Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hello
I need some help with my starter problems. It wouldn't start the last time we were out. The engine cranked over about 3 to 4 seconds, starter slowing down each second and then stopped. It would click but nothing else. Thought it was a bad battery. Got it home, I have two batteries, Deep cycle, and starting. both showed 12.2 volts on a multimeter. Charged them up and still only 1 click when I turned the key. Tried jumping across the remote starter solenoid , only a faint click, 12.4 volts on one post, 0 on the other. 2005 JC Tritoon, not a lot of room to work in. Anyone replaced this starter before? I think if I removed the exhaust manifold it would give me access to it. Any Advice? Thank you in advance, I tried doing a search but was unseccessfull.

Still sounds more like a battery/cable/connection/solenoid related problem than a starter. Did you remove and clean your terminal connections? See what voltage that you are getting leaving the solenoid while trying to crank.

Depending upon the chemistry of your brand of battery, a fully charged battery is 12.7v to 13v with no load on it. 12.4v after charging indicates a problem. (12.2v is a weak battery)

A badly sulphated battery won't reach a full charge voltage when charged. It may seem to be OK when resting, then fall flat on its face under load.

Marc

Marc K wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 22, 2021 1:48 am

Still sounds more like a battery/cable/connection/solenoid related problem than a starter. Did you remove and clean your terminal connections? See what voltage that you are getting leaving the solenoid while trying to crank.

A couple of years ago I went through exactly what Marc is describing. I was ready to replace the solenoid/starter, too, but in a moment of "It will do no good, but I'll try it", I took a wire brush to the terminals on them. Lo and behold - started right up. I felt like a relieved idiot.

Good luck.

Thank you, I will try cleaning them and using my jumper starter on them again. I would rather double-check than spend a lot of time and effort changing something I didn't need to.

So what did you find?