Engine wonbt turn over

"So I brought my boat back fro

"So I brought my boat back from my in-laws yard to start getting it ready for spring - was thinking about making a "test run" on the lake next weekend though the water is still a little cold (56 degrees!)

My engine is a 1985 Mercruiser 140

Anyway, I charged up the battery and reconnected the leads, turn they key, and I get "click" ... just one click. Don't know what's clicking. Battery has a full charge. I even hooked it up to my truck with jumper cables, same result. Just one little click.

I had the boat "professionally" winterized as I really have a hard time getting the lower unit on and off myself... so it was running when we winterized it in the fall.

Any suggestions here?"

that clicking is probably the

that clicking is probably the secondary starter solenoid that. Souns like your start is having a bad day.. Double check and clean battery side connections and engine side battery cable connections(can get loose on the starter) Also follow the yellow wire from the starter to the slave/secondary solenoid and make sure they are tight and clean ( dont overtighten on starter or solenoid )

also to add to what brian is s

also to add to what brian is saying take a hammer and tap lightly on the starter while you are trying to crank it for some reason watercraft draws alot of dampness in the winter and i think if you follow me and brians advice and get it to crank a few revolutions i think youll find its all good

"got to love that BFH, but che

"got to love that BFH, but check all connections first both the pos and neg ends on batterys and block,Locate the clicking sound.Is it the slave or the main solenoind on the starter."

"yes, definatley "tap ligh

"yes, definatley "tap lightly" maybe even while someone turns the key, but keep clear and safe.

May need to pull the starter and bring to a motor rebuilder and have it "repaired" cheaper than rebuilding, will only replace what's necessary such as bearings, cleaning, truing the commutator etc."

"Will the starter make a clank

"Will the starter make a clanking noise but not turn over the engine?
I think I will try the Hammer option. I have a 1984 MERC 228 5.0L and I can hear the clank sound like the starter is engaing but no motor turn over, can anyone help?
Thank you"

"in my case, it *WAS*

"in my case, it *WAS* the starter solenoid....

I got lazy and called a mobile marine tech to come out and take care of things for me... They replaced the starter solenoid, and she started right up. Then the ignition coil actually failed while they were running the engine - apparently it had a crack in it and was leaking. They also adjusted my float and replaced the accelator pump (an issue I've known about for several years). And finally, they are replacing my points with electronic ignition, something that has been suggested to me by three different techs now.

They were diagnosing a misfire problem and in doing so, took the distributor cap off, removed the rotor, and were still able to start - and run - the engine. I guess they video-taped it at night and the spark was following the "path of least resistance" along the carbon trails, and so it was able to run with the cap off and the rotor removed... surprisingly well.

I'm actually quite excited - the prospect of having a properly working accelator pump is intriguing. "

""and so it was able to ru

""and so it was able to run with the cap off and the rotor removed... surprisingly well. "
Would make a good april fools joke.
you can`t run a motor with out a rotor and cap.
No Way,No How"

"At least not with a good cap,

"At least not with a good cap, I tried to start an engine with a new pertonix kit, didn't work, at least not with the rotor out. The shop I worked had an old Frankenstein device for testing coils and stuff.. I stayed away from it, did make some nice big sparks, was a good way of testing caps to.. I would think with a bad cap, a really good coil it might work, but ain't no way it would run right, the spark wouldn't fire at the right time.
Sorry, non-believer here.."

""you can`t run a motor wi

""you can`t run a motor with out a rotor and cap. "

See, that's where you're wrong. I saw them do it. They ended up taking it back to their shop and at night, they did it again, and videotaped it - the spark was jumping the carbon trails. He says he's worked on a million 3 liter mercs and has never seen it before. They could actually see it sparking in the cap.

I thought maybe, because of the carbon trails in the cap, that it was sparking all four plugs at the same time, but the tech says it's probably following the path of least resistance to the ground, which would be through the cylinder with the fuel/air mix in it.

I should ask him to hook me up with the video so I can post it to youtube or something."

"Rick, lets think about this f

"Rick, lets think about this for a moment.The rotor tell the cap what plug will be firing , the plug wires are arranged is a set order to match the combustion cycle of the motor .If there is no cap and no rotor ,this process CAN`T HAPPEN.There is no spark going to the plugs.The motor cannot, will not run without a cap and rotor."

"This is way out there . Where

"This is way out there . Where might we asked are these carbon trails if you have a distributor with nothing there but a centre shaft, no cap means no wires hooked up and no way for spark to get to plugs, etc, etc, I can see a small possibility if it was just missing the rotor but not both !!"

"Bt Doctor,

"The motor

"Bt Doctor,

"The motor cannot, will not run without a cap and rotor."

There was a cap, it was just removed from the base. The rotor was removed from inside. The wires were still connecting the cap to the plugs.

This is not something I'm making up, nor is it something I'm telling you without having actually seen it. I saw it happen.

The techs made a video of it and I've asked them to hook me up with it so I can put it up on youtube to share with you non-believers... I'll keep you posted!"