2007 250 hpdi random no start

[Horton]

So randomly while fishing i'll go to start my boat and it'll just give me one click. I've swapped batteries checked battery connections when its acting up and it still wouldn't start. Well i learned something new this weekend, i was about to pop the cowl off on the water, trimmed it up decided to hit the key again and it fired right up. Anyone seen anything like this? I'm thinking and hoping its somehow a bad connection at the starter so trimming it helped it make contact. idk

[Horton]

i should add i recently replaced my rectifier and coil due to low voltage alarms on the boat. Those alarms went away except when at full throttle and I hit the trim button it briefly pops up on my locator. Haven't figured that out either

[javelin90]

How old is the battery? What is the condition of the positive/negative wires that connect to the battery terminal? I had this happen few years back and it was the positive wire was loose in the battery terminal. Check the voltage of the battery..

[Horton]

Battery is good, load tested it. Terminals look good however i did not check to make sure the wire to the terminal connector was solid. Will check that, just odd that trimming it made it turn over. I realized that happened last time also but i didn't catch it.

[yam911]

Could be a bad connection anywhere between the motor and the key switch and the key switch and the motor.

Do you know how to do voltage drop tests? Can you read a wiring diagram?

[Horton]

Easy fix. Popped the cowl and the ground wire from the battery, below the starter had no nut on it. Was bouncing around. Explains why it randomly would start after a trim. Only like the 4th problem I’ve had to fix from neglect of the last local shop to work on it.