Yamaha F60 Won't Start - Just "Clicks"

[troycr_pnw]

Hey all,

First, thanks in advance for any and all input. I have twin '06 F60TLR's on a C-Dory. They have just over 300 hours and had their 300 hour service. I just purchased the boat 3 months ago and am having serious frustrations and now lack of trust in the outboards. For the first couple months things were perfect. Then a couple weeks ago the trim/tilt switch got corroded on the port engine and fried the relay, trim/tilt motor and battery. $1000 later...

Now, after having the work done I replaced the port battery and trickle charged the starboard. Hooked them up and fired up the starboard engine. It turned over instantly. Checked the voltage on the battery to make sure the alternator was working. It was. Turned it off and went to restart...click...click...click...coming not from starter or starter relay/solenoid.

Battery reads 12.60V and the terminals are clean. All fuses are good. The battery connection at the starter solenoid under the cowling reads 12.60V and does not change when the ignition is turned over. I'm assuming the starter is fried. Anything else to troubleshoot? Any reason why it would just stop after having zero issues or hesitation? With all the back to back issues on both engines my trust in them getting me home is waning...and they are just barely broken in.

Any input would be great.

Thank you in advance,

Troy

[rodbolt17]

I wont assume anything, I am trained to test the starter relay and starter solenoid though.

[troycr_pnw]

The plot thickens...

I pulled the starboard battery again. Rechecked every connection. Wire brushed them, bought new nuts. Scrubbed everything pristine. Check the connection at the starter as well. To eliminate any other connections, the engine is connected directly to the battery. Gave it a go, click...click...click.

I had my wife come down the driveway and put the voltmeter on the battery, 12.57V. Had her turn the key, 12.57V. No draw. Went over to the starter, 12.57V. Had her turn the key 12.57V. No draw. Held the electrodes and had her do it once more. Bam starts up and scares the crap out of me. I have her kill it within a second or two (no water hooked up). Turn the hose on and connect the muffs. Turn the key...click...click...click

Trim/tilt/gauges still all fire up.

With a weekend like this should be on the water!

Ideas?

[troycr_pnw]

Also, I have tried using jumper cables and a battery I know to be good to connect directly to the starter bypassing all connections and the boat's electrical system. Trim/Tilt/Gauges all fire up but just a click at the powerhead. I have even given the flywheel a pull to make sure it was not stuck.

[rodbolt17]

myself?
I would test the voltage drop on both battery cables, test the start relay and test the stater solenoid.
or you can chunk parts at it till its fixed.

[troycr_pnw]

myself?
I would test the voltage drop on both battery cables, test the start relay and test the stater solenoid.
or you can chunk parts at it till its fixed.

One nice thing about twins is you have test parts. I pulled the starter and put it on the port engine (that has been fine). It turned over. Reinstalled the original starters. Next pulled the start relay and put it on the port engine. It turned over. Reinstalled the original relays and the starboard a crank. It turned over. Put the muffs on and she fires up. Ran it for 5-10 min to charge the battery (getting 13.6V). Turned it off, crossed my fingers and turned the ignition again...

click...click...click

Can't get it start again.

Back to square one. All the connections looked good when I pulled and reinstalled the parts. I did not have time to test with the port parts on the starboard (problem) engine but will tomorrow. What seems like the more likely suspect, short in a connection somewhere else or could the relay or starter have a short causing the intermittent problem? Still getting 12.6V at the battery. It drops to 12.52V at the starter, relay and battery when the key is turned.

Thoughts?

[troycr_pnw]

Looks like it ended up being the relay. Relay and starter both read 12.6V but when the key was turned, the lead running from the relay to the starter read zero. Swapped the relay from the other engine and it fires up without hesitation. Repeated several times. Thanks!

[FabricGATOR]

Can you duplicate the problem on the good motor with the bad relay. That would be the test to confirm that it is in fact, the relay.

What if it is a poor connection at the relay and because you swapped them once and it worked, then swapped them back, you throw the part at it and everything appears to be fine. My luck has it that it will always fail when you least expect it and/or at the worst possible moment. Like when I'm fishing at the edge of the waterfall...

Reliable repairs are born within accurate and thorough troubleshooting.