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BF 130A Electrical Problem

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equinox

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"My '98 BF 130A won't

"My '98 BF 130A won't start. On Saturday used it from 9 am to 5 pm. Started and stopped without incident. Then it went dead. I heard clicking in the engine. The trim tab gets enough juice to raise the unit slowly. All other electronics work -- fish finder, console light, nav lights.

I checked the battery. All fittings tightly secured. No corrossion. The battery tester says fully charged at 12.25 volts.

Bad battery? One or more wires is lose? A short? A fuse?

Thanks"
 
"First thing I would look at i

"First thing I would look at is the battery. How old is it? Watch the voltage reading on the battery as you try to crank or raise the engine up and down. If there is a major change in voltage, it is probably the battery.

My money is on the battery if your battery has any age...even though you said your battery tester said it was good.

If there is no or little change, the next place to check is at the motor end of the battery cables. Check the connections and then check the voltage there when trying to raise the engine. If the voltage is way down, it is probably an open in the cable. There could be an area where only a few strands are still connected, so you have some voltage, but not enough strands to carry any substantial current."
 
"Mike,

Thanks.

I purchas

"Mike,

Thanks.

I purchased the battery at the start of the '08 season (April), from Walmart. I use the boat to fish, so I start and stop multiple times each day I'm out.

One fact I forgot to mention. I tried jumping the battery. First with a smaller pack. Nothing. Then with a heavier duty pack; one used for diesel engines. Still nothing. Does this change your analysis?

Sean"
 
"Yep! Most likely not the batt

"Yep! Most likely not the battery.

Now go for the battery cable connections at the motor and measure voltages there as you are trying to raise and lower your engine. the voltage will go down a volt or two if the battery cable is ok. It will go down more if there is a problem in the cable or connections.

If you do not have a voltmeter, use a 12volt test light and watch how the briteness changes. If it dims a little, connections are ok. If it practically goes out, it is in the battery cable or connections.

While we're at it, has the main power relay been updated? If you are not sure, send me your serial number and I check to see if there is anything in the records one way or the other. The main power relay supplies power to the computer and if faulty can cause a no start condition. It does not affect your power tilt and trim.

I am assuming when you said trim tab was working, you were referring to power tilt and trim. If not, how is the power tilt and trim working? The good news is you can operate it from the engine while testing for voltages.

If all these check out, the next places to test will be the fuses. Reseat all the fuses several times and make sure there is no corrosion on them. Check the voltage fluctuation at the fuses like you did where the battery cables first attach to the motor.

If you can read wiring diagrams, the last page of your owner's manual has a complete wiring diagram. We are just going point to point in checking this out.

I think you will probably find the problem before we go to the next steps."
 
"Agree with Mike's procedu

"Agree with Mike's procedure for diagnosing the problem. But would add one other thing. On the starter solenoid, there are two electrical terminals - a large main power terminal, and a small S or actuator terminal. Make sure both are clean and tightly connected."
 
"Thanks Mike. Thanks WD.

M

"Thanks Mike. Thanks WD.

Mike, I have a volt meter and will attach it to the cables and fuses as you suggested.

I don't know if the main power relay was updated. I don't have the engine serial number with me at work. I'll look for it tonight at home.

I did mean the power tilt and trim when I referred to the trim tab.

If there is corrosion on the fuses should I replace them, or simply clean them with WD 40 or an electrical spray?

WD, the guy from SeaTow mentioned the starter solenoid as well. If the terminals are fine, could it be the solenoid? How do I check for a bad solenoid? Would a bad solenoid effect the tilt and trim motor?

Thanks."
 
"1. Test for continuity betwee

"1. Test for continuity between the small S terminal on the solenoid and the grounded body of the starter. It should show full continuity with little or no resistence. 2. Test for continuity between the small S terminal on the solenoid and the ground terminal (the shorter one next to the starter housing) on the solenoid. It should show full continuity. 3. (This is the way to test a solenoid on a car, so I assume it will also work on this one) Test the solenoid by jumpering a line from the positive terminal on the starter (or directly from the positive terminal on the battery) to the small "S" terminal on the solenoid. You should hear a load click as the magnetic switch activates.

I don't think a bad solenoid would affect the tilt-trim operation.

Are you, by chance, routing your power through a battery switch? If so, try bypassing it."
 
"WD,

Thanks for the info on

"WD,

Thanks for the info on the solenoid.

I do route power through a switch, but it only covers electronics. Cabeling for the engine is direct from battery to engine.

Sean"
 
"Cleaning the fuses is probabl

"Cleaning the fuses is probably ok. As WD said pay close attention to the stud on the starter solinoid. That is where all the major power leads converge.

The trim and tilt is not fused, so a corroded fuse is probably not your problem. It does pick up power from the solinoid's terminal. The 30 amp fuse with a white lead going to it provides power to the starter through the starter solinoid.

The other white lead on the post goes to the power tilt and trim relays.

Again...do not neglect checking the ground where the battery cable attaches to the engine. It could just be loose.

Let's hope everything stays dead. Searching for an intermittant electrical problem can be very frustrating unless you find something obvious during your inspection.

If the voltage decreases subatantially between the solinoid post and the engine ground while operating the power tilt... Check the voltage variation from the solinoid stud to the ground post on the battery. Then check for the voltage variation from the engine ground to the positive post of the battery. This will tell us which side the problem is on.

Looking forward to your test results"
 
"It was just the battery.

M

"It was just the battery.

Mike and Bill, thanks for all of your suggestions and advice.

Due to heavy rain I couldn't work on the boat until Sunday. I replaced the two year old marine battery from Wal-Mart with one from Costco. Everything worked fine. I ran the boat for five hours. Stoping and restarting a number of times, with no problems.

What I don't understand is why I couldn't start the engine last Saturday when a jump/battery pack was connected to the Wal-Mart battery.

Chalk this one up to rule no. 1 in boat maitenance: "Start with the simplest least expensive solution".

Thanks.

Sean"
 
"I would speculate that the co

"I would speculate that the connection between the battery terminal and main power cable was corroded or insufficiently tight. When you changed out the battery, you probably cleaned and tightened the cables correctly. Haul that Walmart battery over to a auto repair shop and ask them to test it under load. Bet you'll find it's still good. Let us know."
 
Thanks for the feedback. Simp

Thanks for the feedback. Simple is good! W D Neal could very well be right on the clean terminals. It happens a lot.
 
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