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Dead in the water-no power to ignition key

S

Skooter

Advanced Contributor
I finally got to take my boat out after rebuilding the starboard honda 2003 200 cylinder heads after timing belt pulley flew off..Good news is that the outboard ran flawless...bad news is the port side outboard crapped out on me 5 hrs into my trip and 32 miles out. I was idling and it just turned off...when I turned key switch I had no lights on panel..It had been running perfect with no warning lights on..I checked battery connector terminals, took them off and scraped them and reconnected...they seemed fine..I checked all fuses on port side of engine including the main one that is in its own housing near starter. I tried to jump starter with screw driver and could hear starter spin, but not engage..I also swapped out harnesses at the ignition key thinking it might be a bad key switch, I'm not the best at troubleshooting electrical issues, so I certainly appreciate any help.
 
It sure does sound like a bad connection somewhere.
If you are sure that the battery is in good shape I would give the Batt terminals a really good clean up. Hearing the starter spin shows there is power getting the the motor but I think there is not enough there to spin the starter enough to engage the fly wheel. If your motor is like mine most of the main terminals are around the startermotor area, Disconnect the battery and give these all a good clean as well as the points on the motor they make contact with.The main wiring harness plug may also be worth a look to see if there are any signs of corrosion I think this is a good starting point and will eliminate further questions if it is not the problem as in eliminating the easy stuff first is the way to go.
Give it a crack and let us know how you get on.

Dean.
 
I agree it sounds like a connection. I see that you switched the wiring harness at the ignition, but can you repeat this test at the engine itself? I am not familiar with the 200hp, but on my 50hp the wiring harness attaches at the engine through one big plug/connector. If that's the case you could swap harnesses to isolate whether problem is in harness or on outboard.
 
I could, but it would be a pita to remove harness..Im going to check the main ground and power terminals this evening...could the starter be the culprit? I have 12+ volts to starter.
 
Skooter, with no lights when the key switch is activated, then you have a definite break in the power feeds. The first thing I would do is use a pair of jumper cables to bypass your current power cables from the batteries to the starter and engine ground.

The next thing I would do is disconnect to kill switch to see if that fixes the problem. Next is go back to the fuses. They may look good, but test them for continuity. Then check the wires to the fuse box and make sure they all have good connections. Next, pull the connectors to the wiring harness and look for broken/corroded pins.

After that, it's a rabbit hunt to find when the connection is broken.
 
Great idea chawk with the jumper cables. I had tested all fuses yesterday for continuity, but you guys gave me some good ideas. I will crack open a beer and start troubleshooting..Ill let you know what happens.
 
OK, that sort of eliminates the main battery cables. Next, disconnect the kill switch.Then check wires to the fuse box.

BTW, there is a big 150 amp fuse to the main starter. Did you check that? It's in a separate fuse box. It's very obvious if it's blown.
 
I checked the big fuse, it is fine..Going to have to check all ground wires first then pull harnesses..could it be my ecm? I have a couple of extras and might swap just for grins..but wondering if the ecm could cause this??
 
Sure - if the ECM totally failed, it could cause your engine to go completely dead. However, it seems to be a very rare occurrence on the 200/225. The wiring to the ECM is somewhere in your Helm shop manual. Find the power-in wire and see if it's getting power.
 
Just to add a thought. Maybe not so helpful this far into the diaganostics. BUT 12+ volts at the end of the circuit is a somewhat false reading, without going into depth and theory you will not see a drop in voltage in till you measure over a device or connection. I.e. No matter how good or bad your circuit is as long as it has continunity if measuring from the batt to anywhere in the circuit you will see full voltage on your meter.
Could someone better at explaining things please jump in.
i see this as one of the biggest el related fails any home fixer has.
Cheers.
Dean.
 
Well I didnt have much time yesterday, but I was able to remove all 4 ground wires to engine block and clean them(none were really bad) I replaced them and still nothing..I swapped the ecm and nothing. Next I removed the starter, thinking it may not pass the current..I will swap with my other engine. If this doesn't fix, then I will pull each harness and check every pin connection.
 
Scooter - Recommend that the first thing you do is swap the main PGM FI relays between the two engines. If that proves to be the problem, then there is a test procedure for testing the PGM FI Main relay on page 17-9 of you Helm shop manual.


Also, I still think you need to establish if the ECM is getting power. If not, then that makes it much easier to find the fault.
 
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