Occasional no-start - click -click

boatrboy

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2006
1,839
Orange, CT
Boat Info
2006 340 Sundancer
Engines
Twin 8.1 Horizons with V-Drives
I have purchased a starter a few years ago for my 7.4 mpiMercruiser boat motor (1999). I have replaced the ignition switch a couple of years back too. For several months now when I go to start it cold and I hear a “click” at the starter butit doesn't crank. If I turn the key 10 or so times it will start, andusually restart the rest of the day. On a few occasions when it warms up it will taketwo or three clicks before starting. At first I thought the ignitionswitch again was bad but obviously the click means power seems to be getting to thestarter.

So, could this be a bad solenoid? Every time I get the test light out it starts and I am usually alone. I could get long test leads to my meter I guess. I realize I have not done enough diagnosis yet, but I thought I would throw it out anyway and see what thoughts you might have. Also - I pulled the motor last year and pulled the starter off to repaint it and clean the connections while the motor was on my engine stand. The ground cable was cleaned at that time too.

Thanks in advance for any input you can provide- Mark
 
Not sure when Merc started using a slave relay as part of the switching circuit. Mine failed 1st year I had it & started acting up again this year so I replaced it again. Same symptoms you are having.
Mine is mounted directly behind the TBI, yours may have this or a carb.. Mounted on a stainless plate with 4 wires. 2 of these have an angled connector that fit over a couple threaded studs.Small relay, maybe 2-3" long. It's a cheap & easy fix if this is the cause.
 
My comments mirror the one's that Steve made, it sounds like the starter solenoid. On my boat it is under the Mercathode controller. It took about ten minutes to replace and cost less than $20.
 
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yep slave solenoid on the top of the engine... cheap and easy fix
 
I would start by cleaning the battery terminal connections. This sounds a lot like some oxidation of the battery posts. When your done, coat them with Vasoline to prevent further corrosion. Also look closely at battery cables, they can be NG, even when they look fine. Corrosion gets down inside cable and is not readily apparent.
 
Thanks for the feedback - So far I checked the wiring schematic and do not have anything like you are describing on the engine. Now of course I have a solenoid on the starter, but I don't see an auxiliary relay on the motor. Do you guys know for sure on the 7.4 MPI it's there? I will look around some more tonight, but I know for sure there is not one on the motor since I have already pulled the motor once. I have also removed the battery cable and cleaned all the connections to the starter for both the positive and the start wire. There is a fuse of some sort where the battery cable connects at the starter and this connects to the starter solenoid. I am wondering now if this could be causing some issues? I actually replaced the terminal on the solenoid wire (soldering it to the wire) thinking this was causing the problem but to no avail. I was thinking that the battery connections were ruled out since I clean them every year and this week I switched to "both" batteries on my switch and nothing changed. I will double check that though. The click I hear doesn't sound like the starter is engaging and losing power though. I will re-visit all these suggestions- keep um coming if you have had the same symptoms. Thanks -Mark
 
Don't forget when checking battery cables that the ground wires connect to a grounding stud on the engine block - remove/clean/reinstall with dielectric grease too!

You probably do have a slave solenoid (relay) somewhere with other electrical relays somewhere mounted on the engine. This allows the ignition switch to have relatively small, low current wiring that runs to the slave. When the ignition wire is powered it causes the solenoid to connect larger sized/higher current wires that go to the starter. Your ignition switch simply wouldn't be robust enough to handle the current required wired directly to the starter.

Good luck!
 
You probably do have a slave solenoid (relay) somewhere with other electrical relays somewhere mounted on the engine...........Good luck!
If anybody has my set up and has this relay please let me know where to find it. I have the SeaRay wiring diagrams printed out and it is not shown to have one. I have the mercruiser manual however and it shows one in their wire diagram but I don't see it anywhere based on the picture shown. I truly don't believe I missed seeing it after looking so many times, but I was hoping someone with my type of boat and motor might chime in here. I won't post the pic of the harness as its a PITA downloading it but I am now stumped. I will be bringing the test light with me this week to diagnose further - wish me luck.
 
My comments mirror the one's that Steve made, it sounds like the starter solenoid. On my boat it is under the Mercathode controller. It took about ten minutes to replace and cost less than $20.
OOPS - I just looked at my photos of the engine prior to removing it and I believe I have found it "WATSON" :):):). I will check this device tonight!
 
Sterndirves.com lists part number 96158T as the remote solenoid for the 1999 7.4 MPI. It looks like this:

Solenoid.jpg
 
Sterndirves.com lists part number 96158T as the remote solenoid for the 1999 7.4 MPI. It looks like this:
Well - I finally found this relay! I decided to put the test light on it while my wife turned the key and of course it starts without the click. We repeated this ten times with the same results. I decided to look at this relay in my hand before buying the replacement (in stock locally). When I put the wrench on the top stud nuts they were loose! So loose I could remove them with my fingers only. I can't believe the nuts did not fall off. I pulled it out anyway and everything is spotless. I wire brushed everything anyway. I re-installed it and we tested this twenty times with the test light and the starter wire disconnected so the engine would not turn over during this process. Tonight, it starts every time. Now the real test will be to invite people for a ride :) I may need to buy the relay but having these nuts so loose tells me to see first if this basic was the root cause. Thanks to all who steered me here - I'll update this after the weekend - Mark
 
Good to hear you found it. When everyone learns to check wires and connections every time they hear the dreaded 'click' the parts places will be crying due to a drop in sales.:smt043
 
Well done, I expect that tightening the nuts will solve the issue. If it doesn't, you know where it is and the part is under $20.
 
I have the same exact issue on my 99 5.0 MCM. Click, click, click, then finally start. Once started it will always start on the first try. The shop said the solenoid gets a bit of rust on it from sitting and then will be ok for the rest of the day/weekend. I'm told a new starter is about $160 plus 3 hours labor due to the access. Is there any way to know if I have a similar remote solenoid?
 
I have the same exact issue on my 99 5.0 MCM. Click, click, click, then finally start. Once started it will always start on the first try. The shop said the solenoid gets a bit of rust on it from sitting and then will be ok for the rest of the day/weekend. I'm told a new starter is about $160 plus 3 hours labor due to the access. Is there any way to know if I have a similar remote solenoid?

Go to http://www.sterndrives.com and click on Mercruiser parts and then "Mercruiser and Mercury Outboard Parts Lookup". Put in your engine serial number or select your model. That will give you diagrams of your engine and outdrive with part numbers.
 
Go to http://www.sterndrives.com and click on Mercruiser parts and then "Mercruiser and Mercury Outboard Parts Lookup". Put in your engine serial number or select your model. That will give you diagrams of your engine and outdrive with part numbers.

I did that and it shows a 96158t remote solenoid for that engine. Also, my Mercruiser 5.0 Service Manual 24 references a remote solenoid as well. That leads me to believe there likely is such a beast attached in as unreachable a place as possible. Were I to be as lucky to simply find loose connections as the OP I would be very happy. The part itself appears to only be about $18 so that's not an issue. The biggest chore is locating it.
 
I did that and it shows a 96158t remote solenoid for that engine. Also, my Mercruiser 5.0 Service Manual 24 references a remote solenoid as well. That leads me to believe there likely is such a beast attached in as unreachable a place as possible. Were I to be as lucky to simply find loose connections as the OP I would be very happy. The part itself appears to only be about $18 so that's not an issue. The biggest chore is locating it.

There is a picture of it on post #11 in case you missed it. On my 5.7L it is directly below the Mercathode controller on top of the engine and very easy to get to. I doubt that I spent 15 minutes doing the swap but someone had already told me where it was located.
 
I saw the pic, I just didn't know where to look. My eyes kind of glaze over when I lift the hatch and look. I went ahead and ordered one from Amazon for $17.00 and I'll have it tomorrow. Thanks for your direction... kind of important for things to fire when you turn the key.
 
I'm glad that i could be a little bit of help, you have the hard part to do. I hope that solves the issue.
 

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