Intermittent starting problem on a 1994 2 stroke Mercury 90hp

[RapalaDick]

I have an intermittent starting problem on my 1994 MERCURY 90HP motor. Every once in a while when I turn the Ignition Key to start my motor nothing will happen. I have changed the ignition switch, changed the starter solenoid and thought I had the problem solved until last night when my problem came back. Any body out there have a solution or suggestion for me.

[marine_man]

Welcome to Hot Spot Outdoors!

I presume the battery is fully charged, right?

If you wiggle the shift control when you try and start it does it make it better? There's a possibility that your neutral interlock switch is in need of adjustment, and you just happen to catch it in that spot when you have the issue you're referring to.

I'd try and keep track of when it happens and see if you can develop a pattern or situation that makes it repeatable.. otherwise it's pretty tough to troubleshoot.

marine_man

[ThaiNinh]

More than likely it wasn't your starter to begin with. Get a mutimeter and check for continuity from your battery to your starter. Does everything else works like trim, bilge, thing like that. If it does then do what I just said. If not then the connection to your battery is bad. With a mutimeter check for continuity from battery to starter and from ignition wire to starter. You'll be able to find a break somewhere. I know its confusing but you'll get it.

Marine man makes more sense. I read it too quick and thought it was constant. Didn't know it is just intermittnet. But get a mutimeter anyway. GL

[RapalaDick]

The battery is fully charged. I had also suspected the neutral switch but it sometimes starts or doesn't start without me moving or touching the gear shift.

[marine_man]

I kind of think it might be your starter starting to get weak; but unless it happens pretty regularly I don't think I'd worry about it just yet. I presume when you say nothing happens you mean absolutely nothing, right? No click, no anything? How often does it happen?

marine_man

[RapalaDick]

Your assesment is accurate. Nothing happens. No click no nothing. My mother-in-law just had a four stroke MERCURY that started to do the same thing and a freind of mine and I isolated it to the starter and suspected that it may have developed a flat spot or weak spot in the armature. We pulled the starter and had it re-conditioned and todate it starts every time. Have you heard of or seen such a thing and what are my chances that the starter needs to be either replaced or re-conditioned?

[marine_man]

Based on what you're describing, that's what I'd say.. it's time to have the starter gone through...

That said though, how often is this really happening? 1 out 10 starts, or roughly how often?

marine_man

[RapalaDick]

Typically happens when the boat sat unused for a period of time. I forgot to mention that I suspected the battery because it was several years old and I replaced it last year. A new event developed last night. Based upon our comment I hooked up a battery charger to battery and tried to charge it. My battery charger has a guage and it showed only 25% charge which surprized me because I recharged the battery mid winter and don't understand how it would have drained. It is possible that I may have fixed my problem earlier this spring with the replacement of the starter solenoid and my recent problem may be as you suspected that the battery may not have been charged enough to repeatedly turn over the motor. I left the charger hooked up all night last night and it showed a 100% charge this morning. Thanks for you comments and suggestioons and my next action item is to hook it up to the garden hose and muffler tonight and repeatedly test it. I give you and update when I am done.

[marine_man]

Sounds good... if that ends up being your issue I'd dive into trying to identify what's drawing your battery down over time...

marine_man