Start Relay issues

[DCRocks]

I seem to be frying my starter relay, repeatedly.

I have replaced it three times now.

The ski runs great, park it, flush it, and then the next weekend, when I try to start it, I just get the click of the relay.

I have made sure the battery is fully charged, and used a tester to make sure it was up to specs power wise.

The ski will run for several weekends, then after sitting for a week or so, wont start. Just a click from the relay.

I swap it out, and everything is great. Runs for a month or so, I take a break for a week or two, and blam, starter relay just clicks again.

Could a faulty CDI do this? Is there something else to check?

When I take out the relay, it tests fine, when I try the tests listed in the book.

 

[701superjet]

yep same thing that is happening to me right now i just replaced mine too it still clicks somtimes

 

[Crab]

Look at the wires closely, you may have corroded wire at the ends under the crimps.

 

[Frosty]

Look at the wires closely, you may have corroded wire at the ends under the crimps.

on that note, you will want to trace all your wires down and check for corrosion or an exposed wire somewhere. Salt water will find any little opening and cause you problems.

 

[MADMAT]

Could be your replacing the wrong part.

Clicking for me has usually been the starter bendix and once the actual starter.

I have never had to replace anything inside my box except 1 or 2 MSD enhancers.

 

[njfl]

yep same thing that is happening to me right now i just replaced mine too it still clicks somtimes

If you replaced the relay and it is still happening, then your problem is likely not your solenoid. Check all of your cables and (especially) grounds for corrosion. Look closely as the corrosion may back up into the sheathing and inch or two.

 

[keefer]

Definitely check the hot & ground wires for corrosion first. The second suspect would be the starter. If you have worn out or stuck brushes in the starter then it can cause you to just hear the click and the starter will not spin. Try tapping on the starter and see if it will spin over the next time this happens. Water intrusion in to the starter can cause rust around the brush holders which will make them stick.

 

[DCRocks]

When the relay is replaced, everything works fine each time. I used two band new relays.

I have pretty much ruled out a mechanical failure anywhere but the relay, though not electrical faults, as I can hear it go click when I have the ebox apart and I hit the start switch, and jumping the relay will start the engine each time without fail.

As far as I can tell, the ground is good for the relay in the ebox, as I cleaned it real well before connecting, and the EBOX has been completely dry each time I opened it. I also checked the wires from the CDI, and the wire connection seems good. I installed a new ground wire, as well as two new red wires for the battery connections, though it is possible the ground wire has suffered corrosion at the connecting point since it was installed a few months ago.

I was thinking perhaps the ground or the hot wires were corroded somewhere, and that was causing a drain/short that would cause the relay to fail due to lack of power, or something in the CDI was causing the relay to fail.

 

[701superjet]

ever figure out what the problem was?

 

[DCRocks]

Nope. Tore down the whole ski, all the wires looked good, and after I reconnected everything, it fired right up.

As I am building a 61x/64x engine, I am just going to replace all the elctronics with new as I put it back together, and hope the problem goes with the old electronics.

 

[njfl]

Nope. Tore down the whole ski, all the wires looked good, and after I reconnected everything, it fired right up.

As I am building a 61x/64x engine, I am just going to replace all the elctronics with new as I put it back together, and hope the problem goes with the old electronics.

If you know that your starter and bendix are a few years old and/or have been in a saltwater environment, I'd highly recommend making the inverstment in a brand new starter and bendix. Otherwise, those variables will follow you.

On the bendix, splurge for OEM Yamaha (it is a pain to replace that in the boat down the road as you have to pull off the flywheel). With the starter, I have had good luck with the aftermarket ones on eBay. Honestly, they have the same stainless hardware and cases as OEM. I wouldn't be surprised if they were made on the same Mitsubishi lines as OEM.

Good luck.