Logo

Engine not starting sometimes

Craigdj

New member
Hello, Thanks for adding me to this forum.

I have a 2001 Volvo Penta 5.7L GS PEFS.

While on the water the other day for about 15 minutes the engine died and would not restart. It did not turn over. It was acting like a dead battery. No power to the Helm. I have a dual battery set up and was on battery 1 at the time. I switched to battery 2 and still no power to the helm.

I cleaned all the battery connections. Checked all the fuses. Battery voltage was down when the engine was running so I replaced the alternator.

I replaced the fuel pump relay and the socket. The socket was melted on the bottom.

The last couple of days after replacing all this stuff, the boat started just fine. Then today I started it and it ran for 30 seconds and died. Again no power to the helm. No Alarm beeping. I by passed the kill switch and still nothing.

I tried it again 2 hours later and it starts right up.

This seems to be an intermittent issue. Something is not allowing power under certain conditions up to the helm.

What could it be?
 
Welcome to ME.com!

FWIW, 'no power to the helm' is a bit vague...do you mean you don't have +12VDC at the RED wire on the ignition switch or that the ignition switch has no effect?

Your engine (& its components) are over 20 years old so, without knowing the history, many things could have deteriorated. Worse yet, it looks like they only made that version for two years so some parts are likely NLA. I'd be inclined to check the main harness connector (engine harness to helm harness) for corrosion or loose pins. It would probably be a good idea to also check all ends on all battery cables for secure mechanical connections (good crimps) and clean electrical connections.
 
In your dual battery configuration, I hope EACH battery has it's own ground lead directly to the block and not "daisy chained" to the other battery... check ground connections at the block as well as the battery itself.
 
Back
Top