HELP!! Electrical problem with 4.3L GL I/O engine
 

On Tue, 22 May 2007 15:44:11 -0700, JR North
wrote:

Connect a jumper cable between the NEG terminal and engine block. Joy?
Clean the ground point on the engine.

I was going to suggest using a coat hanger and test the power of the
battery by jumping positive and negative.

Hmmm - on second thought...

DON"T TRY THAT!!!

HELP!! Electrical problem with 4.3L GL I/O engine
 

Thanks for all the ideas so far. I won't be at the boat for another
week but am collecting everyone's suggestions and will bring a meter
to the boat next time and jumper cables to set up an alternative
ground connection.

The engine did run fine after the battery was installed so that part
is ok (no plastic caps left on!) I did try wriggling all the wires
and the harness with the blower on but no response. Also the 3 red
cricuit breaker buttons on the engine are not tripped. There is a
mini 10-amp fuse near the positive terminal of the battery on a
separate smaller wire that is blown, not sure what that runs so will
replace that anyways.

Any further thoughts are welcome!

Inno



On May 22, 7:32 pm, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Tue, 22 May 2007 15:44:11 -0700, JR North
wrote:

Connect a jumper cable between the NEG terminal and engine block. Joy?
Clean the ground point on the engine.

I was going to suggest using a coat hanger and test the power of the
battery by jumping positive and negative.

Hmmm - on second thought...

DON"T TRY THAT!!!

HELP!! Electrical problem with 4.3L GL I/O engine
 

On May 22, 6:15 pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Jim" wrote in message

hlink.net...



There are usually 2 paths 12v takes on a small boat once it leaves the
engine area. The first is thru a harness that probably has a plug on the
engine end. This set of wires runs your ignition, instruments, and
anything else that the boat mfr. deemed necessary to operate from the
ignition switch. The second path/s, which should be fused but often is
not, runs everything else on the boat. The origin for all of these paths
is either the + battery post or a terminal on the starter. The common
ground on your engine should be a stud on the back side of a cylinder head
or the -battery post.

Your problem went from intermittent to solid. Did anything work right
after you changed the battery? Could you have left off a wire that should
have been connected to the battery?

Try this simple test. Turn your blower on and start wiggling all of the
wires that you can get your hands on in the engine room. If the blower
sputters or runs when you touch something, you have put your hands in the
problem area.

Some of the things that could be causing you grief are internal or
external corrosion of wire terminals ( particularly if they are steel).
Corrosion on the studs or posts they are connected to. A loose connection
could lead to arcing, which will cause a totally bad connection and or
insulation melting. A bad engine harness connection ( only if this is your
only source of 12v under the dash).

Good luck,
Jim
P.S. Keep a meter on your boat at all times.

The harness could certainly be the source of the problem. I have the same
engine on my boat and had to disconnect the harness in order to remove an
upholstered trim panel while installing a new swim ladder last Sunday. We
splashed the boat that same day and prior to doing so I reconnected the
battery and tested for power without starting the engine by turning the
ignition key one click. None of the gauges lit up so I checked the battery
switch, which was on and battery connections, which were tight. Finally
it occurred to me that I had disconnected the harness (located at the top
front port side of the engine) earlier in the day. I reconnected it,
tightened the holding strap and................I got power!

Perhaps the harness connection was bumped or otherwise loosened and it is a
good place to start.

I have not seen a "battery switch". Where would this be?

HELP!! Electrical problem with 4.3L GL I/O engine
 

On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 11:01:34 -0000, Inno wrote:

On May 22, 6:15 pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Jim" wrote in message

hlink.net...



There are usually 2 paths 12v takes on a small boat once it leaves the
engine area. The first is thru a harness that probably has a plug on the
engine end. This set of wires runs your ignition, instruments, and
anything else that the boat mfr. deemed necessary to operate from the
ignition switch. The second path/s, which should be fused but often is
not, runs everything else on the boat. The origin for all of these paths
is either the + battery post or a terminal on the starter. The common
ground on your engine should be a stud on the back side of a cylinder head
or the -battery post.

Your problem went from intermittent to solid. Did anything work right
after you changed the battery? Could you have left off a wire that should
have been connected to the battery?

Try this simple test. Turn your blower on and start wiggling all of the
wires that you can get your hands on in the engine room. If the blower
sputters or runs when you touch something, you have put your hands in the
problem area.

Some of the things that could be causing you grief are internal or
external corrosion of wire terminals ( particularly if they are steel).
Corrosion on the studs or posts they are connected to. A loose connection
could lead to arcing, which will cause a totally bad connection and or
insulation melting. A bad engine harness connection ( only if this is your
only source of 12v under the dash).

Good luck,
Jim
P.S. Keep a meter on your boat at all times.

The harness could certainly be the source of the problem. I have the same
engine on my boat and had to disconnect the harness in order to remove an
upholstered trim panel while installing a new swim ladder last Sunday. We
splashed the boat that same day and prior to doing so I reconnected the
battery and tested for power without starting the engine by turning the
ignition key one click. None of the gauges lit up so I checked the battery
switch, which was on and battery connections, which were tight. Finally
it occurred to me that I had disconnected the harness (located at the top
front port side of the engine) earlier in the day. I reconnected it,
tightened the holding strap and................I got power!

Perhaps the harness connection was bumped or otherwise loosened and it is a
good place to start.

I have not seen a "battery switch". Where would this be?

Mine is mounted behind one of the batteries. You're looking for something
like one of these: http://tinyurl.com/2wdhv3

HELP!! Electrical problem with 4.3L GL I/O engine
 

"Inno" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 22, 6:15 pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Jim" wrote in message

hlink.net...



There are usually 2 paths 12v takes on a small boat once it leaves the
engine area. The first is thru a harness that probably has a plug on
the
engine end. This set of wires runs your ignition, instruments, and
anything else that the boat mfr. deemed necessary to operate from the
ignition switch. The second path/s, which should be fused but often is
not, runs everything else on the boat. The origin for all of these
paths
is either the + battery post or a terminal on the starter. The common
ground on your engine should be a stud on the back side of a cylinder
head
or the -battery post.

Your problem went from intermittent to solid. Did anything work right
after you changed the battery? Could you have left off a wire that
should
have been connected to the battery?

Try this simple test. Turn your blower on and start wiggling all of the
wires that you can get your hands on in the engine room. If the blower
sputters or runs when you touch something, you have put your hands in
the
problem area.

Some of the things that could be causing you grief are internal or
external corrosion of wire terminals ( particularly if they are steel).
Corrosion on the studs or posts they are connected to. A loose
connection
could lead to arcing, which will cause a totally bad connection and or
insulation melting. A bad engine harness connection ( only if this is
your
only source of 12v under the dash).

Good luck,
Jim
P.S. Keep a meter on your boat at all times.

The harness could certainly be the source of the problem. I have the
same
engine on my boat and had to disconnect the harness in order to remove an
upholstered trim panel while installing a new swim ladder last Sunday.
We
splashed the boat that same day and prior to doing so I reconnected the
battery and tested for power without starting the engine by turning the
ignition key one click. None of the gauges lit up so I checked the
battery
switch, which was on and battery connections, which were tight.
Finally
it occurred to me that I had disconnected the harness (located at the top
front port side of the engine) earlier in the day. I reconnected it,
tightened the holding strap and................I got power!

Perhaps the harness connection was bumped or otherwise loosened and it is
a
good place to start.

I have not seen a "battery switch". Where would this be?

Maybe you don't have one. It goes in line between the battery(s) and
starter. The boat manufacturer or installer determines the mounting
location.
Jim

HELP!! Electrical problem with 4.3L GL I/O engine
 

Good news!

Starting checking out the system today using everyone's ideas and
traced the problem to a faulty 50 amp circuit breaker, i.e. one of the
terminal studs in the back were loose so contact was poor/
intermittent.

All your advice was very helpful. The idea the finally solved it was
turning on the blower and wiggling all the wires until something made
a difference.

Thanks to everybody for helping with this!

Our next job is to do a full tune-up as it is running a little
unevenly. We replaced the plugs, cleaned the air filter, tightened
the belts and cleaned the rotor and distributor cap. Any other
maintenance work that might make it run more smoothly? We will buying
new rotor and cap when we get to a dealer.

I have a timing light here but have not looked for the marks. What is
the correct timing setting?

Also, the trim tile guage has been totally dead since we got the boat
in the fall. The fuses are ok behind the dash. Where is the pick-up
for this guage on a Volvo Penta drive? What is likely the problem?

Thanks!

HELP!! Electrical problem with 4.3L GL I/O engine
 

On Jun 2, 10:02 pm, Inno wrote:
Good news!

Starting checking out the system today using everyone's ideas and
traced the problem to a faulty 50 amp circuit breaker, i.e. one of the
terminal studs in the back were loose so contact was poor/
intermittent.

All your advice was very helpful. The idea the finally solved it was
turning on the blower and wiggling all the wires until something made
a difference.

Thanks to everybody for helping with this!

Our next job is to do a full tune-up as it is running a little
unevenly. We replaced the plugs, cleaned the air filter, tightened
the belts and cleaned the rotor and distributor cap. Any other
maintenance work that might make it run more smoothly? We will buying
new rotor and cap when we get to a dealer.

I have a timing light here but have not looked for the marks. What is
the correct timing setting?

Also, the trim tile guage has been totally dead since we got the boat
in the fall. The fuses are ok behind the dash. Where is the pick-up
for this guage on a Volvo Penta drive? What is likely the problem?

Thanks!

Err, that's "trim tilt" guage...

HELP!! Electrical problem with 4.3L GL I/O engine
 

The first thing you should purchase is a set of OEM Volvo service manuals
for your particular year and model. Aftermarket manuals tend to be a bit
confusing because they cover too many different models in a single manual.
Jim
"Inno" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jun 2, 10:02 pm, Inno wrote:
Good news!

Starting checking out the system today using everyone's ideas and
traced the problem to a faulty 50 amp circuit breaker, i.e. one of the
terminal studs in the back were loose so contact was poor/
intermittent.

All your advice was very helpful. The idea the finally solved it was
turning on the blower and wiggling all the wires until something made
a difference.

Thanks to everybody for helping with this!

Our next job is to do a full tune-up as it is running a little
unevenly. We replaced the plugs, cleaned the air filter, tightened
the belts and cleaned the rotor and distributor cap. Any other
maintenance work that might make it run more smoothly? We will buying
new rotor and cap when we get to a dealer.

I have a timing light here but have not looked for the marks. What is
the correct timing setting?

Also, the trim tile guage has been totally dead since we got the boat
in the fall. The fuses are ok behind the dash. Where is the pick-up
for this guage on a Volvo Penta drive? What is likely the problem?

Thanks!

Err, that's "trim tilt" guage...