Ignition gone haywire

"I have a 1981 trojan 290, I h

"I have a 1981 trojan 290, I have ignition problems.....when I hit the port ignition switch, the port engine turns for a split second, then the starboard engine turns (but neither will run). The starboard ignition switch will start the starboard engine just fine. The boat has Chrysler 360's. Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Please advise, thanks......"

"HUH! You mean you hit the por

"HUH! You mean you hit the port ignition switch and the starboard engine tries to start? If so, you have a major wiring screw up! And, no, I've never heard of such a thing.

Jeff

PS: Start by disconnecting the wires to the starboard starter and see if the port engine will start."

"Thanks fast jeff, I thought a

"Thanks fast jeff, I thought about it all night, and all I can come up with is that somewhere, the 2 engine's ignition wires are fused together by exposed wiring.......and the port wire is powering up the starboard solenoid......but the question is, where in the wiring is this most likely to happen?"

"p.s. someone mentioned someth

"p.s. someone mentioned something about a battery combiner switch. I don't see how this has to do with it. There are 2 emergency start switches in both the upper and lower helm. These switches parallel the batteries for emergency starts. But again, I dont see how this could affect anything. I'm going to try what you said though, I'm thinking (when I hit the port switch)both engines are trying to start, but the port's starter is weaker and the starboard's starter is drawing all the juice, and thus the port stops cranking after the initial joult. Is that what you're thinking?"

There are isolators that preve

There are isolators that prevent one battery from pulling down another in the event that your selector is on "both" and one battery is shorting out.

"ok, I disconnected the starbo

"ok, I disconnected the starboard solenoid, now when I hit the port engine, the port cranks.........this means that when the port engine ignition switch is on, both solenoids are getting power.........what next? by the way, now when I plug the boat in shore power, it trips the GFI on shore......"

"is there such a thing called

"is there such a thing called a "cross-over diode"? if so, could that be the problem? Thanks for all your help."