Does your ground wire get super hot?

[wildman326]

Does it? Mine does . . . and that doesn't seem good.

 

[WaveDemon]

mine doesn't.

sounds like you need a new wire.

 

[njfl]

It's a sign that there is a lot of resistance caused by corrosion or some form of poor connection. It won't be uniformly hot along the entire cable. It will likely be hottest at one of the ends. That is where your bad connection is.

 

[DR3]

mine doesn't.

sounds like you need a new wire.

yours isnt even connected:buttkick:

 

[WaveDemon]

yours isnt even connected:buttkick:

true. stupid salt water. :irked:

 

[vitaly]

It's a sign that there is a lot of resistance caused by corrosion or some form of poor connection. It won't be uniformly hot along the entire cable. It will likely be hottest at one of the ends. That is where your bad connection is.

What Joe said.
Replace the wire, go big gauge.

 

[wildman326]

I had guessed it was resistence . . . guess I need a new wire. Will that cause the starter to work less well? I mean I used to be able to turn the motor over for ever before I got total loss, now I get like a minute and it wants to quit. btw i'm running 190 comp

 

[vitaly]

I had guessed it was resistence . . . guess I need a new wire. Will that cause the starter to work less well? I mean I used to be able to turn the motor over for ever before I got total loss, now I get like a minute and it wants to quit. btw i'm running 190 comp

Yes, yes and yes.
Never mind compression.

 

[keefer]

Get one with good tinned soldered ends. Copper or crimped ends will not last long and will allow water to wick up the cable and set up corrosion, especially in salt. JSS makes good replacements or you can make your own that will last if you use marine quality terminals.

 

[wildman326]

Is it better to run a ground to the starter or just to the cases in the shortest possible distance?

 

[keefer]

It is better to get it as close to the starter as possible, but you can attach it somewhere else if you have to. Go to any good marine store and buy some 6 gauge wire and tinned ends. Get a propane torch and some electrical solder and go to it. You can use some heat shrink to dress up the ends if you want too. Better yet just call John at Jet Ski Solutions and he will send you a rock solid better than stock unit. www.jetskisolutions.com/

 

[Kaveman]

Don't forget to check your battery voltage. A fully charged lead/acid battery is about 12.6 vdc, a gel battery about 13 vdc. Also if you have access to an inductive ammeter, do an amp draw test while cranking. You could have a bad starter. Watch the meter, it should be kinda high when you first hit the button possibly 100-200 amps, then as the motor gets to spinning the draw should drop significantly to under 50 amps.

To check the cable perform a resistance test from one end of the wire to the other. To perform this or any other resistance test disconnect it at both end. Resistance should be less than 1 ohm.