• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

M25 Starting Issues

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Took my son on a trip in the Gulf to Orange Beach, Alabama on Friday. The wind was light so we motored for about three hours before turning off the engine and raising the sails. After trying to sail for 30 minutes on a run in very light winds, I restarted the engine using the typical 30 seconds on the glow plug button before pressing start.When I pressed start, the engine turned over very slowly but did start. When we arrived at the marina in Alabama, I got a ride to West to replace one of the batteries. New battery in place, the boat fired right up. We ran it for a few minutes, turned it off and tried to restart it. When we did it cranked kind of slow again.Questions:1 Do you have to hold the glow plug button for 20 to 30 seconds after its warm?2 I cleaned the battery cables at the batteries, they did not look corroded or bad. Any ideas what could be the cause?Thanks in advance for your input.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
I don't know that particular engine, but I've fought old tractors my whole life. You should not need to use glow plugs on a warm engine. However if you've used the last of the battery charge to crank the engine, it may not have enough charge to do so again until it runs for a while to recharge. Some alternators won't actually start to recharge the battery until the RPMs get up into cruising range. If you know the battery is fresh but the starter seems sluggish, start checking battery cable connections. Be careful because loose connections can make big sparks.
 

Rocinante33

Contributing Partner
A battery right off the shelf might need a full charge before being pressed into service. Also, you said you replaced one of the batteries. Is that one of two in a bank? If so, the other one could be bad too. I think it is wise to replace both if it is a bank of batteries used together.
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
A battery right off the shelf might need a full charge before being pressed into service. Also, you said you replaced one of the batteries. Is that one of two in a bank? If so, the other one could be bad too. I think it is wise to replace both if it is a bank of batteries used together.

It is a two bank but the second battery tested out fine.
 

Dan Callen

Contributing Member III
Engine start problems

Check your ground wire on the engine. I have a 1989 Ericson 32-3 and the ground on the engine can come loose or even break. My ground is attached to the aft port side of the engine. Mine came loose twice and I used blue locktite. It finally actually broke so I replaced the cable. Good luck and let us know what you find. Dan Callen Ericson 32-3 Andiamo
 

Stu Jackson

C34IA Secretary
Two culprits: engine ground as suggested and the fuseholder between the start button and the starter, usually cleverly hidden underneath the alternator.
 
Top