Outboard Trouble

[DaRangeFinder]

I currently have a rebuilt 1996 johnson 40 hp two-stroke. It has been running great all year. It is an electric start that has been firing up all year. I took it out tonight and pushed the electric start and nothing happened. Everything electric in the boat works fine including the built in power tilt and trim comes standard on the engine itself and electric choke all batteries have been charged. I have checked all the wires and the fuses and nothing is out of the ordinary and nothing has gotten this thing to fire. Right now it wont even turn over, nothing happens at all when you hit the ignition other then the pain in my heart. Electric choke still works.

Any advise would be great time is running out!

[leech~~]

Did you check the kill switch? Also make sure you starter drive is not stuck out and jammed.

[delcecchi]

Does it have a kill switch? Is it in the on position? I have accidently flipped mine in the past.

[TheSaga]

Kill Switch checked and in correct position, not clear on what the starter drive is but as far as I can see everything is where it needs to be and should be ready to roll.

thanks for the help so far

[TheSaga]

I should clarify I am an fishing buddy of DaRangeFinder and I am trying to help this guy out but I am at a loss to.

Chalk that up to inexperience. We inspected everything last night and could see anything out of order.

[Surface Tension]

Is the gear shift in neutral position and or its sweet spot.

Time to get a volt meter, you can start at the starter solenoid and work either way depending on if you have voltage.

[leech~~]

not clear on what the starter drive is

The starter drive is at the end of your starter motor and comes out when you turn the key to ingage the flywheel or ring gear on top of the motor. Some times they will stick out and then the next time you go to start your motor "nothing"

[Rivernut]

Had the same type of problem with my Yamaha, and it was a bad fuse.

[boatfixer]

Is this a tiller model or remote?

[eurolarva]

An outboard starter requires an enormous amount of power to start. It literally act almost like a short across you battery when you engage it. I wont go into wire resistance and voltage dividers, but you should verify your starting battery is in good shape. Get it tested at batteries plus so they can do a load test on it. Make sure all connections to the battery and to the starter are clean and shiny and all connections are tight. Use emery cloth to shine up the connections. If you have ever had to use excessive amount of cranking the wires could be corroded just past the battery connection. How old is the battery?

[Minnesota Fats]

Easiest explanation would be that its either not in neutral or the neutral switch is bad/misaligned.