Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by flboy0638 on 06/25/09 - 5:37 PM

Just recently my Johnson hesitates when I turn the Key . It makes one brief sound then 3 or 4 seconds of silence and finally begins turning over. It cranks eventually but I am worried about that lil hiccup at the beginning. Any Ideas what that might be. Battery is charged....... Reason Im worried is there use to be just a minimal pause but now its longer. Might be indicitive of a problem.

I want to turn the key an get an immeadiate reaction. Boat doesnt have to start but at least respond normally.

what could it be?

Edited by flboy0638 on 06/25/09 - 5:51 PM

Posted by Derwd24 on 06/25/09 - 6:28 PM

When it does finally start to crank, does it sound normal (spinning up to speed) or bogged?

And can you take the cover off and see if the initial noise you hear is the pinion gear jumping up and engaging the flywheel?

Posted by Joe Kriz on 06/25/09 - 6:36 PM

Could be several things.

1. Key Switch
2. Dragging Starter bendix or solenoid
3. Wiring loose or dirty connections
4. Battery

Yes, it could still be your battery. Just because it is charge doesn't mean it is putting out the right amount of power needed. How old is the battery?

Posted by whalerman on 06/25/09 - 7:28 PM

Hi, check ALL conections, wires. As you said it's been doing this for a while, and getting worse. Is the battery large enough, CCA capacity??? Make sure that you don't have wing nuts on the battery posts attatching the cables to the battery. Use regular nuts & lockwashers.

Posted by Mr T on 06/25/09 - 8:57 PM

whalerman wrote:
Hi, check ALL conections, wires. As you said it's been doing this for a while, and getting worse. Is the battery large enough, CCA capacity??? Make sure that you don't have wing nuts on the battery posts attatching the cables to the battery. Use regular nuts & lockwashers.

Second that one big time. I had wing nuts on my 1990 88 SPL and had all kinds of tense moments starting the motor,. Also pretty sure it casued me to fry a recrifier as well. Went to the hardware store, bought stainless washers and nylok nuts, sanded the terminals and lugs bright, applied some dielectric grease to it and cranked it down, then I replaced the rectifier. No problems at all since then starting the motor.

Prior to that I did have an issue where the bendix gear was not coming up to engage properly, so I cleaned it with some carb cleaner, lubed it with a bit of oil, and that helped a lot as well.

Edited by Mr T on 06/25/09 - 8:58 PM

Posted by Paulsv on 06/26/09 - 7:46 AM

MW wrote:
How old is the Battery ? Even if fully charged, they get "Tired".

I would also stongly suspect battery. If not, or if you are wearing out batteries quickly, it could also be a worn starter (they start to draw too much amperage, and this can be tested) Also check for deteriorated / corroded battery cables.