After leaving the outboard motor sitting for one year, I try to start
it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick... (and this is not the
sound of pistons moving around). What has gone wrong?

It is a 1995 Mercury 115hp 2-stroke outboard motor. Last winter, I
winterized it by running it on treated fuel for five minutes, spraying
fogging oil into the sprark plug holes (then working the pistons), and
then leaving a full tank of treated fuel in the fuel tank. The fuel is
still good because I have used all of them in my car for the last month
without any problem. Therefore, I know the fuel is not the problem.

I have followed the instruction in the boatowner manual to start the
motor (put the motor upright, put the lower unit in a bucket of water,
turn on the battery switch, check the kill switch, hand squeeze the
fuel pump ball to hard, hold down the throttle button, turn the
throttle-lever up all the way and then move it back to 1/4 throttle,
turn the power switch and hold it down to start), and I have tried this
for a couple times in two days. All I heard was tick,tick,tick...

Does this have something to do with leaving the motor unused for one
full year?

Does this have something to do with the fact that I didn't spray
fogging oil into the carburetor in last winter? At that time, I didn't
know that the carburetor air inlets are hidden behind the air-silencer;
therefore, I didn't know where to spray.

Does this have something to do with the possibility that the batteries
may not be good enough to work the starter? When I checked the voltage
of the battery right before trying to start the motor, the voltage
looked OK to me (13.24 volt). I stress-tested the batteries last
winter and I found them to be OK (admittedly I am not very good in
doing this). I left them in the boat outdoor through out the winter;
but I re-charged the batteries periodically and checked their voltage
periodically during the winter.

What can cause this problem?

Thanks in advance for any info or suggestion.

Jay Chan

Jay, that ti-ti-tick, is low voltage, and the solonoig coil cant stay
engaged to crank the motor. start cleaning battery connections and
look for corrosion, and have your battery charged, or replace it.



wrote:
After leaving the outboard motor sitting for one year, I try to start
it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick... (and this is not the
sound of pistons moving around). What has gone wrong?

It is a 1995 Mercury 115hp 2-stroke outboard motor. Last winter, I
winterized it by running it on treated fuel for five minutes, spraying
fogging oil into the sprark plug holes (then working the pistons), and
then leaving a full tank of treated fuel in the fuel tank. The fuel is
still good because I have used all of them in my car for the last month
without any problem. Therefore, I know the fuel is not the problem.

I have followed the instruction in the boatowner manual to start the
motor (put the motor upright, put the lower unit in a bucket of water,
turn on the battery switch, check the kill switch, hand squeeze the
fuel pump ball to hard, hold down the throttle button, turn the
throttle-lever up all the way and then move it back to 1/4 throttle,
turn the power switch and hold it down to start), and I have tried this
for a couple times in two days. All I heard was tick,tick,tick...

Does this have something to do with leaving the motor unused for one
full year?

Does this have something to do with the fact that I didn't spray
fogging oil into the carburetor in last winter? At that time, I didn't
know that the carburetor air inlets are hidden behind the air-silencer;
therefore, I didn't know where to spray.

Does this have something to do with the possibility that the batteries
may not be good enough to work the starter? When I checked the voltage
of the battery right before trying to start the motor, the voltage
looked OK to me (13.24 volt). I stress-tested the batteries last
winter and I found them to be OK (admittedly I am not very good in
doing this). I left them in the boat outdoor through out the winter;
but I re-charged the batteries periodically and checked their voltage
periodically during the winter.

What can cause this problem?

Thanks in advance for any info or suggestion.

Jay Chan

Jay,

With OB in gear turn over using prop. Charge batteries and try to crank.
Sounds like batteries to me or perhaps more likely a high resistance
connection somewhere in the starting circuit.

Butch
wrote in message
oups.com...
After leaving the outboard motor sitting for one year, I try to start
it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick... (and this is not the
sound of pistons moving around). What has gone wrong?

It is a 1995 Mercury 115hp 2-stroke outboard motor. Last winter, I
winterized it by running it on treated fuel for five minutes, spraying
fogging oil into the sprark plug holes (then working the pistons), and
then leaving a full tank of treated fuel in the fuel tank. The fuel is
still good because I have used all of them in my car for the last month
without any problem. Therefore, I know the fuel is not the problem.

I have followed the instruction in the boatowner manual to start the
motor (put the motor upright, put the lower unit in a bucket of water,
turn on the battery switch, check the kill switch, hand squeeze the
fuel pump ball to hard, hold down the throttle button, turn the
throttle-lever up all the way and then move it back to 1/4 throttle,
turn the power switch and hold it down to start), and I have tried this
for a couple times in two days. All I heard was tick,tick,tick...

Does this have something to do with leaving the motor unused for one
full year?

Does this have something to do with the fact that I didn't spray
fogging oil into the carburetor in last winter? At that time, I didn't
know that the carburetor air inlets are hidden behind the air-silencer;
therefore, I didn't know where to spray.

Does this have something to do with the possibility that the batteries
may not be good enough to work the starter? When I checked the voltage
of the battery right before trying to start the motor, the voltage
looked OK to me (13.24 volt). I stress-tested the batteries last
winter and I found them to be OK (admittedly I am not very good in
doing this). I left them in the boat outdoor through out the winter;
but I re-charged the batteries periodically and checked their voltage
periodically during the winter.

What can cause this problem?

Thanks in advance for any info or suggestion.

Jay Chan

wrote
I try to start it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick...

When my boat had the tick, tick, tick, it turned out to be corroded contacts
in the starter solenoid. Mine's an I/O, but your outboard probably has some
sort of equivalent part in its starting system. (The solenoid is a
electromagnetically operated switch that closes some big contacts to apply
power to the starter motor when you close the little contacts in your
starting switch.)

Jay, as others have suggested, the "ticking" is caused by low
voltage/amperage to the starting circuit.
A question however - does your boatowners manual really direct you to
"put the lower unit in a bucket of water"? A flushing attachment for
your garden hose would be far simpler.

Good luck and good boating,
Jim

wrote:
After leaving the outboard motor sitting for one year, I try to start
it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick... (and this is not the
sound of pistons moving around). What has gone wrong?
snip
I have followed the instruction in the boatowner manual to start the
motor (put the motor upright, put the lower unit in a bucket of water,
turn on the battery switch, check the kill switch, hand squeeze the
fuel pump ball to hard, hold down the throttle button, turn the
throttle-lever up all the way and then move it back to 1/4 throttle,
turn the power switch and hold it down to start), and I have tried this
for a couple times in two days. All I heard was tick,tick,tick...

Thanks for the info. Actually, this is a good news to me. Dealing
with the batteries is far more easier than dealing with the motor
itself (the hardest part is to remove the batteries from the console).
OK, I will clean the contact in the batteries and give it a try, and
this will be my project for this coming week.

Thanks again for the encouraging info.

Jay Chan

wrote:
Jay, that ti-ti-tick, is low voltage, and the solonoig coil cant stay
engaged to crank the motor. start cleaning battery connections and
look for corrosion, and have your battery charged, or replace it.



wrote:
After leaving the outboard motor sitting for one year, I try to start
it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick... (and this is not the
sound of pistons moving around). What has gone wrong?

It is a 1995 Mercury 115hp 2-stroke outboard motor. Last winter, I
winterized it by running it on treated fuel for five minutes, spraying
fogging oil into the sprark plug holes (then working the pistons), and
then leaving a full tank of treated fuel in the fuel tank. The fuel is
still good because I have used all of them in my car for the last month
without any problem. Therefore, I know the fuel is not the problem.

I have followed the instruction in the boatowner manual to start the
motor (put the motor upright, put the lower unit in a bucket of water,
turn on the battery switch, check the kill switch, hand squeeze the
fuel pump ball to hard, hold down the throttle button, turn the
throttle-lever up all the way and then move it back to 1/4 throttle,
turn the power switch and hold it down to start), and I have tried this
for a couple times in two days. All I heard was tick,tick,tick...

Does this have something to do with leaving the motor unused for one
full year?

Does this have something to do with the fact that I didn't spray
fogging oil into the carburetor in last winter? At that time, I didn't
know that the carburetor air inlets are hidden behind the air-silencer;
therefore, I didn't know where to spray.

Does this have something to do with the possibility that the batteries
may not be good enough to work the starter? When I checked the voltage
of the battery right before trying to start the motor, the voltage
looked OK to me (13.24 volt). I stress-tested the batteries last
winter and I found them to be OK (admittedly I am not very good in
doing this). I left them in the boat outdoor through out the winter;
but I re-charged the batteries periodically and checked their voltage
periodically during the winter.

What can cause this problem?

Thanks in advance for any info or suggestion.

Jay Chan

I hope this is just the contact of the batteries. Sound like I will
need to get into the habbit of removing the batteries from the boat for
winterizing and clean the contact really good.

What's the significant of "OB in gear turn over using prop"? Is that
trying to determine if any one of the pistons is stuck or not?

Jay Chan


Butch Davis wrote:
Jay,

With OB in gear turn over using prop. Charge batteries and try to crank.
Sounds like batteries to me or perhaps more likely a high resistance
connection somewhere in the starting circuit.

Butch
wrote in message
oups.com...
After leaving the outboard motor sitting for one year, I try to start
it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick... (and this is not the
sound of pistons moving around). What has gone wrong?

It is a 1995 Mercury 115hp 2-stroke outboard motor. Last winter, I
winterized it by running it on treated fuel for five minutes, spraying
fogging oil into the sprark plug holes (then working the pistons), and
then leaving a full tank of treated fuel in the fuel tank. The fuel is
still good because I have used all of them in my car for the last month
without any problem. Therefore, I know the fuel is not the problem.

I have followed the instruction in the boatowner manual to start the
motor (put the motor upright, put the lower unit in a bucket of water,
turn on the battery switch, check the kill switch, hand squeeze the
fuel pump ball to hard, hold down the throttle button, turn the
throttle-lever up all the way and then move it back to 1/4 throttle,
turn the power switch and hold it down to start), and I have tried this
for a couple times in two days. All I heard was tick,tick,tick...

Does this have something to do with leaving the motor unused for one
full year?

Does this have something to do with the fact that I didn't spray
fogging oil into the carburetor in last winter? At that time, I didn't
know that the carburetor air inlets are hidden behind the air-silencer;
therefore, I didn't know where to spray.

Does this have something to do with the possibility that the batteries
may not be good enough to work the starter? When I checked the voltage
of the battery right before trying to start the motor, the voltage
looked OK to me (13.24 volt). I stress-tested the batteries last
winter and I found them to be OK (admittedly I am not very good in
doing this). I left them in the boat outdoor through out the winter;
but I re-charged the batteries periodically and checked their voltage
periodically during the winter.

What can cause this problem?

Thanks in advance for any info or suggestion.

Jay Chan

Ernest Scribbler wrote:
wrote
I try to start it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick...

When my boat had the tick, tick, tick, it turned out to be corroded contacts
in the starter solenoid. Mine's an I/O, but your outboard probably has some
sort of equivalent part in its starting system. (The solenoid is a
electromagnetically operated switch that closes some big contacts to apply
power to the starter motor when you close the little contacts in your
starting switch.)

I just hope that the problem is limited to the contact of the batteries
and is not the contact of the starter solenoid. If cleaning the
contact of the batteries doesn't fix the problem, I will need to try
your tip.

I am baby-sitting my kids; therefore, I cannot work on my boat now. I
cannot wait to pull the batteries out, clean them really good, and try
starting the motor again.

Jay Chan

Actually, the boatowner manual only instructs us to attach an ear-muff
attachment to the lower unit. Somehow, that doesn't work in my motor
(and the temperature of the motor went up); therefore, I need to put
the lower unit into a bucket of water. I probably should check the
impeller.

Jay Chan

Jim Brinson wrote:
Jay, as others have suggested, the "ticking" is caused by low
voltage/amperage to the starting circuit.
A question however - does your boatowners manual really direct you to
"put the lower unit in a bucket of water"? A flushing attachment for
your garden hose would be far simpler.

Good luck and good boating,
Jim

wrote:
After leaving the outboard motor sitting for one year, I try to start
it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick... (and this is not the
sound of pistons moving around). What has gone wrong?
snip
I have followed the instruction in the boatowner manual to start the
motor (put the motor upright, put the lower unit in a bucket of water,
turn on the battery switch, check the kill switch, hand squeeze the
fuel pump ball to hard, hold down the throttle button, turn the
throttle-lever up all the way and then move it back to 1/4 throttle,
turn the power switch and hold it down to start), and I have tried this
for a couple times in two days. All I heard was tick,tick,tick...

wrote:
After leaving the outboard motor sitting for one year, I try to start
it today, and all I hear is tick,tick,tick... (and this is not the
sound of pistons moving around). What has gone wrong?

It is a 1995 Mercury 115hp 2-stroke outboard motor. Last winter, I
winterized it by running it on treated fuel for five minutes, spraying
fogging oil into the sprark plug holes (then working the pistons), and
then leaving a full tank of treated fuel in the fuel tank. The fuel is
still good because I have used all of them in my car for the last month
without any problem. Therefore, I know the fuel is not the problem.

I have followed the instruction in the boatowner manual to start the
motor (put the motor upright, put the lower unit in a bucket of water,
turn on the battery switch, check the kill switch, hand squeeze the
fuel pump ball to hard, hold down the throttle button, turn the
throttle-lever up all the way and then move it back to 1/4 throttle,
turn the power switch and hold it down to start), and I have tried this
for a couple times in two days. All I heard was tick,tick,tick...

Does this have something to do with leaving the motor unused for one
full year?

Does this have something to do with the fact that I didn't spray
fogging oil into the carburetor in last winter? At that time, I didn't
know that the carburetor air inlets are hidden behind the air-silencer;
therefore, I didn't know where to spray.

Does this have something to do with the possibility that the batteries
may not be good enough to work the starter? When I checked the voltage
of the battery right before trying to start the motor, the voltage
looked OK to me (13.24 volt). I stress-tested the batteries last
winter and I found them to be OK (admittedly I am not very good in
doing this). I left them in the boat outdoor through out the winter;
but I re-charged the batteries periodically and checked their voltage
periodically during the winter.

What can cause this problem?

Thanks in advance for any info or suggestion.

Jay Chan

Thanks for everyone who has replied to my post. Yes, the problem was
caused by the bad contact at the batteries. As soon as my wife comes
home, I cleaned the contact at the battery terminals really good. And
I don't hear that tick, tick, tick... any more. You guys are great!

Well, but there are two more problems:

First, the motor doesn't always start right away. I set the throttle
to full and then back down to 1/4 as what the boatowner manual suggests
for starting a cold engine, and I turned and held down the key, and I
heard that the motor started running and burning fuel/oil; but soon
after that the motor would stop (like running for 3 seconds). When
this happens, I would leave the throttle at 1/4, and turned and held
down the key, and I heard the starter worked the piston up and down for
a short while, and then I would hear the tick,tick,tick... (probably I
had tried too soon, and I should have waited for 30 seconds before
trying). After waiting for a while and then trying and trying, finally
the motor started OK. I am wondering why the motor is that hard to get
started. Have I flooded the carburetor and stalled the motor? Thanks
in advance for any info.

Secondly, I didn't see the motor sending out the telltale water stream
showing that the water cooling system was working. Despite the fact
that the motor temperature was not overheating (only run it for 30
seconds or so), I decided to turn off the motor. Because this problem
is not closely related to this post, I will post it in a new post.

Jay Chan