Hi all,
Had a situation yesterday that I would appreciate your thoughts/opinions.
The boat was at the mooring so I went out to bring it to our dock. Started no problem. Later in the day, I took my son and his friends for a sail. Again, no problems starting. Upon return to our cove, I tried to start the engine and it was a no go. Sounded like low batteries - not enough juice to turn it over. This was strange as I only had the radio and GPS on for about an hour. I tested the batteries and they were fine. Tried several times, but no luck. Fortunately we had a northerly wind (not typical) and I was able to sail to the dock. We arrived safely (thanks to the help of a neighbors) but that is another story :) .
I tried a few more times with no luck. Even though the batteries were fully charged, just not enough juice to turn it over. At this point I thought it might be a bad starter and I would contact a mechanic after the long weekend.
Fast forward to this morning. Just for the Hell of it, I tried again and it started first try. No hesitation whatsoever. This made me think it might be a connection issue. While the engine was running, I tested the batteries and one had a good charge from the alternator and the other a low charge. I cut the engine and cleaned all the battery connections. They were a little "gummy". I also cleaned the engine block ground (although it seemed fine). After reconnecting everything, I started the engine (again no problem) and tested the batteries. This time they both were showing good charge from alternator.
So my question is, can a bad starter be intermittent? Is it most likely that I had dirty connections and should be fine now? It is a 1990 C34 with a Universal 25xp. Anything else you can think I should check before I get a mechanice?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Had a situation yesterday that I would appreciate your thoughts/opinions.
The boat was at the mooring so I went out to bring it to our dock. Started no problem. Later in the day, I took my son and his friends for a sail. Again, no problems starting. Upon return to our cove, I tried to start the engine and it was a no go. Sounded like low batteries - not enough juice to turn it over. This was strange as I only had the radio and GPS on for about an hour. I tested the batteries and they were fine. Tried several times, but no luck. Fortunately we had a northerly wind (not typical) and I was able to sail to the dock. We arrived safely (thanks to the help of a neighbors) but that is another story :) .
I tried a few more times with no luck. Even though the batteries were fully charged, just not enough juice to turn it over. At this point I thought it might be a bad starter and I would contact a mechanic after the long weekend.
Fast forward to this morning. Just for the Hell of it, I tried again and it started first try. No hesitation whatsoever. This made me think it might be a connection issue. While the engine was running, I tested the batteries and one had a good charge from the alternator and the other a low charge. I cut the engine and cleaned all the battery connections. They were a little "gummy". I also cleaned the engine block ground (although it seemed fine). After reconnecting everything, I started the engine (again no problem) and tested the batteries. This time they both were showing good charge from alternator.
So my question is, can a bad starter be intermittent? Is it most likely that I had dirty connections and should be fine now? It is a 1990 C34 with a Universal 25xp. Anything else you can think I should check before I get a mechanice?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.