Second Opinions

[timeman]

Just back from 3 days of boating at Lake Havasu (AZ/CA) an absolute great place to be if your in to boats. Drove to a favorite party spot, Copper Canyon dropped the hook and watched people sucking from beer bongs, doing flips off 40+' dive cliffs, and in general, as Prince was suggested..."party like it's 19-99"
Good stuff, but here's the glitch....when I went to up anchor and leave, my 06 challenger wouldn't start. My battery was fine, blower and all accessories worked, lanyard gave me the two beeps needed, but absolutely NO RESPONSE from the starter...
I moved the shifter and throttle around, thinking the boat wasn't quite in the neutral gate, got the beeps, but still, no starter sound. Eventually after maybe 30 tries, it did start, later that evening, went out for a night cruise beneath the London Bridge, and she started on the first try... next morning I pulled battery and had it checked out, it was fine, put it back, checked all my fuses, and again two beeps and NOTHING from my starter... it took about 30 tries before the starter engaged.when the starter did engage, it sounded fine, no grind nor slow drag..

I am thinking this must be the starter solenoid, any opinions? Is a solenoid difficult to replace...?

Thanks in advance for your opinions or advise...

 

[RFoster130]

Sounds like a solenoid to me too. Can you try jumping across the posts in it to see if it engages, like you can on a car?

 

[timeman]

Thanks for the reply rfoster.
I tried jumping the terminals, it sparked but didn't engage the starter, went back to simply placing the lanyard off and on and hitting the start button, and about 15 tries later she started right up.
The fact that it does start occasionally seems to indicate that the neutral and start/stop switches haven't lost their connections.
Today I went to Seadoo Wharehouse parts supplier (ad was right here on the forum) and ordered a new starter relay, I can install that easily, if that isn't the problem I will need to take it to the dealer for diagnostic checks on the electronics. I am not sure I trust my local dealer, so I am trying to do as much as I possibly can myself...

Happy boating, John

 

[RFoster130]

If it doesnt do anything when you jump the solenoid, then it sounds more like a starter issue.

 

[Dr Honda]

If it doesnt do anything when you jump the solenoid, then it sounds more like a starter issue.

:agree:

what he said.


But... before replacing it... just check that the cables are clean, and tight.

 

[timeman]

Guys, thanks for the advice...turns out the problem was a faulty neutral switch! John :cheers: