One for battery experts from a battery novice

Most likely you have damp ignition and/or a weak battery. A small solar panel left on all the time works wonders - 12" x 6" will keep a big battery fresh as a daisy if nothing is left on. Don't use chemical start. They should never be needed and people complain of problems after continued use.
 
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Hi beware of any easy start solutions? spraying into the air intake too often as the engines start getting a liking for it and like any bad habit it is hard to wean them off,far better to get someone who knows about engines to have a look and sort out any problems that may be starting to show,cheaper in the long run to.
chris.

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I agree that its worth the ffort to find out why the engine wont start ....

But it is an old Wives Tale about Easy Start and engines depending on it ... I have had 2 engines that have had years of ES sprayed at 'em and they will still start on Manufacturers Cold Start mechanisms if cold or without any additions when warm. My engines are not the only ones I know as well that will ... I can remember when we used to start the tractors with it ... but only needed on real cold days when they had been standing outside ... but loads of ES was used on those ... never caused them to rely on it.

The real danger with Ether based Easy Start is the serious "Bang" that occurs when it ignites ... basically because people give "a good shot of it" thinking it needs a lot. In fact a tiny amount is enough ... When I use it - I spray so that only a mist is sucked in .. not a full liquid gob full.
 
I thought we were talking about marine engines, i cant talk about tractors because i`v never worked on a farm only on ships engines and like i say once you start with the easy start the engine is on its way to be well and trully f....., any way i thought we were on about batteries, chris.
 
I have an 18 watt solar panel in parallel with two 85 amph. Each battery is fused next to the battery and each has a diode. The batteries are always kept fully charged throughout the winter.
 
I have often pondered that question, how does it know it likes the high octane spray, (we used to call it the 'gypsys breath') but the odd thing is, from years of running lots of lorries, that somehow they the engines we used it on did, I know, become addicted to it.
Any old diesel fitter will confirm.
 
One theory I have heard is that high octane spray knocks the carbon off the rings, bore and piston, so reducing the compression at cold start, but that doesnt really explain why an 'addicted' engine will not start at all.

I had a BMC 1.5 which was addicted: it would take 4 - 5 minutes cold cranking to get it to fire without. I installed extra batteries, and persevered with trying to wean it off. It took something like six months regular use before it would start as well as the 1.8 in my Van.

But I agree its an engine killer, bearings, rings, even bent conrods. I do however very occasionally use it to kick an engine which has stood for extended periods and doesnt want to fire, but never more than once.
 
Phil , While you are comtemplating reasons for non starting I recommend you get that battery charged up in situ or get it out and get it fully charged up with a good quality charger. Whatever you do dont leave the battery in its current state of discharge for weeks on end .. it will start to sulphate and you will just end up needing another new battery.
 
Lots of scary advice been given here, don't let the scaremongers worry you. I guess you have a Mercruiser V8 5.0L it won't have a sea cock and the water comes in through the leg as others have said. There is no danger of flooding the engine with seawater by cranking too much, the design of the exhaust and manifold ensures the water falls down the exhaust pipe and back into the sea.
If it hasn't been started for some time it could be that the petrol in the carb has all evaporated so initially you have to crank the motor to get the float bowl filled again, I fitted a priming bulb to my V8 to save wear on the starter and draining the batteries., it worked a treat.
The way to start a Merc V8 is to give the throttle 3-4 pumps to wide open with the gear in free, ( either push the buttton in the center of the spindle on the throttle or pull the throttle lever out depending on which make it is) then with the throttle about 1/3 open crank it and it should go, be ready to give it some gas if it stumbles. If you are unlucky enough to flood it ( strong smell of gas and no life from the engine) the place the throttle at wide open, leave it a few moments to let the fumes be evacuated ( you are using the blower!) then crank it and be ready to pull the throttle back to idle when it catches.
It could be one other thing, is the automatic choke working, if you remove the flame arrestor and look at the top of the carb, once you pump the throttle one time when stone cold the choke flap should close off the venturi on the carb, if not it needs investigating.
When did it last have a service and tune up, ie check plugs, distributor cap and rotor, and tune carb.
Just a last thought is the gear shift stiff, has it given any problems with stalling when shifting gears, if so the micro switch on the gear shift could be faulty and this will stop it starting as it kills the ignition momentarily while you shift out of gear back to neutral, mine was duff when I first bought my boat with a V8 and gave starting problems.
Let me know if you need any more info on checking it.
 
Hi, i just started an gardner 4lw which had been standing for at least 13 years in the back of a workshop,the engine is circa 1953,we put clean oil and fuel, bled the injectors,and started her by hand,,she fired up almost at once and when she reaced her running speed ran sweetly for the next hour, she is coupled to a genny which also worked giving us 5.5kw i think, so it must be these new fangled diesels that give all the headaches and head scratching.

chris.
 
I did not start the Easy Start bit ...

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I thought we were talking about marine engines, i cant talk about tractors because i`v never worked on a farm only on ships engines and like i say once you start with the easy start the engine is on its way to be well and trully f....., any way i thought we were on about batteries, chris.

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I was just replying that it's codswallop about ES and engines depending on it ...

My first line in the reply I made was ..... to find out why the engine won't start ...
 
Re: I did not start the Easy Start bit ...

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I think we should give up on this one,

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Thats a good idea !!

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As to the battery - Get it charged asap ... and keep it charged on a regular basis ... I have mine on a timer .. 2 hrs a day, 5 days out of 7. Bog std charger via a Maplins charge splitter to two batterys. Nothing fancy ... no mortgage of wallet ... and minimal shore power used.
 
hemm, just for the record, they dont get a liking for it, what actually happens is that the stuff lights up with a bang, it pinks, it imposes undue stresses on the piston top and rings and they either break or are pinched in their lands, the engine loses compression and it is a vicious cycle.
 
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hemm, just for the record, they dont get a liking for it, what actually happens is that the stuff lights up with a bang, it pinks, it imposes undue stresses on the piston top and rings and they either break or are pinched in their lands, the engine loses compression and it is a vicious cycle.

[/ QUOTE ] Yes we all know that, lets put this one to bed,or may be a seperate post on diesel personalitys,you might be supprised.
 
If you'd had "backflow" into the engine, you would now have a water lock (i.e. water in the cylinder which can't be compressed and therefore the engine can't be turned over).
If the engine turns you shouldn't have a problem, but it's worth dipping the oil to ensure the level hasn't risen.
 
There seems to be a lot of advice here but not a lot of useful advice. There is no way the engine could've lost all it's compression since the last time it ran so unless there was something serious evident last time you went boating it'll be OK.

Basically an engine needs three things to run - air, fuel and spark. If it has all of these these it should start (assuming there isn't anything catastrophically wrong with the engine which you would have known from last time you switched it off). Try this:

1) Take off the distributer cap and with the key on, flick the points open, see if there's a spark. Maybe the points are open already in which case bridge them with a screw driver to get a spark. If no spark, find the problem (blown fuse, wire off, faulty dead man's switch, whatever). While you're there, check that the points do have a gap when the little bakelite brush is sitting on one of the cam lobes. Should be about the thickness of a hacksaw blade. It is possible with the engine standing that a little rust formed on the cam which wore away enough of the brush to stop the points opening.

2) Take the coil wire out of the distributer cap, don't hold it in your hand but place it close to an earth, say quarter of an inch, flick the points again and a fat spark should jump across the gap. If no spark, the coil or maybe the condensor is knackered.

3) If there is a fat spark, your ignition is OK, check the dist cap for cracks, carbon tracks, corrosion in the HT wire sockets or moisture. If nothing untoward is found here, crank the engine with one of the HT spark plug wires (don't hold in your hand) held near an earth as above and check for spark again. If there is spark then your problem is not electrical but fuel/air.

4) Take off the air cleaner/flame arrestor, activate the throttle and see if fuel is being injecting into the carb. If there is none, trace the fault. Maybe the pump, maybe a blocked filter, maybe the tank is empty. Also check that the flame arrestor isn't clogged with dirt. If you've run a drive belt off recently this is a common reason for the flame arrestor to clogged up. Give it a good wash.

One thing that I've come across more than once is a faulty iginition switch where the ignition circuit is live while the key is in the cranking position but not when the key is released to rewturn to the "run" position.

If you don't know what I'm talking about above, this is a good time to call a mechanic. Good luck.
 
Re: I did not start the Easy Start bit ...

I was think about putting my battery on a timer... 1hr a day or so.

Is there any truth in the rumour that an ordinary battery charger will 'suck' charge back out of the battery if left connected?

I was told this years ago, but dont know if its just an ' old bodgers tale'

Regards Nick
 
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