starter suddenly engaged when motoring

[Mike]

The starter suddenly engaged at 2000rpms.  I have read a few past posts but no one identified the exact cause.  When the key is off and the main DC switch is on there is 13volts at the solenoid??  1993 M35-4cylinder Univ. 1000hrs--no new wiring harness yet. Starter is now in shop to be repaired as needed--it got super hot in just 1min.   This is the first and only time it has ever happened.  

[Stu Jackson]

"no new wiring harness yet"  You might want to eliminate the "yet."

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=4107.0

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=532.0

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=1652.0

[tonywright]

Maybe the "no" as well? 

[Mike]

 Stu and Tony:  Thank you for your replies.  And yes I have read the harness upgrade several times over the past 2years, got the terminal strips from Seaward and never got around to doing the upgrade!!   Fortunately their was no fire.  Called Seaward yesterday and their sending a 16' harness.  Thanks again for your help.  Mike

[Ken Juul]

Ron Hill is cruising, looking for a good hurricane hole to ride out the inbound storm. 

I was editing his Technotes article about engine removal and he makes the case that both times he has removed the engine he has disconnected the wires from the engine, not the terminal strip.  Might want to consider skipping the terminal strip and just solder the wires together.  Fewer connections to worry about. I don't think the article will make the next issue, look for it in the spring.

As Ron would say, "a thought".

[Ron Hill]

Mike : To add to Ken's comment on my thoughts - AMEN !!  The terminal strips are NOT necessary!!   Hard wire it and you'll have less problems in the future!!!! 

[Mike]

Thanks Ron and Ken for your input.  It certainly makes a lot of sense to reduce the number of conections in a circuit.  I can't begin to tell you all of you how much this forum has helped me since I purchased the boat 3yrs ago.  Last year I finally got around to the glow plug upgrade and separate start battery upgrade,  both of which work great.  Thanks again for your valuable input.   

[Stu Jackson]

History 101 -- One of the reasons for the terminal strip, when originally provided by Seaward, was that their idea was to replace just the wiring between the existing connectors and replace the old connectors with the Euro-strips.

Initially, their length of wiring was a "tad too short," creating a lot of unhappy campers.  They lengthened the wiring to 16 feet, but it still fell short of going all the way to the engine, thus requiring retaining those points of connection, but with the Euro-strips.  Since they provided the new connectors, many folks used it, since it was easier than butting the wiring at either end, but primarily at the engine end.

Ron's right, if you ever take your engine out, you won't want to have wires hanging from it, you'll take the wiring off at the engine.

You do have a choice: buy the "shorter" now 16 foot Seaward wiring harness (which many feel is overpriced, although "easy" since it's made up), or buy your own wiring.  The color coding does make life simpler, but you could tag each end of standard wire, which is essentially what's on the rest of the whole boat. Or you could buy your own color coded wiring.

You could also then make your wiring longer than the Seaward color coded package.  The color coding for all that wire that is hidden may be considered a bit of overkill.  Longer wire in that application (even a foot or two longer will make it a LOT easier), isn't an issue for voltage drop either.

[Mike]

STU:  Thanks again for your input.  Yesthe Seaward harness is now up to $50 and is stated as being 16'.  I contemplated whether to make my own or purchase theirs.  I haven't had time to take apart and inspect the old conectors and wiring to see exactly where the short is.  Interestingly enough with the key off and battery switch on if you push the start button (stater is removed) the alarm will sound.  We'll see.  Thanks again.

[karista]

When I did the harness upgrade a couple years ago, Seaward had and sold extended total wire harness kits. Just as Ron mentioned, I elected to install the new harness and connect it directly to the engine with no terminal strip between the engine and the panel, to eliminate corrosion and breaks. The extended wiring harness was much longer than I required and I had to cut about 4 ft off at the engine end. I believe this extended harness was built for the Catalina 36's. It may be worth asking Seaward if they still have the extended wiring harness assembly! It sure made it easy and clean during the installation. No problems since I installed the new harness.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : If you look at the design of the engine wiring harness with the two connections one at the engine instrument panel and other at the engine -- it was designed to facilitate the production line NOT subsequent engine removal!!