Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Honda BF15 - Electric start fail

N

nickib

Member
Good afternoon,

I've used this forum before and its been excellent so hopefully you guys can help out again.
My Honda BF15 outboard has an electric start and its worked without issue since I've owned the boat - HOWEVER, two weeks ago i managed to run both my batteries flat, and needed to change the leisure battery.

now my issue is the outboard wont respond when i press my little "starter" button. I can use the pull chord and it fires up no problem, but the electric starter doesn't work.

I've checked the wiring and removed the cowl, so completely bypassing any external connection, and still no life.

any ideas or thoughts would be most appreciated

many thanks, Nick
 
If you changed your battery...three possible things come to mind.

...You new battery is dead.
...You have dirty or loose connections
....Most likely, you momentarily permanently connected the battery backwards and it blew the fuse on the motor.

Mike
 
Mike,

..my new Leisure battery is new and fully charged (so is the engine battery) - so i know its not that (all the electrics on the boat work)
...I've checked the connections - very tight & secure on the battery
...I removed the cowl and found a "big|" fuse - and held this to the light and it seemed intact to me

i guess i need to get a voltmeter down there and check things over - i was just wondering if i could have caused any damage by flattening the batteries, and replacing - are there any other fuses to check under the hood?

thanks all
 
Holding a fuse "to the light" is not always a sure fire method for determining the health of a fuse. Use a multimeter on the OHM scale and verify continuity.

There's nothing on the outboard that you would harm by discharging the batteries and there should only be the one fuse.

If it's not the fuse....and....it's not the battery......that leaves connections and wiring.....OR>>>>could this be the EXACT time the starter motor decided to fail? I've seen stranger coincidences. However.....I would put my money on a connection you may have missed.

I've done it a hundred times....thought I had EVERYTHING....CLEAN...and.....TIGHT....but...when things didn't work and I went back CAREFULLY looking.....it usually turned out to be a less than sanitary connection.

Good luck.
 
JGMO,

your absolutely right of course - i will take a multi-meter with me next time i'm down there, i will also go over the connections very carefully.
Incidentally if it is the starter motor, are they easy / not easy to fix / replace - or is this spe******t territory?

many thanks for replying
 
I seriously doubt that it's the starter....but if it is.....piece of pie (or cake) to replace....that is....if you have PLENTY of money to buy one. They are NOT cheap.
But, follow hondadude's advice and I bet you come up with a fix soon.
Good luck and keep us posted.
 
JGMO / HONDA Dude

Thanks both for the advice - I have a BF15AM - probably around 1998 (quite old) - my intention is is get to my boat this weekend with a multimeter and get her checked over. I'll let you know how I get on next week.

Cheers, Nick
 
SUCCESS..

Replaced the fuse (15amp) - well, actually what happened, was I unscrewed the fuse holder and the original fuse plopped into the water...doh...so found a replacement, and hey presto - it worked..!!

thanks to everyone for your help and advice

Regards, Nick
 
Alright! Glad you got her goin'! Thanks for the update.
Now....go out there and enjoy the rest of your summer!
 
Back
Top