Possessed '87 SN 2001

Went to the lake for the first time in about a month last night to find the battery was dead. Brought it back and charged it over night with no major issues. I did have to clean some sludge out of the battery compartment from some rain that accumulated there. There was some on the terminals, but they came very clean. Anyway, I went to install the battery and as soon as the positive touches the battery, the engine begins to crank. The weird thing, to me, is that the key and ignition switch are off! There is also a lot of sparking when they touch. What's up?

Possibly your ignition switch might have a short and when you were not around it cranked the engine until the battery died. At least you know your starter did not burn out.

I'll take that possessed 2001 off ur hands. Dont want u to have any more strange occurrences happen

Originally Posted by rexlex01

Possibly your ignition switch might have a short and when you were not around it cranked the engine until the battery died. At least you know your starter did not burn out.

I highly doubt the boat decided to turn itself over...

What happens with these Ford motors is the starter solenoid can "stick". You state the boat has been sitting up unused for a month and admit the battery was run down. 90% of electrical gremlins in the older boats are battery related. Either the battery is bad, is insufficient for the cranking needs of the motor or connections/cables are bad. When the starter doesn't get enough juice, the solenoid can actually get so hot that the relay contacts "weld" together causing a direct connection. Check the CCA (cold cranking amps) on the battery - it will need at least 650 CCA to start properly. Get a good marine deep cycle battery. If you find the starter solenoid to be the problem, DO NOT replace it with a cheap aftermarket one from Autozone or similar parts store. Go to the local Ford dealer and get a genuine motorcraft solenoid - take it up there and they can match the part for you. These may be available online through a PCM parts store too.

If after all this you are still having problems with it sticking, take all of your cables off and clean, clean and reclean connections. 20+ year old cables can become resistive to large current draw and may need replaced.

Thanks guys! I'm working on replacing the start relay. That seems to be the problem. LR3, this boat is so nice, so I'll perform the exorcism and keep on riding!

don't get a deep cycle battery unless you have a trolling motor on that thing...automotive starting battery is all you need.

Originally Posted by monboarder

LR3, this boat is so nice, so I'll perform the exorcism and keep on riding!

Worth a shot lol. Im actually on a hunt for a 2001 myself but prob a 88-89'. Good luck with the fix