears that I may have mis-diagnosed my starter circuit on my boat. That said, I knew a part of the testing did not prove a positive failure, I chose to change the parts I did simply based on the age of the boat and the relative ease in changing the parts. That said, I have replaced the batteries with two new Optima Blue tops, the Slave Solenoid, the 50 AMP Circuit Breaker directly next to the Slave Solenoid and none of this fixed my problem. I turn the key and still, just a click. I am not unassuming that the click I was hearing was the Solenoid on the Starter, and not the Slave Solenoid. That leaves me with the 90 AMP Breaker on the Starter, The Starter Solenoid or the Starter itself.
My question is this, how difficult is it to replace the starter on this exact boat? It is a 2006 Sea Ray Sundancer 240 with the Mercruiser 5.0. Any advise on this would be much appreciated!
 
I replaced the starter on my 2000 180 br and it wasn't easy to get to the retaining bolts but it can be done. just got to be a contortionist.
 
Thanks, however, what I am finding is that it is not so much the motor that makes it difficult, rather the actual year, make and model of the hull.
Mine looks like it is going to be extremely difficult to do.
 
ok this is where i am at. I jumped hot terminal (Battery) to "C". Activated solenoid but got no continuity across A and B. 12.3 volts. I went from switch to solenoid and it carried 12.3 to 12.1 all the way. When i energized the solenoid with the ignition switch it dropped to 9.35 volts. I took the battery to have it tested. No bad cells but battery was very low on cranking amps (365 out of 500). i have 3 slave solenoids and none of them get continuity across A and B when energized. I'm trickle charging the battery to see if i can get enough volts to close the circuit between A and B to either energize the starter or give me continuity that will eventually drive the starter.
 
This has got to be the problem. It must not have enough amps (even when jumped) to close the circuit between A and B. I wonder is i can find some sort or jumper switch that i can connect across A and B up to the driver seat that i can use like the starter switch for now.
 
Scoflaw, that is the test i described in #56 battery to C. it wont close the circuit between A and B. if i go hot to B engine cranks. the copper plate inside the slave is not making contact across A and B to supply 12 volts to the starter solenoid.
 
Scoflaw, that is the test i described in #56 battery to C. it wont close the circuit between A and B. if i go hot to B engine cranks. the copper plate inside the slave is not making contact across A and B to supply 12 volts to the starter solenoid.


Disconnect the wire on solenoid terminal D and perform a voltage drop test on that wire to ground.
 

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