Electrical Problem - No power to ignition

[marcus05isu]

Hello All,

I am currently desperate for some technical advice about our boat’s electrical system. I put the boat away for winter last fall, and it was working perfectly. We have never had any problems with it in the past……….. I now have no power to the ignition system……. Anything help would be greatly appreciated.

I went to start it in the water last week, and there was no power to the ignition switch. I have since checked the following:

Ignition switch: no power to any terminal

Ignition switch fuse along side it on the dash panel: no power to it.

No power to either purple wire on the kill switch tether

No power to the transmission neutral switch….I also connected these two wires together on the transmission cover, while I tried other things, with no results

All fuses in the back of the engine are hot, except for the one listed as “ignition” and one listed as “EFI 3”. The rest of the instrument gages, connected with a heavy-gage red wire, with black tracer are also hot. As noted, the fuse in the back of the engine labeled Ignition is dead on both sides of the connecting terminal.

Regarding the 4 red buttons “Fuel Pump”, “40”, “50”, “120”, the 120, will push a short distance and fuel pump button pushes with a smooth and normal function. The 40 and 50 will not move. The 50, and 120 have power to both sides of the terminals on the back side. The 40 has power to only one side, and as noted, I cannot push to reset…..I did try to short across the back of this one with no change in power to the ignition switch.

I have replaced the 20 amp fuse next to the battery on/off switch on the side of the engine. It was bad originally, but due to corrosion. I used the spare next to it for now.  Still no power to ignition...

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Sammamish Skier]

Do you get any voltage on the purple wire at the ignition switch when you switch it to the start position? From memory the power to that circuit comes from the ignition switch and goes through the kill switch and transmission neutral switch.

[Sammamish Skier]

You might also take a look at the engine shop manual. There is a fuse in the ignition circuit from the looks of it, The starting circuit debug info starts on page 160

http://www.epicmarine.com/docs/M1UZrm.pdf

[breakawaydaze]

Double check kill switch.  After sitting all winter it may not be making contact.  It may (hopefully) just need to be pulled out and pushed back in several times to get it to make contact.  On an Epic, always start with easiest 1st!

[marcus05isu]

All,

Many thanks for the reply and tips.  Still no luck after trying all of these.  There is no power at the ignition safety switch and the throttle position switch.  I also checked the ignition fuse at the back by the engine - the fuse is good, but there is no power to either of the terminals for the fuse.  The problem appears to be between the battery switch and the ignition fuse.  I checked the inline fuses on the red wire near the battery switch and they are good. 

Any other thoughts? 

Thanks.

[cdlollar]

If you have a perko switch check to make sure you have power on the engine side after the switch, check and make sure the large positive wire is hot going to the starter.

Check this first with your negative meter lead direct on the battery terminal, if no power then you likely have a bad perko.

If good then check again with negative lead on another grounding point, like a bracket on the engine, just make sure your on unpainted metal..

If no power then you need to check the negative/ground wire that goes from battery to the rear of the motor and make sure connections are clean, you can also check this via a continuity check between the battery terminal post and another ground point in the boat...should get a closed circuit.

Good luck!

[marcus05isu]

Thanks for the reply.  I will give this a try tonight.  Could I have a bad Perko switch but still have power to the accessories?  The blower and lights are all woking fine. 

Also, any idea what the 4 red reset buttons are on the panel next to the engine?  Only one of them is labeled Fuel Pump.

Thanks again.

[Sammamish Skier]

The buttons on the engine are the engine level breakers for fuel pump starter...etc. The fuel pump one is a button used to prime the fuel system after a fuel filter change.

There are also fuses on sides of that panel that might be worth checking if you are in a no start condition. If the ECM isn't getting power the engine won't start as that is all controlled by the ECM. The shop manual is a great reference for debugging. The section I sent contains the wiring diagrams and the ECM pins that are used for starting.

[marcus05isu]

All,

Another long evening of troubleshooting with no luck.  I confirmed the Perko switch is good and checked the grounds at the rear of the engine.

It seems there are two hot wires coming off the Perko.  The main wire with the inline fuse appears to go forward to the bow and under the dash.  However, this does not connect to the ignition.  The other loom off the Perko goes to the rear.  I did notice that the 40amp ignition breaker at the rear was open, and was hoping this would solve the issue.  After shorting this breaker it did not make a difference.  There is still no power to either leg of the ignition fuse.

Please let me know if you have any other thoughts or suggestions.   

[Sammamish Skier]

Does your boat have the breakers on the dash. I have seen them fail and not trip. I'd trace the red wire to the ignition back to the bus bar under the dash if your boat has one. Otherwise it's all jumpers from one breaker to another

[Supraman]

There is an inline fuse coming off the positive battery terminal, off the top of my head i believe it's a 20A... If this fuse is faulty or corroded, I believe the boat will exhibit the same symptoms as your experiencing. Even if it looks ok, take a small wire brush and clean up the contacts.

[breakawaydaze]

Anu updates on this electrical problem?/