Newbie here- 2012 sx190 intermittent starting issue

[Ph2426]

Hi all.
I have owned a 2012 sx190 for about a year and it has been very good and reliable. I used it on Sunday and I had a problem starting it. If I go to turn the key the accessories come on but every now and again it won’t crank. Almost as if it senses it’s not in neutral. I played with it in the garage today and when I turn the key I can hear a small click coming from the rear of the boat but it takes five or six turns of the key before any crank happens. I was going to call a mechanic to have them look at it but I thought I should post here first.
If I go from neutral to forward to back and back to neutral it doesn’t seem to make a difference. If I remove the lanyard and put it back it doesn’t make a difference. Sometimes I just hear a small click when I turn the key and other times it starts right up. The battery has charge and when it does crank it’s like normal.
it happened this weekend when in the water after being anchored and i don’t want to get stuck if it won’t start again. Any ideas? Thank you in advance

 

[biglar155]

Winging it a bit here as I've never seen a 190 up close and personal (mostly just bumping your post) but I'm assuming you've got a hatch you open in the swim platform to access the clean-out port? There's a safety switch or switches that won't allow you to crank if the switches aren't "making" properly. You may need to adjust them so they get pressed down further when the hatch is closed.

 

[biglar155]

(And By the way: Welcome! )

 

[swatski]

Welcome, and what @biglar has said - check the cleanout hatch switch!

--

 

[FLBulldogger]

I would also check the battery for voltage and ensure all the wiring is clean and secure, we had a '13 that had the same issue. I checked the battery and sure enough and the wiring was indeed loose. Tightened them down and voila. In my research here I have learned that these boats are pretty particular with the battery voltages and that the battery can appear to be fine but really can be the issue.

 

[gwrace1]

A clicking sound usually indicates a low battery. But as others have said check lanyard switch, rear compartment hatch switch and battery cables.

 

[marcham]

Can you identify which relay is clicking when it doesn't start?

 

[Ph2426]

Hi all. Thank you so much for all your advice and help. I went to the garage this morning and had my wife hold down the hatch switch and push it in and out and it made no difference. What I did notice though was the BATT VOLTAGE alarm was on after and it was showing 12.2 volts. The battery had been drained a few times by my kids playing on there and I have charged it up a few times. Would the battery cause this issue?

Marcham, I will try to decipher which relay is clicking later. It is a single click not like on a car when it clicks over and over from a dead battery.

 

[Ph2426]

Ok. Just went back on the boat and this time it started on almost every crank so I couldn't hear which relay clicks. The battery alarm came on again though, a loud single long beep and it showed 12.4 volts. The battery is from January of 2019.

 

[anmut]

On a Mercruiser the a single clicking sound will be the starter relay. With the relay you'll also have issues on the first crank but then none later. Not sure about the Yamaha engine relays, but again on a Mercruiser, you can jump the relay by shorting two points on the relay as a bypass to see if it's that piece that's not working. My old boat, when it had this issue, would take a 10sec or so of holding the key to start, hearing the click, then finally it would engage the starter. Once I swapped out the relay (then the starter later) I didn't have any issues.

 

[swatski]

Sounds like it may be the battery! The “normal” voltage could be just surface charge. The lanyard malfunction would kill the spark but the engine would still crank.

 

[FLBulldogger]

Ok. Just went back on the boat and this time it started on almost every crank so I couldn't hear which relay clicks. The battery alarm came on again though, a loud single long beep and it showed 12.4 volts. The battery is from January of 2019.

Sounds like the battery is the culprit...I would go out buy a new one and see if the problem persists, you don't want to be out and the boat not start!
The $ are worth the piece of mind IMHO.

 

[gwrace1]

You should have 13+ volts on a good 12 volt battery. If it has been completely drained several times that can damage the plates so that they may not hold a full charge. Starting batteries have different characteristics than deep cycle trolling batteries. FLBulldogger is spot on.

 

[njmr2fan]

I had to get a new safety lanyard for our 190. The tolerance was so low that the worn plastic "key" wasn't pulling the plunger high enough.

 

[I_squared_r]

First check the simple things like others had recommended. Good charge on the battery, cables are tight, hatch switch is down etc.

Autozone can test your battery by doing a load test on it. This is just a stack of metal plates that "short" the battery and see how many volts/amps it can produce. This is likely to be your problem.

Also inspect your ignition switch. Is the rubber boot still on it? You can disconnect it and test the continuity with a multimeter. There shouldn't be high resistance on the wires that send 12v signal to the ECM when you turn the key to START. Sometimes ignition switches can get corroded inside because of salt water environments.

It's unlikely that it's the switch, but it's good practice to start there. The thing is, you can hear the starter solenoid engaging and that indicates that the ECM is receiving/sending a good signal. Since the starter solenoid is engaging and the battery is good, next is to check the resistance between battery/starter solenoid cable and starter solenoid/starter cable. It should be low resistance which indicates there isn't a corroded cable. Check that these cables are clean and tight. Also check the ground wires the same way.

If they're all good, then you need to check the starter. You would have to find the service manual to find the specifications of resistance at the starter.

 

[Tim Riley]

Just curious what you found out. These threads help all of us but it's like reading a mystery novel and not having the ending. My money is on the relay or the battery wire connection to it. I had a problem related to this and found out that the threaded hole where my large starter wire connect to the relay was 1/4 eaten away. I can still screw the screw in but I do it gently. And yes I had water in there. See the blue. That is from water, loose connection, and electrical arcing. Don't know why it's blue. Let us know what solved your problem. Thanks Tim