'00 Challenger 1800 210 Carb Crazy Ignition Issue!

[Paytention]

Trying to fire up the boat on land for 1st time this season. Turned on the key and the engine cranked for about 2 secs. and stopped when I turned the key off. The ignition switch was loose so I fiddled with it and tightened it in the dash. Now, the engine will crank whether the switch is on or off and even if there is no key in the switch! It also cranks with the kill lanyard pulled off. I had to quickly switch the battery off in case the engine actually fired up with the starter motor still running. There do not appear to be any wires touching/shorting at the back of the ignition switch so I'm thinking the switch is bad. Does anyone have and ideas/opinions of the issue and where I can get a new switch (i.e. a generic one vs. OEM)? Thank you!

 

[poppie]

Sounds like a stuck solenoid. It's the small unit that connects the battery to the starter.

 

[Paytention]

Thank you Poppie. Do you have any suggestions as to how to test it? Is it fairly easy to swap out?

 

[poppie]

Disconnect the small yellow and red wire from the solenoid then turn the battery back on. If it still cranks it's the solenoid, if not then it could be the ignition switch.

 

[Paytention]

OMG I am so thankful you are helping me. Is it the wire I indicated with the arrow in the attached pic?

 

[poppie]

That's the one. That sends the signal from the ignition switch.

 

[Tim75]

Just like Poppie said.
Yellow wire, red stripe. Yep, that's it. If starter spins with that disconnected, you have a bad solenoid. If you connect the yel/red wire again, then it starts to crank, you have a bad keyswitch. You need better connections than automotive crimp-ons.

Solenoid is 1 small wire, 2 big wires, 2 mounting screws. BATTERY SWITCH OFF!

 

[Paytention]

I will test this out today. Thank you!

 

[poppie]

What did you figure out?

 

[Paytention]

Hi Poppie & Tim75: I followed your instructions and found that the solenoid was bad. I put a new OEM one on and the engine cranks normally. But I still have a problem with the ignition switch... It sometimes starts to crank the engine just by turning the switch one position without going all the way over the the start position. I will replace the switch. My new problem is that the engine won't start. It cranks nicely but won't catch, like it is not getting fuel. I filled the tank but there seems to be a lot of water in the tank. I have emptied the water separator filter many times and it appears to be more water than fuel every time. Is there a way to get all the water out? Any other suggestions? Thank you!

 

[poppie]

I think the only solution for water in fuel is to empty it completely. As for the no start, verify you have spark first, then move on to fuel.

 

[Paytention]

It's difficult for me to work on this at my age so I'll take it to a repair shop. Boat Works of South Windsor CT worked on it in the past and did a good job. I'll post the results when it's fixed; unfortunately it will probably be 2 weeks or so...

 

[poppie]

These boats are definitely NOT easy to work on! Quite often I'm hanging upside down trying to see what I'm doing!

 

[Tim75]

It's difficult for me to work on this at my age so I'll take it to a repair shop. Boat Works of South Windsor CT worked on it in the past and did a good job. I'll post the results when it's fixed; unfortunately it will probably be 2 weeks or so...

A 14+ year old grandson would be handy now........

 

[Tim75]

Before you take to a shop--
Check your emergency kill switch. I think there is a black with yellow stripe wire on it. Disconnect it and test.

 

[Paytention]

Soooo... The marine repair shop took about 2 1/2 months to fix my boat. I guess the Chinese Coronovirus has taken its toll on all marine businesses - sales & repair. After trying multiple repairs they settled on the power packs being faulty (after replacing the faulty ignition switch). I bought 2 aftermarket power packs for $270 each (OEM were $400 with a long delivery time) and they did the trick. This engine runs better than it ever has. I now have a smaller issue: bilge pump won't turn on automatically. I'll post this issue and ask for help in a new thread. Thanks to all who offered suggestions on this ignition/starting issue! BTW, even though it took a long time (staff shortages) I am very grateful to Boat Works of South Windsor (CT) for fixing my boat. It is really hard to find anyone to work on these Mercury powered jet boats and they ultimately came through for me! Thank you Tom!