Logo
FULL SITE MENU

main relay assembly

S

snuffy 61

New member
have a 2000 honda 130 and yesterday my main relay assembly caught on fire. The motor had not been started in about 3-4 weeks. Why would this happen?
 
JEEEZ! The two things on the outboard that would carry, demand enough current to start a fire would be the starter solenoid or the fuel pump. I don't recall if the tilt is powered through that relay but if it is, then that might be a suspect too, Has your starter ever "hung" on you or anything like that before?

Before replacing the relay, you might want to rig up a fused test lead to operate those things and make sure nothing is shorted to ground.

At least it didn't happen 5 miles out!
 
no issues with the starter or anything else. This is on my offshore boat, pair of 130s. Has just been sitting in my driveway, havent started in 3 or 4 weeks. The only thing i am thankful for is that i happened to be close to it and was able to put it out quick. The gas tank is full--144 gallons!Just wondering what caused it. Yesterday i went back and looked for other damage and didnt see any
 
Sometimes the starter/fuel pump harness fails. I have 2 200's 2003 model and one of them would literally crank on its own at times, to the point the wiring started smoking. I ended up replacing both harness to avoid anymore problems...Got them new on ebay for around $35
 
Yes! That is alarming! Fire on the water is scary stuff. Hopefully someone else will chime in with some insight on what could have happened there. As a matter of fact, this might be something Honda should look at or, maybe, already has.

All I know is that electrical fires are started by OVERCURRENT conditions that produce too much heat and ignites the insulation. That is why circuits are fused. To protect the insulation in the event of a short to ground. Do you have any blown fuses or have you experienced blown fuses in the past? That might be a clue.
 
Snuffy - hope you keep digging into this because that raises concerns for a bunch of Honda owners on this forum. As Jimmy said, fire on the water is scary stuff.
 
I never had blown fuses, just figured it was normal wear/tear and corrosion at its best. It would be a wise choice to replace them to avoid any problems. You can be broke down offshore and get towed in, but you better have a life raft if it catches fire.
 
It may not be the fuse itself. They are designed to fail in a controlled manner without overheating except for an instant. There is likely something else going on like a dead short or corrosion in the fuse holder.
 
Both of my motors are in this bulletin, all this is new to me, have only owned for little more than a year. Had a Honda guy check and the other one hasnt been changed either, so will replace both. From what he found out from Honda, the material that seals the wires into the underside of the relay melts at too low a temperature and melts the insulation off the wires causing what happened.. He is checking to see why it didnt burn the fuse first
 
Back
Top