Starter and power trim problems

[Andrew Zuber]

Hey All...

Pulled the TV-18 out of the garage yesterday and dusted off the cover!

Discovered two issues:

First, I think my starter has crapped out on me...

Fresh battery, but when you turn the key the starter sounds awful and won't even engage the flywheel.

Second, the trim is working very slowly...both up and down.

I first suspected the battery, but it's only starting it's second year...put it on the charger (had it on a trickle charger off and on during the winter) and it showed 'charged'...even tried leaving it on the charger when testing the the starter and the trim...very little difference. And tried jumping from the Optima...again, very little difference...other 'lower power accessories' are working fine...

I wouldn't be surprised on the dead starter, but what could be up on the trim?



az

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Sounds like a dead cell in the battery Just because it shows "charged" doesn't mean it's good. I've had two before with the same problem.....

Have it checked

 

[Andrew Zuber]

TEE-

so leaving it on the charger and jumping from my other battery wouldn't make a difference with a dead cell?

so...sounds like I need to disconnect it all together and try from the Optima, that would rule out bad battery...



az

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Try your troller and see

 

[Jim B]

Double check your ground wire. I had the same thing happen to me once and it ended up being the ground was not hooked up. What had happened is i forgot to hook up the large ground wire, i had only hooked up the two small wires that go to the fuse box and fuel level sender. The trim worked slow and it would not start. What was happening is it was using the two little ground wires but it cant draw enough current. Double check that ground, you may have done the same thing i did.

 

[Andrew Zuber]

thanks...

I'll get my head back inside the compartment tonight...



az

 

[Rusty Williams]

Sounds like u have a ground problem on the battery or u have a loose cable. Try tightening the wing nuts on the cranking battery with pliers after u clean the posts well.

 

[Marke Cicero]

Hey Andy,



Ken and I put my TV-18 in the lake yesterday. My motor acted just like yours. I opened the back hatch and looked at my battery while turning the key and I saw sparks. I took a wire brush and cleaned the terminals. The motor fired right up and purred like a kitten. The trim worked better too.



Make sure your terminals are clean and you have a good connection.

 

[Andrew Zuber]

The battery was new last season, so I did not clean the terminals when I put it in...they 'looked' OK...although I did not check the connectors themselves to see if they had any crud...I did tighten up the wingnuts with pliers...they were tight...

My son went and looked in the compartment a few minutes ago...he said he did not see any wires that I missed connecting...

so...when I get home I'll take off all the connectors, clean everything up, and try it again...if that doesn't work I'll swap batteries and try that...



thanks guys!

az

 

[Andrew Zuber]

Problem solved...

I never would have thought that the issue was a 'dirty' connection at the battery. This is only the second season on this battery and the terminals 'looked' fine...

Took the wire brush to them and all the connectors...

Everything is fine..



Take my advice...clean them even if you don't think they need it!!!



thanks

az

 

[Marke Cicero]

Awesome!!! I'm glad it didn't turn out to be some costly repair.