These are available from most marine chandlers, automotive stores and even the bigchain hardware stores. With any luck you’ve had the foresight to purchase a jump-start pack, also known as a power bank. On a single-battery boat this isn’t an option… On a dual-battery boat, turning the battery switch to parallel mode should get enough juice from the house battery to turn over the engine. Final confirmation occurs when you turn the key – a dead battery sees the voltage drop dramatically to almost zero.ĭepending on how well prepared you are, this is where things get interesting. Or, keep a separate multimeter in your boat’s toolbox.Īt rest the battery should show around 13-volts (a lead-acid battery has a residual voltage of 13.2-volts) and if it’s showing less than 12-volts you have a partially flat battery. A volt meter is the easiest way to confirm this, and if you don’t have a separate volt meter on your dashboard, the engine instruments may include one. Still no joy? You may have a dead or dying battery.
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If not, it may still be worth loosening and removing them, cleaning the battery posts and the insides of the terminals, and re-fitting them. Find the start battery and try to wiggle the terminals. The cause might be a poor connection – and note this can occur at any time, even if the engine’s been running earlier in the day.ĭiagnosis is easy. If the engine turns over, but very sluggishly, the problem’s almost certainly related to battery power or getting that power to the starter motor.
![mercury motor wont start mercury motor wont start](https://images.boats.com/resize/wp/2/files/2018/05/Grady-456.jpg)
For safety reasons most engines won’t start if they’re in gear. While checking if this is the problem, move the gear lever back and forth and make sure it’s in neutral. On some brands this results in the engine turning over but not starting, while on others it won’t even turn over. With outboards, the number-one cause of a no-start is a dislodged kill switch. Once you’ve exhausted the swearing, it’s time to clear the head and think logically.