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2.3 starter relay sticking

It's the yellow/red wire from the ignition key that should energize and de-energize the start solenoid. The purple wire feeds 12v directly to the coil during start up. If the Purple wire is keeping the solenoid active then I would suspect a short inside the solenoid.
 
Same thing over here. No start No spark. At first I would only get 5 volts at coil. Occasionally It would go to start then I would have 12v intermittently. Sometimes the starter wouldn't turn unless you try it a few times. I figured the switch or solenoid. At one point I cranked the engine and when I released the key the starter just kept going...A frantic fumbling of the wing nut that holds the battery terminal on got it to stop. Ok so I disconnected the 3 wires at the ign. switch and touched the battery cable to the battery and it was still turning. Got to be the solenoid.

So the next day I went into West Marine and the lady there gave me a Sierra(made in China) solenoid 18-5801D. The next weekend I drove the 93 miles to where I store my boat. I connected it up and noticed the small post which the ylw/red wire connects to wouldn't tighten. Well I got it some what snug enough to try it. The boat started right up and had 12v at the coil before cranking. Great!! But wait there's more ! I let it run awhile and shut it off and started again, and on the third try the starter stuck again. Getting really quick at disconnecting that battery. I returned the solenoid to West and she said she had a return of the same kind with the same problem. Fine.. I got the last one off the shelf and had the manager open the package and I threaded the little nut on the terminal and tightened it down. Ok that should do it. This past weekend I drove the 93 miles and put it on. Again started right up untill the 3rd time I tried it...STUCK. I ohmed it out and it is continually calling for the starter to turn. Well of course West is still out of these ,I bought it on a Mon. and called them the next Sun. They said they ordered 1 which will be in Fri.

Meanwhile I search the internet for a suitable replacement NOT Sierra. According to a few websites Arco makes a solenoid SW394 or sw730. I will try to order one of these as soon as I contact ARCO to determine which number is correct. Would there be any condition which would burn out a solenoid in 10 mins? Is this just a case of bad quality Chinese solenoids? I did disconnect the starter and clean the connection, and checked for good ground.
By the way I put my old one on and it seems to work ok. As soon as I turn the key to the on position I get 12v at the purple wire . When I crank it ,it starts quickly. If the starter sticks, I just turn the key to "start" briefly, and that clears it. Each try costs me a week of boating and I don't seem to be getting any closer to the water...HELP !
 
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I went trough this last year, 4 different solenoids, till I finnally got one that didnt stick. Read aBOUT OTHER PEOPLE HAVING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I put on a quick battery disconnect,, and have a small hammer
 
cannonballkev said:
I went trough this last year, 4 different solenoids, till I finnally got one that didnt stick. Read aBOUT OTHER PEOPLE HAVING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I put on a quick battery disconnect,, and have a small hammer
Click to expand...
Just a thought ... Do you remember if they were Sierra parts? I called another dealer and he said he thought there might be some other issue, and of course I should bring it in @ $95 per hour . I can't imagine what could be wrong to burn out the solenoid. I will try 1 more sierra part to see if possibly they got a batch of bad Chinese solenoids. I will update as soon as I know.
 
Here we go again ! I'm on solenoid number 3 . I decided that 2 sierras was enough and drove 60 miles round trip to buy an OEM OMC solenoid, thinking maybe West got a bad batch. Smart guy that I am I decided to do some further investigating, $32 a solenoid better check it good. I connected it up but without the prpl/blk wire . When I turn the key to run I get 12v at that wire. I thought there shouldn't be any at that wire.
I thought the mode of operation is to feed 12v to that wire through the solenoid when "starting" to energize the coil . As it stands now I'm getting 12v at the wire disconnected when I turn the key "on". When I turn to start I get 12v at the terminal where the prl/black wire should be connected.
The engine starts and runs fine with that wire disconnected. Hmmm . But wait theres more... I now get 15v at the battery when the engines running,with or without the wire connected. ??? Could the alternator/regulator be bad ? Greater minds than mine must be on this forum. Anybody??
 
When you turn the key to ON or RUN you will see power at the + side of the coil because that is coming through the resistor wire. Since the purple wire and the resistor wire are tied together at the coil you will see power at the end of the purple wire even though you have it off the solenoid. Although I wouldn't think you should see 12v, maybe 9 or 10 and you shouldn't really get up to 15 at the battery, maybe 13 or 14 when charging, are you sure your meter is good? The engine can start without that purple wire as all it's doing is giving the coil a full 12v during starting otherwise it only gets a reduced voltage from the resistor wire. I would say things are working pretty good if you can start from the reduced voltage at the coil :)
 
two seirra, 2 from auto zone, I broke the casing on one of the serrias,(tightened it to tight< with it cracked I could actually see it sticking, one from autozone finally worked, I have an extra serria on board
 
Well that's rockin good news ! I will try connecting that purple wire tomorrow , and start it a few times. You know I am limited in tools where my boat is stored so I stopped at Harbor Freight and picked up that $3 meter to use in a pinch. I will bring the Fluke next weekend and check the battery voltage. So if everything works properly that would mean the 2 replacement Sierra solenoids "were" defective . Thanks Bob. I owe you a beer ...next time I'm in Ontario.
 
Here we go again. After last time I decided to bring my good meter and test it. I got 15 volts at the Battery when it starts, after a while it goes down to 14.8 and stays there. I've been too busy to play with it all this time but finally Itook off the alternator to have it tested and the parts guy said he couldn't without knowing the specs. but that 14.8 v wasn't really too high. Meanwhile it won't start again. "No F&*^#%$ing spark. I still get 12 at the coil when trying to start but no spark from coil. I took it off and replaced it with a new one from O'reillys . The guy there said any coil with external resistor will work ?? Still no spark. Just 2 weeks ago the thing ran fine except for the hi voltage readings. Any clues ???
 
First thought would be the points, try cleaning them with fine sandpaper, you need them to close to provide the ground to fire the coil.
 
I just finished cleaning the points I didn't get any spark. I decided to check all wires AGAIN. There is a wire loom that runs down the length of the engine which goes into a large connector. I basicly wiggled them checked to see if they were soft anywhere without opening the loom . I tried it again and got spark, and almost started. Unfortunately the phone rang... I will try again in the morning. Does that resistor wire go bad often? I'm thinking of opening up that loom tomorrow. MPIA !
 
The resistor wire doesn't go into the big black Cannon connector as it just comes off a splice from the alternator. Don't forget that while starting the coil is getting 12v from the purple wire off the solenoid. So if you have power at the coil and the points are opening and closing(making contact) and they have a good ground that coil should be firing.
 
I got her running today . A little hesitation on wot, but I think I need to run all that old gas out of it. I still get 14.8v at bat when running though. Would a bad battery do this? It's less than a year old still under warranty. It usually reads 12.25 or so after sitting a while. I will prolly take it out and have it tested.
 
14.8 is closer to what an alternator might put out during a full charge, maybe your regulator is toasted inside, you get take the alt in and have it checked?
 
Well here we go again. After my last post I got it running pretty good and thought I would take it out. Got the whole family on there and it ran good for about 15 minutes and stalled. It acted like it was flooded would start a little and stall. I would let it cool off for 5 miutes and it would restart, but stall when put in gear. I didn't have any decent tools with me to test much. I thought maybe it was vaporlock.After being towed 2 miles by a Jetski... I called the shop and he recommended "Lotsa water remover". I put it in and same thing, 10 minutes or so later stalled. I finally gave up after replacing the points and took it to a shop. He has it a week and calls me up all done $159 for setting the points and setting the timing, and taking to the river to check it out. Fine, I'm not impressed but I take it right to the river and see for myself. I got it in the water and never left the dock. It kept stalling. It would restart and run rough and miss on high speed. After a while I couldn't even get it in gear without stalling.
A quick call to the shop and they sent out there guy . He said everything looks good ,electrically, has to be the carb. So they have it another 4 days and I call em today. He says the carb was a mess with the check ball being stuck till he soaked it. He rebuilt it,and put it all together and down to the river he went. It purred like a kitten and accelerated great...and 15 minutes later Dead in the water.. No power to the coil . He ran a jumper to the coil and it fired right up. He says he has it "narrowed down" to the resistor wire. He says it must be in the loom and had a hard time finding replacements in the past , so he's going to wire in a ballast resistor . So my question is....
Does anybody know exactly where or what color this resistor wire is? It is not shown on the wire diagram. Where would I get some of this resistor wire? Anybody ?
 
Use this link as a reference for wiring diagram. Upper left corner you will see the coil. See the purple/red wire on the positive side, this is your resistor wire and it just runs over near the alt to a splice off it. You cannot replace this wire, the manual says if it goes bad you need to replace the entire harness. Most people will disconnect it and install an external ballast resistor if they have a problem with it. A quick test would have been when it stalled (key still on) is there any power on the positive side of the coil?

http://www.selocmarine.com/content/manuals/3404/pdf/340410w155.pdf
 
Thanks Bob That is a nice clear color wiring diagram . Mine shows same wires in b&w It would be nice if they labled that resistor wire. I will forward this to the shop, but I wonder if the problem might lie in the splice. Either way he says he's going to wire in a ballast resistor . He wasn't sure what type yet. I will update when this intermittent nightmare is over.
 
Another $509 and still no boat. Well they had it another week , rebuilt carb , wired in Ballast resistor, They took it to river 20 minutes later still stalled no start , only 4 0r 5 v at coil. Jump + coil starts right up. Found that when they operated trim switch the motor would go to stall. They checked all connections fuse holder a bit corroded cleaned up replaced fuse. Battery terminals looked a bit weak, replaced those, alt belt a little loose tightened. Back to river still stalls after 20 or 30 mins or so. Thought bad coil.(3 weeks old) replaced still stalled. finally swapped out old condenser that i had lying in the boat. While in the distributor found points wire a bit loose. took it back to river ran good for 45 minutes. I showed up and he said I got 6.5 hrs into this boat he charged me 3 . He was just glad to see it go. I get to river let it run 30 mins. on trailer before even attempting to leave. It ran great idled smooth accelerated great got up on plane.. Cool ! I ran it wide open for another 30 minutes or so then it started to miss and finally it stalled. Here we go again. 4.5 volts at coil no start. I called him up and let it cool down . I got towed back again , thanks to jetski . I brought it back again. This time I waited and watched , he couldn't get the dwell to drop below 45 and should be at 30. He would get it to 40 and i would drop all the way down. Over and over. He got it to about 40 and checked and adjusted timing which was now at 14 got it down to 10. After a while it started running rough. He checked points that were 2 weeks old and said they were burned , so he put in a new tune up kit. After putting the cap back on for the 10th time , while it was running he leaned or pushed on the distributor and noticed the engine stumble. IF you push a bit on the distributor(from the rear of engine forward) the dwell drops down and engine goes to stall. Could this be a bad distributor that gets hot and the shaft moves pushing the points out of adjustment? I was thinking maybe bad connection or corrosion between distributor and block.?? If it is maybe the resistor wire was misdiagnosed. More bad news . He says they don't make electronic kit for 2.3 . Distributor not available. Haven't checked more places yet . Has anybody ever heard of this? I'm into this boat shop for $668 in the last 2 weeks and it still does the same thing I brought it in for . Any help would be appreciated Thanks
 
Is the wire from the distributor to the (-) negative side of coil good? Maybe this wire is bad. Or maybe the bushings or bearings in the distributor are shot, giving you excessive play in the distributor shaft?
 
With the new kit in it could he get the dwell down? Was it cold or hot while he was checking the dwell? Maybe pick yourself a cheap dwell meter or borrow one and do some experimenting by playing with the dist. If it needs another then check on ebay.


note...don't know what year you have but if it's 87 to 90 then the OMC PN is 984632 and this site here shows 3 in stock...pricey @$480 though
http://www.marineengine.com/newparts/part_search.php?part_num=984632&x=0&y=0
 
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Not sure on the negative wire, I didn't check it. The engine was at or below normal operating temp, when the new kit was installed. The dwell was still high around 40. I'm leaning towards distributor myself. I'm supposed to make the 50 mile trip today and put the boat in the water for another test run. Again hoping that the new points will solve this. I have my doubts. I think he should pull the distributor and check for play. I did see online a distributor for $377 , and says in stock. A few other places said $500. Nothing on Ebay yet. Does anyone know if their IS a electronic kit for the 2.3 ?
 
S.s.Up: "Does anyone know if their IS a electronic kit for the 2.3 ?"

I haven't research an electronic conversion kit yet, but newer style Mallory distributor #YL621CV will accept either points or electronic conversion. The OEM Mallory #YS621CV will not accept an electronic conversion, or so I have read from several sources.

Either distributor is special order, since Mallory no longer keeps them in stock. I verified that this week at the Mallory website.

So it appears there are no electronic conversion kits available for the OEM Mallory distributor.

I'm not interested in going electronic. I'll stick with the points, which appear to be of very good quality and construct.
 
Wow Good info. I took it out again today and exactly 1 hour after I started it, it would bog if I tried to accelerate. If I kept it at around 3000 it seemed ok. After it started bogging I decided to head back to the dock. I had to slow way down of course and she stalled . 100 feet away from the pier. No start 4.5 volts at coil with key on. I jumped coil from hot side of solenoid to pos side of coil and I got it started. But it would only run at high rpms and stall at idle making it impossible to shift. Even when it is running high , If I press on the dist cap from the from the rear towards the front the engine would go to stall. Fond a few distributors for around $500. I even talked to a Boat Junk yard in GA and they wanted $250 for a used one. The boat shop mechanic said he found 1 new for $500 and it was electronic. He needs to call them Mon. to verify the application. He also suggested it may be possible if there is a bad bushing in the distributor to send to machine shop and rebush it.. That sure would save some money. I will update when I find out . Is that #YL621CV the same distributor as the OMC 0984632 ? If I could find that newer style one That might be the trick.
 
S.s.Up: "Is that #YL621CV the same distributor as the OMC 0984632 ?"

I have no positive info on that, but I'd say the #YS621CV is closer to the OEM. It's points only.

Either distributor is meant to be a replacement part for the OMC 2.3L.
 
"Doug Russell has 984632 for $323"

I know of (2) complete Cobra 2.3L engines and/or outdrives, suppose to be in running condition, for $500 (+-) within 100 miles. It seems a better value to buy the whole power train than to spend $323 on just the distributor.

It also seems to be more cost effective to rebuild a distributor than to buy a used one, which may need rebuilding anyway. Maybe corrosion makes the distributor unuseable? Other than bushings, what can go wrong with them from normal use?

I am in need of a distributor, also. I bought my Cobra powered boat not knowing it had a Mustang II distributor. Ebay from time to time has had used OEM's for $50 - $150. They seem to go quickly, though.
 
I tried Doug Russell and they are out of stock. I've been told that Sea Way in Seattle has them for $500. Mallory makes 2 replacement "electronic" distributors. After calling all over the country I found they are special order and they are 6-8 wks out. That straight out of the mouth of Mallory. I guess the only way I can boat this year is $500.00 for a points distributor which should be converted, or have it re-bushed. The tech advisor thought from the symptoms I told him, that The dist. bushing is bad causing the dwell to adjust way off. That in turn causes the coil to overheat. Which would explain why it runs great for up to an hour, stalls and can restart after it cools. I wondered if the dist. being aluminum added to the heat theory and he agreed. After it heats up that aluminum casing expands giving the shaft more play to close the points. Does that sound right to you? Meanwhile the shop still has my boat and hasn't pulled the dist. yet.
 
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