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Thread: Engine clicking noise

  1. #21
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    I was going to go a little farther out or else I’m just cluttering up the ramp! And that’s just rude

  2. #22
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    but in all seriousness, everything I am reading says to test the yellow wire on the solenoid and it should hit above 12volts. Does that mean it should it be 12volts when turning the key over to "on", or do I need to get a reading while cranking it ?
    If I only need to get the reading while it is "on" , then I am assuming my solenoid is bad since I am getting next to nothing.

    Although, still odd that it will crank right up no issues.

  3. #23
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    Put a pull start on it, remove electric start. Problem solved/bypassed.

    Weight savings may even get you that extra 0.001 mph!
    Last edited by SouthernWake; 07-04-2020 at 10:43 AM.

  4. #24
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    All the solenoid is meant for is providing a means for the starter to engage the flywheel and completing the starter circuit. When the start switch is moved to crank the engine, the solenoid is energized with 12 volts and then lifts the starter pinion and provides power to the starter motor. With this being said, if you want to rule this problem out, crank the engine up and ensure no power is going to the solenoid after starting the engine and ensure the pinion is completely retracted and away from the flywheel. The big positive wire from the battery should always be hot and the smaller wire from the ignition switch is only hot when the key switch is in the starting position. When the engine is off make sure there is no excessive play in the pinion in which vibrations or bouncing would cause it to rise. I doubt this is your issue. I’ve been wrong before.
    Last edited by cam1195; 07-04-2020 at 12:36 PM.

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by cam1195 View Post
    All the solenoid is meant for is providing a means for the starter to engage the flywheel and completing the starter circuit. When the start switch is moved to crank the engine, the solenoid is energized with 12 volts and then lifts the starter pinion and provides power to the starter motor. With this being said, if you want to rule this problem out, crank the engine up and ensure no power is going to the solenoid after starting the engine and ensure the pinion is completely retracted and away from the flywheel. The big positive wire from the battery should always be hot and the smaller wire from the ignition switch is only hot when the key switch is in the starting position. When the engine is off make sure there is no excessive play in the pinion in which vibrations or bouncing would cause it to rise. I doubt this is your issue. I’ve been wrong before.

    Just cranked the motor; grounded black and put red on both of the two small wires off the solenoid. I was getting consistent .4-.8 readings. So it is getting power.

    Does that mean the solenoid is bad or is there something else I need to check to figure out why the power is going to it ?

  6. #26
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    I dont think it is your starter if your having no start up issues, but if you want to test your starter i would pull it out and bench test it with a battery, jumper cables, the starter, and alligator clips. Run negative jumper cable from negative terminal of the battery to where you bolt it on(acts as your ground) then positive jumper cable goes from positive terminal on the battery to the hot post on the starter. Then attach an alligator clip to the hot post and every time you touch the solenoid with the other end of the alligator clip it should engage the pinion and starter motor(plenty of videos on youtube showing how its done.) If it does starter motor is doing its job.

  7. #27
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    From what I can gather through this thread, your solenoid is working. It's just possible that it is getting energized when it's not supposed to, when you are going fast and hitting chop. You need to look at the small wire going to it from the start switch. Somewhere along its way, it is probably getting energized. The most obvious and likely place is inside the start switch itself.

    If I were you, I would put the boat in the water, start it up and disconnect the solenoid control wire from the switch. That is the wire that is supposed to get power only when the switch is in the crank position. Take it for a vigorous ride and see if it does the clicking thing. If not, your switch is the problem. If it still acts up, disconnect the other end of that wire at the solenoid and take it for another rough ride. If it now stops clicking, there is some spot along the path that is getting power into the wire and it needs to be found and fixed.

    If it still keeps acting up, I'd suspect the solenoid itself. Something inside is somehow energizing the solenoid coil and making the bedix jump out.

    Without the engine running, can you pull the starter pinion up with your fingers to make it mesh with the flywheel?

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by duckz View Post
    Just cranked the motor; grounded black and put red on both of the two small wires off the solenoid. I was getting consistent .4-.8 readings. So it is getting power.

    Does that mean the solenoid is bad or is there something else I need to check to figure out why the power is going to it ?
    .4-.8 volts is minimal (possibly a real zero in your multimeter) and shouldn’t cause the solenoid to engage. It should need close to 12 volts to function. As a side note, depending on your meter, when you are using a multimeter and it is set to “auto detect” .4-.8 is usually millivolts. The multimeter will usually read the voltage in volts when it detects a real voltage and detects millivolts when it is looking for voltage but doesn’t find any (layman’s terms).

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Palmetto Bug View Post
    From what I can gather through this thread, your solenoid is working. It's just possible that it is getting energized when it's not supposed to, when you are going fast and hitting chop. You need to look at the small wire going to it from the start switch. Somewhere along its way, it is probably getting energized. The most obvious and likely place is inside the start switch itself.

    If I were you, I would put the boat in the water, start it up and disconnect the solenoid control wire from the switch. That is the wire that is supposed to get power only when the switch is in the crank position. Take it for a vigorous ride and see if it does the clicking thing. If not, your switch is the problem. If it still acts up, disconnect the other end of that wire at the solenoid and take it for another rough ride. If it now stops clicking, there is some spot along the path that is getting power into the wire and it needs to be found and fixed.

    If it still keeps acting up, I'd suspect the solenoid itself. Something inside is somehow energizing the solenoid coil and making the bedix jump out.

    Without the engine running, can you pull the starter pinion up with your fingers to make it mesh with the flywheel?

    This is what I would do. IMO (for what it’s worth) by disconnecting the small wire on the solenoid and even for giggles, the hot starter wire if the problem persists, you can completely rule out any stray currents or a bad solenoid, respectively.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Palmetto Bug View Post
    From what I can gather through this thread, your solenoid is working. It's just possible that it is getting energized when it's not supposed to, when you are going fast and hitting chop. You need to look at the small wire going to it from the start switch. Somewhere along its way, it is probably getting energized. The most obvious and likely place is inside the start switch itself.

    If I were you, I would put the boat in the water, start it up and disconnect the solenoid control wire from the switch. That is the wire that is supposed to get power only when the switch is in the crank position. Take it for a vigorous ride and see if it does the clicking thing. If not, your switch is the problem. If it still acts up, disconnect the other end of that wire at the solenoid and take it for another rough ride. If it now stops clicking, there is some spot along the path that is getting power into the wire and it needs to be found and fixed.

    If it still keeps acting up, I'd suspect the solenoid itself. Something inside is somehow energizing the solenoid coil and making the bedix jump out.

    Without the engine running, can you pull the starter pinion up with your fingers to make it mesh with the flywheel?

    I actually just called the marina to see if they had a solenoid and they guy told me to do the almost exact thing. Even when the motor is hooked up to muffs, it still does it. He had told me to start the engine, then disconnect the starter wire harness that connects to the engine. Then rev it up and if it is still engaging, the key start is the issue.

    And to answer your question on the starter pinion, yes I can move it up with the engine off.

  11. #31
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    Would disconnecting the entire harness accomplish the same thing as disconnecting the control wire ? Or should I try both routes ?

  12. #32
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    The wires going to the starter *solenoid* are the only ones that will affect it. I would not mess with any wires other than the ones discussed. You have one issue. You don’t want two.
    Last edited by cam1195; 07-06-2020 at 02:25 PM.

  13. #33
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    Ill pull her out tomorrow and see what I can find. thanks for all the help, seriously

  14. #34
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    Ok I went to work on the issue yesterday to find that the nut on the yellow wire if the solenoid has corrosion, the post was corroded to the nut and the connector. So long story, I bought a new solenoid.

    Once installed I tested and the same thing happened. So the solenoid is not the issue. I tried starting the engine and removing the yellow wire after starting. Same issue. I removed both yellow and purple. Same issue. I even connected everything back up, disconnected the key start wire harness after starting. Same issue.

    I mean come on. This is getting old now. What’s next to look for / try ?

  15. #35
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    Don’t leave me hanging guys!

  16. #36
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    New starter?

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