4d61 will not crank

[dscott]

After 4 months in Savannah GA I am doing some prep work to go north again. When I went to start the engine it will not crank. The solenoid seems to click but that is it. I used to get a low buzz from the alarm and possibly fuel pump noise but now there is nothing. I see 12.7 volts on starter and secondary fuel pump. Is it possible a wire knocked loose? Not sure where to start.

Thanks,

[kerrye]

Can you turn the engine by hand? Have you tried jumping the terminals at the starter? Are your glow plugs energizing?

[Jay Knoll]

Check all your ground connections, I had this problem last summer, cleaned them up and the engine has started flawlessly ever since. Kerrye's points are good as well. The first trouble shooting steps aren't brain surgery -- trust me I"m no mechanic but assuring that all your electrical connections (battery as well) are clean and tight is the first step in the troubleshooting process. Good luck!

Jay

[coolchange]

Similar but my issue was "intermittent" ..did all the cleaning, tightening and etc. but the issue was only reduced..I think somewhere there is a corrosion issue inside a wire...but my "go to" solution was to wire a jumper from the solenoid to the helm...now when the key yields nothing I just use my jumper circuit..no need to open the engine compartment..works every time.

[DesertAlbin736]

Similar but my issue was "intermittent" ..did all the cleaning, tightening and etc. but the issue was only reduced..I think somewhere there is a corrosion issue inside a wire...but my "go to" solution was to wire a jumper from the solenoid to the helm...now when the key yields nothing I just use my jumper circuit..no need to open the engine compartment..works every time.

I had some similar intermittent issues with my Yanmar starter recently. Sometimes the starter would engage but the gear not completely retract, leaving the starter motor still spinning/energized but not engaged with the flywheel (evidenced by a strange whirring sound). The only way to make it turn off completely was to switch off the master battery switch. The start button wire from the panel to the solenoid is integral with the Yanmar wiring harness (circa 1986-90) & doesn't appear to be corroded. I pulled the starter, disassembled, cleaned, lubed, reassembled & bench tested & checked/tightened all wiring connections. Then it happened again when the engine was quite cold (50-60 deg F). Sometimes tapping the side of the starter with a crescent hammer would correct the problem, which leads me to believe it was an issue within the solenoid itself. Just recently purchased a new aftermarket starter (Yanmar OEM starters were made by Hitachi & there are now compatible Chinese clones on the market), since I'd rather not be stuck stranded somewhere out in the boonies with a failed starter. Even though the engine is only 24 HP there's no provision to hand crank it. Haven't had a chance yet to install it & try it out, but we'll see if it corrects the problem. If it's wiring then at least I'll have a spare starter on board & could abandon the old start button to solenoid wire in the harness & run a new one.

[coolchange]

get enough spares collected onboard...1: you could likely rebuild the entire boat 2: you might sink...and if you're like me you likely buy more spares cause you forgot how many you already had...vicious cycle!

[Jay Knoll]

Similar but my issue was "intermittent" ..did all the cleaning, tightening and etc. but the issue was only reduced..I think somewhere there is a corrosion issue inside a wire...but my "go to" solution was to wire a jumper from the solenoid to the helm...now when the key yields nothing I just use my jumper circuit..no need to open the engine compartment..works every time.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I did that awhile ago as well, but I still wanted the engine to start with the key. So amechanic suggested that we install a solenoid between the key and the starter which solved the intermittent starting problem. Later on the aforementioned bad ground occurred, and the engine wouldn't start under any circumstance until I fixed that problem.