Honda 50EFI non starting problem

Hi all Just found your site while looking online for help with a outboard problem I'm having, looks like a great forum!


I have a pair of 2011 honda 50EFI's , had Hondas all my life and never had any major problems, my 4th set on this boat


My engines hadn't been run for 2 weeks due to bad weather until today ,I went to go out , one engine started fine as usual, other engine I notice there was a very slight delay ( probably just a second) after turning the key to starter kicking in, I thought at the time that's odd but engine started fine and was running ok, I moved boat in harbour to take some gear aboard and switched both engines off. When I went to go out again 10 mins later ,the one that had the slight delay starting previously was completely dead, turning the key the ignition would bleep but nothing happened.


I went through everything I could think of to check - battery cables/leads, battery's, looms all seem fine, all control box wiring appears fine, fuses all ok, all connections on engine seem fine, tried tapping starter gently with a hammer in case it was stuck, the start in gear protection switch was my initial thought as I have had problems with these on previous engines with the metal flap bending but it all seems ok.


I was planning on swapping the starter with the other engine tomorrow to rule that out first, is there anyway I could bypass the start in gear protection switch to rule that out too?


Any other ideas or help would be much appreciated, thanks

I`ve never had dealing with your EFI outboard but do own a couple of the older carb BF50 models. If it`s a switch then it`ll work in either an open or closed circuit. Try disconnecting the two feed wires going to the start in gear switch and see if that works. If it doesn`t then put a jumper wire between the two feed wires to make a circuit and hopefully that`ll do the trick.

If there`s just a single feed wire then again just try disconnecting it and give it a try. If that doesn`t work then it`ll need to be earthed to the engine via a jumper wire.

Over the years then motorbikes have been fitted with more and more of these cut out switches for the likes of the clutch, side stand ect and they`re have a nasty habit of failing.

Matt.

To bypass the neutral safety switch, you have to jump across the connections. The neutral safety switch feeds a ground to the starter solinoid.

If no change....take a test light and connect one end to and engine ground and touch each of the two large terminals on the starter solinoid. There should always be power to one of them (battery positive cable is attached). Turn the key switch to start and the light should remain on one post and it should appear on the other post.

If the light goes out when connected to the post with the battery positive lead on it, then you have a battery, connection or battery cable problem. It could also be a bad starter.

If you only get voltage on one side of the solinoid, and you hear the solinoid click when the key switch is in start position, most likely a bad solinoid.

If the solinoid does not click, it could be a bad solinoid or you are not getting the right battery and ground to the solinoid to operate it.

Disconnect the two wire connector that goes to the starter solinoid. The lead colors should be black/white and black/blue.

You can run a jumper from positive battery to the black/white lead and a jumper from a good ground to the black/blue lead. Just briefly tap the jumper to ground.....if the starter solinoid, starter and battery connections are good, the starter should operate.

If it operates ....

Put one side of the test light to a ground on the block and the other to the black/white lead and try the key switch again. No light....indicates no voltage from the key switch ....could be key switch, cabling, or connectors at the key switch or engine ends of the wiring harness.

If the light does work, then put one side of the test light on the main power terminal on the solinoid (battery positive lead) and the other to the black/blue lead. No light....indicates a problem in the ground path (ground connection, lead, neutral safety switch or associated connectors).

After all of this....I hope you know that the motor has a 5 year warranty. It is worthwhile to do some basic checks before you take it to a dealer....just in case it is operator error.....like having the shifter in gear.

Good luck on your search. There should be a wiring diagram at the rear of your owner's manual.

Mike

Many thanks for the very helpful replies, much appreciated!


I think I have found the problem today! Tried a few things and almost gave up as I was having no joy...I thought I could hear a slight clicking sound from the starter area when I turned the key and had a good look and discovered the starter solinoid was very corroded looking and slack, like the outside piece would pull away if I pulled on it where the positive power cable attaches and shining a torch I could see inside it. I'm certain that must be the problem, checking the other engine the solenoid looked brand new and not slack at all. I then jump started the engine and ran it for a good while with no problems. I have now looked online and ordered the part I need, not that expensive £66 (in uk) at least I can hopefully run the engine without fear of damaging it until the new part arrives.
I'm pretty hopeful that is the cause if the problem!


thanks again for taking the time to reply with very helpful advice, very much appreciated!

Glad you found the problem. Many times a good visual inspection will lead you to the problem. It does help to know where to look.

Happy boating.

Mike