Suzuki 90 Won't Start

R

RichardM

New member
My 2006 Suzuki 90 (very low hours) worked fine until suddenly, on Sunday, turning the key to the Start position got no response. Key in the "On" position gets the warning tone and the 4 red diagnostic lights on the gauge to light; going past that to "Start" does nothing (though I hear the fuel pump cycle). Here's what I've done already: (1) tried moving the shift lever in case the linkage was out of adjustment. (2) checked all the fuses. (3) established that power does get to the coil when the battery master switch is on. (4) traded the two small relays inside the fuse box (they're identical part numbers) with each other in case one is a starter relay and was bad.

I'm out of ideas. The nearest Suzuki dealer is 35 miles away. Anyone else have this happen? Any suggestions?
 
or have the battery tested

How old is it?

They can still hold some charge but cant supply a full load

OBs requires several hundred amps to start
 
Thanks for the tips. The latest-

1 - Charged both batteries (both are 1 year old, a 625 AH and a 670 AH) with the car-type charger.

2 - Cleaned and refreshed all batter connections.

3 - Double checked all fuses.

4 - Bypassed the engine kill switch with a jumper. (A friend had to replace his kill switch so I hoped this would be the problem.)

5 - Went into the fuse box and swapped the ECM control and starter relays (they're identical) in case one was bad.

6 - Checked to be sure the fuel pump is cycling when the switch is turned on.

7 - Repeatedly wobbled and wiggled the shift lever in case the neutral sensor is out of adjustment (both with and without holding the key to start).

8 - Chatted with the nearest Suzuki repairman several times -- he suggested most of the steps listed above. It's a 35 mile drive to his place, but I'll do it if necessary.

The non-starting problem happened once before, on one of my first launchings with the boat, but that time repeated attempts produced a start and the engine then ran fine. This feels like a simple electrical fault somewhere but I'm running out of ideas.

None of this helped. Turning the ignition on produces 4 red lights on the instruments (as usual) and the alert tone. Turning to Start does nothing at all (no clicks or other sounds). The 4 red lights go out after a few seconds, and the fuel pump stops its cycle.

Any other ideas???
 
Another C Brat had similar problems, and it turned out to be the Starter relay/bendix gear. You need to get the volt meter out, and see if there is current flowing to the starter relay/bendix gear. If voltage to the low (small wire) side of this, then jump with heavy wire, and see if it engages the bendx gear and then turns the starter motor.

What you describe suggests that power is getting to the ECU, and ignition--but not turning the starter.
 
Hello,

I had a similar problem with my Suzuki DF 50; very frustrating. I finally took it to a mechanic. He found the problem fairly quickly, it was a ground wire; and, it was my bad.

I had replaced my starting battery and due to a neck surgery I couldn't see or reach under the motor well very well. While the main ground wire was connected I had dropped the ground to the engine. I had checked my connections by feel. The wire had dropped down behind the battery box.

Good luck.
 
Thanks again, team. I'm going to check the starter relay / Bendix gear possibility next. Since the motor ran fine right up until it didn't, that sounds like a candidate. I changed the starter and Bendix on a lawn tractor last year and it was simple. Not sure if it's as easy on the Suzuki, where there are actual computerized control circuits involved. Anyway, it's a good suggestion! I'll keep you posted.
 
I had a similar problem on the Eire Canal a few years ago. Lots of help from all the local boaters, but after several hours of no joy they all went away. Next day I got a local repair man to come by. Took him 20 min. There is a cover over some wire junctions on the port side near the dip stick. Several wires get a charge from a hot stud. One of those was the starter motor. The wire had a forked fitting. It and several other wires are held in with one nut on the powered stud. The nut came loose, the starter wire was just loose enough that no power to starter but everything else worked. He wiggled & reset the wires in place, tightened the nut that held them all, and all has been well ever since.

That kind of thing can drive you to drink, which right now is a good idea as I am landlocked until mid August.

Chuck
 
Bob, I made up a test lead and sure enough, when the key is turned to Start there is still no 12 v power to the small side terminal on the Bendix. That should be the pull-in coil.

Check my reasoning here: If I read the wiring diagram right, this could point to the starter relay, the key switch, or the ECM (do you agree?). Since the instruments and warning tone/buzzer all work when the key is in the On position, I'd guess the key switch is unlikely to be at fault. And since the ECM seems to be working in other respects (it makes the fuel pump relay work) and it is probably very expensive, I'm guessing it isn't the culprit either. That would point to the starter relay.

I'm going to check the price of a starter relay now. Replacing it may be cheaper than an hour of repair time at the dealer, and I think it's accessible. (I know, this could put me in the class of auto mechanics who replace one thing after another until the darn thing works....)

Chuck, I'm going to take a good look at those connections too. It would be a "duh" moment if that were the problem!

Thanks again for all the excellent help.
 
Whoops. The problem with my reasoning is that I already swapped the starter relay and the ECM relay way back in an earlier test (they're identical) and nothing changed. That implies the starter relay is really OK.

Talked with an electrician friend and C-Dory owner who points out that the problem still could be in the neutral switch, also.
 
So the problem is somewhere between the ignition switch, and the relay--and the EMC is working or you would not get the red lights. You have not yet jumped the high power (battery to starter, or maybe easier the battery to the small side of the starter relay. This would confirm that the starter, relay and Bendix gear are working. Just swapping them out does not rule out a corrosion problem in the wiring--either + or -. Corrosion issues are the most common problem with electric issue with motors. Getting back to even where I have seen improper crimps done by the factory--which didn't show up until years later.
 
Would battery to the starter relay be the same as battery to the small lead on the pull-in coil? I can easily do that. If I hear something happening, I'll conclude that the pull-in coil works.

After doing that, should the whole ignition circuit be energized (key on)? I'm thinking that having power on to the starter would allow the hold-in coil to work and the starter motor to spin, which would give me a test of (a) pull-in coil, (b) hold-in coil and (c) starter motor. In effect we are bypassing the starter relay.

All of this assumes the computer doesn't detect something strange and call a halt.
 
Correct. You can jump current to the starter relay should close the relay, kick the
Bendix gear in and turn over the starter. The entire ignition system should be energized, with key "on"--and engine should start. (First go it, if there is a starter failure in an emergency and you need to get power--when failure to start. Assuming that the heavy cable from battery to relay is energized --I assume that you checked this early on.--you can go from there to the starter.
 
OK. My friend here has also uncovered the test procedures for the two neutral switches and testing the starter relay on a bench, and I can do those as well. I'll keep you posted.
 
FOUND IT! My electrician friend and fellow C-Dory owner Bob came over this morning and spent about two hours following wires around. Bob doesn't hesitate to follow colored wires from here to there, use test leads to pierce insulation and test for power, etc.

The problem was a broken wire in the wiring below the motor remote control at the helm. From the neutral sensor switch inside the shift unit there are two brown wires running to the motor. At the helm end, from the neutral switch going down, these wires originate as a pair about 16 inches long -- then there's a pair of spade terminals allowing them to be disconnected (maybe you'd want to do that if replacing the shift mechanism, for example). Those 16 inches of brown wires are further enclosed in a black plastic sheath.

One of those wires had a break in the middle of its length. Nothing was obvious on the outside of the insulation, though on very close inspection you can see that both brown wires had been pinched at that point, maybe when the shift mechanism was screwed down to the fiberglass base by the helm seat. One wire had lost all continuity. The other one, when the insulation was removed, had a couple of broken strands and a clear bend at the same point. The fact that this happened suddenly suggests that the wire had been breaking one strand at a time, and finally broke completely while the boat was being trailered the last time.

Bob says he can count on one hand the times he's seen a broken wire in the middle of its run in any electrical system. After replacing the 16 inch "pigtail" with new wire, the motor starts and runs perfectly.

Thanks again for your advice and encouragement. This was a hard one.
 
Bob says he can count on one hand the times he's seen a broken wire in the middle of its run in any electrical system.
Click to expand...
No kidding! I have "played" with electricity in many capacities since I was a kid. Altho a broken wire inside an insulation sheath is always a possibility, I can't think of a single time I ever seriously considered that in a theory as to what's wrong. You don't get a harder problem to find than that!!!
 
Brent and Bob, you were both close. It was in the binnacle control and in the neutral switch circuit there, and it was a "factory crimp type" problem. And yes, it was one of those that could drive you to drink....

Anyhow it is running again and ready to go into the water for only the 4th or 5th time in my ownership. Now I need to find a way to mount the new kicker, a 6 hp Tohatsu, to the boat so it doesn't interfere with the Suzuki and still misses the trim tabs. On the transom directly, when set so it clears the trim tabs, it interferes with the Suzuki. I'm looking at TyBoo's motor mount design which can be bent from a piece of stainless and is a fixed mount (the lifting mounts force you to lean way over the transom to lower or raise the motor).

A simple fixed commercial mount sells for about $75 also. An important issue is whether the motor will tilt out of the water without hitting the transom or hydraulic steering mechanism. Think I'll need to build a wooden mockup to find out.

Thanks again for the online advice, experiences from others and fact checking. It's worth a lot to own a boat with an owners' group like this one.
 
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