For the second time in a month(in about 40 attemps), I have had a
problem when trying to start my engine. I have a 93 Four Winns I/O
(Ford)with king Cobra lower end. when I went to start the engine,
nothing happens, no turning over, no clicking of the starter. Tried
both batteries and one at a time. It is as if the engine was in gear or
the emegency shut off cord had been pulled. (this cord has been
bypassed for 2 years now.) The first time, I kept playing with the
throttle and the button to put it in nuetrol while giving it gas and
eventually it started up. I thought that maybe I had been distracted
and was trying to start the boat while in gear. What I did to start her
up last night was, with a pair of insulated plyers, I by passed the
celinoid while the other person turned the key. It started right up.
when we got back to the dock, I tried to start it again and it worked
fine. I know only enough about engines to be dangerous and would love
to have your opinions on this before I take it to the shop. Do you
think it is the Throttle mechinism of the key? or maybe something
completely different. Since it only happens once in a while it is had
to figure (for me)
thanks

On 4 Jun 2005 05:13:42 -0700, "richard"
wrote:

For the second time in a month(in about 40 attemps), I have had a
problem when trying to start my engine. I have a 93 Four Winns I/O
(Ford)with king Cobra lower end. when I went to start the engine,
nothing happens, no turning over, no clicking of the starter. Tried
both batteries and one at a time. It is as if the engine was in gear or
the emegency shut off cord had been pulled. (this cord has been
bypassed for 2 years now.) The first time, I kept playing with the
throttle and the button to put it in nuetrol while giving it gas and
eventually it started up. I thought that maybe I had been distracted
and was trying to start the boat while in gear. What I did to start her
up last night was, with a pair of insulated plyers, I by passed the
celinoid while the other person turned the key. It started right up.
when we got back to the dock, I tried to start it again and it worked
fine. I know only enough about engines to be dangerous and would love
to have your opinions on this before I take it to the shop. Do you
think it is the Throttle mechinism of the key? or maybe something
completely different. Since it only happens once in a while it is had
to figure (for me)
thanks

Sounds like the neutral switch or associated wiring on the power lever
is flakey.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

thanks Brian
besides looking at it for anything obvious, what should I do?

If you are mechanically inclined, you would take the control apart, and look
at the little microswitch that engages the bottom of the control lever when
it is in neutral. You would then use a multimeter to check that switch, look
to see if anything is binding it to cause it to stick , or if it is misadjusted.

If you are not mechanically inclined, I'd suggest taking it to a competent
mechanic, tell them the symptoms, and pay them to fix it.

Don W.

richard wrote:
thanks Brian
besides looking at it for anything obvious, what should I do?

On Sat, 04 Jun 2005 15:27:17 GMT, Don W
wrote:

If you are mechanically inclined, you would take the control apart, and look
at the little microswitch that engages the bottom of the control lever when
it is in neutral. You would then use a multimeter to check that switch, look
to see if anything is binding it to cause it to stick , or if it is misadjusted.

If you are not mechanically inclined, I'd suggest taking it to a competent
mechanic, tell them the symptoms, and pay them to fix it.

Don W.

richard wrote:
thanks Brian
besides looking at it for anything obvious, what should I do?


What Don said....


Brian W

Thanks Brian and Don
I am a little bit mechanically inclined and do own a multimeter. I will
see if I have specs/diagram somewhere for the control lever

and keep my mechanic's phone number in hand incase I do not feel up to
it. Thanks again

PS-Not sure where you two are from but we had our first summer weather
and it feels great here in Boston

On 4 Jun 2005 05:13:42 -0700, "richard"
wrote:

For the second time in a month(in about 40 attemps), I have had a
problem when trying to start my engine. I have a 93 Four Winns I/O
(Ford)with king Cobra lower end. when I went to start the engine,
nothing happens, no turning over, no clicking of the starter. Tried
both batteries and one at a time. It is as if the engine was in gear or
the emegency shut off cord had been pulled.

Some stern drives have interlocks that prevent the engine from being
started unless the drive is fully down. A dock neighbour had a
problem with this when marine growth prevented his leg from being
lowered far enough to close the interlock switch - I think running the
leg up and down a few times may have crushed some of the marine
beasties, and permitted the interlock to close so he could start the
engine.


--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
new newsgroup users info : http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

Richard,

If your drive has an microswitch to keep it from starting with
the drive up, definitely check it before you disassemble the
remote control. I'm not familiar with the Cobra drives since
I've always had outboards, or Mercruisers.

Once again, the shop manual should have a wiring diagram. You might
even be able to find one on the web.

Don W.

Peter Bennett wrote:

On 4 Jun 2005 05:13:42 -0700, "richard"
wrote:


For the second time in a month(in about 40 attemps), I have had a
problem when trying to start my engine. I have a 93 Four Winns I/O
(Ford)with king Cobra lower end. when I went to start the engine,
nothing happens, no turning over, no clicking of the starter. Tried
both batteries and one at a time. It is as if the engine was in gear or
the emegency shut off cord had been pulled.


Some stern drives have interlocks that prevent the engine from being
started unless the drive is fully down. A dock neighbour had a
problem with this when marine growth prevented his leg from being
lowered far enough to close the interlock switch - I think running the
leg up and down a few times may have crushed some of the marine
beasties, and permitted the interlock to close so he could start the
engine.

If you did in fact bypass the solenoid and got started, then it may be bad.
Usually, as you note, you'll at least hear a click, so wiring is suspect --
the wiring between key switch and solenoid may be corroded, loose or
broken. Easy to check if there's voltage at the solenoid when the key is
turned to start. If not, the key switch may be bad. Or the neutral safety
switch is defective (fairly common). Find and jumper wire it to test -- make
sure shift's in neutral. Do replace that switch, if defective, for safety
reasons. (Sometimes the neutral safety switch's positioning is adjustable,
and they or the shift lever no longer make proper contact.)
Len

--
Eliminate "ns" for email address.
"richard" wrote in message
ups.com...
For the second time in a month(in about 40 attemps), I have had a
problem when trying to start my engine. I have a 93 Four Winns I/O
(Ford)with king Cobra lower end. when I went to start the engine,
nothing happens, no turning over, no clicking of the starter. Tried
both batteries and one at a time. It is as if the engine was in gear or
the emegency shut off cord had been pulled. (this cord has been
bypassed for 2 years now.) The first time, I kept playing with the
throttle and the button to put it in nuetrol while giving it gas and
eventually it started up. I thought that maybe I had been distracted
and was trying to start the boat while in gear. What I did to start her
up last night was, with a pair of insulated plyers, I by passed the
celinoid while the other person turned the key. It started right up.
when we got back to the dock, I tried to start it again and it worked
fine. I know only enough about engines to be dangerous and would love
to have your opinions on this before I take it to the shop. Do you
think it is the Throttle mechinism of the key? or maybe something
completely different. Since it only happens once in a while it is had
to figure (for me)
thanks

On 4 Jun 2005 05:13:42 -0700, "richard"
wrote:

For the second time in a month(in about 40 attemps), I have had a
problem when trying to start my engine. I have a 93 Four Winns I/O
(Ford)with king Cobra lower end. when I went to start the engine,
nothing happens, no turning over, no clicking of the starter. Tried
both batteries and one at a time.

I had a similar problem with a Volvo sterndrive. There was a
connector on the engine for the cable to the control panel. The
contacts in that connector had become corroded, and the starter
connection was intermittent - disconnecting the connector and spraying
it with contact cleaner, then connecting/disconnecting it several
times to remove the corrosion solved the problem.


--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
new newsgroup users info : http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca