Occasional no-start - click -click

[src]

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.

Locate the starter. You will see (probably) 3 wires, 2 large and 1 small hooked to it. Follow the small wire, and it will (probably) lead to the slave solenoid. It should be yellow with a red stripe. If there are 2 small wires, one might lead to another component on the engine.

And actually, there will be more than 3 wires, but most of them terminate together (to the same post). Sorry if this is confusing - not writing clearly today.

I found this image - I think it should help clarify which wire you should be looking at (Yellow with red stripe).

 

[boatrboy]

Look around the intake manifold and see if you can find the red reset button. It will probably be horizontal from starboard to port. Mine was right next to it, they share a mounting plate. The Mercathode blue controller is on top of it and there is a plastic wire cover on the studs so I missed it a few times. The plastic protects the two red wires from shorting since they must be high current. Be careful because one is HOT! Shut your batteries off before changing it.

good luck - mark

 

[boatrboy]

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

UPDATE - So after sitting a week or two I turned the key and every time it cranked 1st time for about 10 times. Then when I went to pull the boat for the winter several days later and I had to turn the key two times to get her to start. Then after that, first time.. So I winterized her and will order a new relay and change it in the spring. I will have to wait until spring to know if I have found the exact cause, but I am hopeful this relay really is the culprit.

I am wondering how Trucky made out.

 

[Trucky]

I found my relay attached to the intake just behind and to the right of the carburetor. As far as mechanical things go this was as about as simple as they get. I detached the old one and moved the wires, one terminal at a time, to the new solenoid. I removed the flash suppressor, or whatever the metal air filter thing is called, to give me better access over and around the carb.

Note to self... ALWAYS plug the top of the carb with a clean rag if you are working with anything small enough to fit inside. Yeah, one of those little brass nuts magically jumped out of my fingers, assumed a vertical trajectory, and very cleanly landed inside said carburetor. Clink! Oh sh........ It took me a few minutes to get my body in position to work on the solenoid, very carefully laying all the right sized wrenches within tactile reach.

Now I have to work my way back out and peer down inside the barrels. Those things go down a long ways. The bolt couldn't have landed on a shelf near the top, nope... all the way to the deepest depths. Luckily I have an antique magnetic probe and retrieval was much less eventful than delivery.

Solenoid replaced, all parts back where they belong, water to the muffs and perfection in starting, multiple times.

Thanks for all the pointers!

 

[Ragtopman]

ok, so this post is 6 years old but today It saved me a trip to the marina service department and most likely an inflated bill. Thank you to all who responded long ago. I diagnosed the click today with a jumper and I believe it's the solenoid $30 should do it

 

[boatrboy]

ok, so this post is 6 years old but today It saved me a trip to the marina service department and most likely an inflated bill. Thank you to all who responded long ago. I diagnosed the click today with a jumper and I believe it's the solenoid $30 should do it

Funny you bring this up so many years later-this year I started experiencing the same thing AGAIN. I realized I never installed the solenoid I bought years back as I figured the loose connection was the issue but I always kept the new one on board. So I ended up changing it before she hit the water and it's been perfect ever since. Good luck with your repair.

 

[BEH]

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.

+1

 

[Ragtopman]

It did the trick no more click click click