Starter still turning over engine after ignition is switched off 2010 212x

[jetboater4life]

I was able to get the ecu box out and the new starter solenoid wired in. I will finish the reinstall tonight and test it out. The box was dry and everything looked normal. The new solenoid is on the left. It fit perfectly in place of the old one.

 

[buckbuck]

You could apply 12vdc to the old one and see if the relay closes and then remove the 12vdc and see if it remains closed.

 

[buckbuck]

What is the blue substance on the old relay? Almost looks like silicone caulk oozing out. Did you buy this boat new?

 

[jetboater4life]

You could apply 12vdc to the old one and see if the relay closes and then remove the 12vdc and see if it remains closed.

I had a few friends/neighbors helping me last night and one of them took the old relay and tested it and said it was working fine but he didn't have a load on the high current terminals which may cause it to stick closed.

What is the blue substance on the old relay? Almost looks like silicone caulk oozing out.

I am not sure and didn't notice it until you mentioned it. I can inspect it more tonight.

Did you buy this boat new?

I am the second owner and bought the boat in 2012 from Family Power sports in Lubbuck, TX. I put it up for bid on uship.com and had it flatbedded to my house in MN without anything more than the dealer's word that it was in good running condition. The dealer sold it new to it's first owner and sent me all the maintenance records. Everything worked out as it's been a great boat for the last 12 years.

 

[jetboater4life]

I put it back together except for the cleanout hatch. Had my daughter hold down the starboard kill switch. Starboard fired up and then when I turned off the ignition switch the motor shut down fine. Now the moment of truth, I had her hold down the port kill switch , I turned on the switch and the engine fired right up. I turned off the key and the engine turned off, and DID NOT continue to turnover!!!! Yea...................now the bad news..... I decided to try it again before I put the cleanout hatch back on. Same procedure, I turn the key off and once again the starter is cranking the engine over and I have to use the battery switch to stop it. W...............T................F!!!! I know it's not the switch as I swapped them and no change in port engine behavior. My next thought is that there is some sort of temporary short on the wire that is energizing the solenoid but somehow it goes away when the battery is off and then on??? That doesn't make any sense. The starter positive connection is really loose. My new starter arrived today (a day early) so I think I'm going to pull the starter and replace it and make sure that connection is super tight.

 

[buckbuck]

I wish I was close by. I love trouble shooting electrical. While the loose cable may be playing into this my gut is saying chase the circuit that initiates the starting process. But I am just a armchair quarterback. I hope you find a definative cause for this issue.

 

[jetboater4life]

Yes, that has got to be where the issue is. My Buick lesabres alternator went out this weekend so I replaced that on Saturday. I did some more debug on Sunday and after checking battery voltages, 12.8 and 12.76, I tried starting the engine again. This time it shut down properly. I tried again and it worked again. Tried one more time and then it started turning over with the key off. I wiggled the wires running over the top of the batteries where I had just been probing for voltage, then tried again and it shut down correctly, tried again and it worked fine again. It was now dark with the dreaded mosquitos out so I buttoned it up. I have the wiring diagram and will do some detailed tracing when I can next work on it. I didn't have a helper so I rigged this up for the clean out hatch switches.

 

[David Martin]

New Starter should solve the issue........sounds like corrosion in the starter is not allowing the starter shaft/gear to pull off the ring gear of the flywheel. The spring inside the starter is what pulls the shaft back even a bad bearing....... allows the shaft to miss aligned and not retrack as it should.

Just a thought

 

[jetboater4life]

New Starter should solve the issue........sounds like corrosion in the starter is not allowing the starter shaft/gear to pull off the ring gear of the flywheel. The spring inside the starter is what pulls the shaft back even a bad bearing....... allows the shaft to miss aligned and not retrack as it should.

Just a thought

The starter shouldn't be cranking the engine at all because power to it should be killed when the switch is turned off. I replaced the starter solenoid and now it is intermittently working. I'm convinced I have some sort of wiring issue from the switch to the starter solenoid. Some how that wire is staying powered when then switch turns off. It's not the switch because I have swapped starboard and port switches and problem stays with the port engine.

 

[David Martin]

Ya you are right I was not thinking........DID you ever swap the ignition key switches to see if it follows the key?

 

[jetboater4life]

Ya you are right I was not thinking........DID you ever swap the ignition key switches to see if it follows the key?

Yes and it does not follow the ignition key switch. It stays with the port engine. So I've ruled out the ignition switches.

 

[buckbuck]

I suggest you disconnect the line from the solenoid to the starter and measure voltage from that terminal to ground. Then try starting multiple times to see if it ever stays stuck in closed position, sending the 12vdc. Am I correct in thinking that solenoid is a solid state switch? They are historically more difficult to trouble shoot. Any transient voltage going to them may trigger the gate.

 

[jetboater4life]

I suggest you disconnect the line from the solenoid to the starter and measure voltage from that terminal to ground. Then try starting multiple times to see if it ever stays stuck in closed position, sending the 12vdc. Am I correct in thinking that solenoid is a solid state switch? They are historically more difficult to trouble shoot. Any transient voltage going to them may trigger the gate.

I believe the solenoid is of a mechanical design where the magnetic field from an electric current causes a magnet to close the contacts and allow the large current to pass from the battery to the starter. You are right about the approach. Disconnecting the line from the solenoid to the starter is important. It will allow me to do the tests as you suggest above. I had planned on doing it so that I didn't burn out the starter while looking to see where the switch circuit was getting it's voltage from. This assumes the solenoid isn't sticking closed and I don't think it is since it's brand new and the solenoid I pulled out seemed to work just fine, however I was only testing for continuity across the contacts when energizing the solenoid.

 

[buckbuck]

Hurry and look at things. The mosquitos will pounce on you in about an hour and you will be a pint low.

 

[jetboater4life]

I'd say maybe a quart low. We have had a record amount of rain in SE MN this year already and seem to be adding an inch a week. The mosquitos have never been worse. Normally it's not an issue, but unless I want to coat my self in 100% deet right before I go to bed, it's better to get inside around 9pm. I'm on a trip for the next week so the case of the mysterious engine cranking will have to wait.

 

[jetboater4life]

The weather in August and September this year in MN was perfect for boating. After inspecting and securing some of my wiring with zip ties and not being able to reproduce the problem, I decided to drop it in the water again. Probably put on about 30 hrs in those two months and not one incident with the motor cranking over after the ignition was turned off. I believe the problem was related to a wiring issue. If it returns I will need to get out my tester and starting looking for a voltage short.