Just got my 1995 NS 354 back in the water at the end of April after 2 years on the hard. After several fits and starts I have installed a new engine start battery–a Duracell RV Marine starter battery. I put it on a charger to ensure that it has a full charge. It delivers 800 CCAs. With that much starting power my Westerbeke 38B diesel, which has less than 1000 hrs. on it, should be spinning like a top but it isn’t. I have inspected and, where necessary, cleaned any corrosion off of the few connections. It was minimal by any standard and certainly not enough to cause this problem. My sense is that somehow cranking power is being syphoned off.
I have never had a starting issue with this engine before. It has always fired right up, even after lengthy periods when it wasn’t run regularly. Starter circuits are fairly simple, so I am looking for any ideas as to what else might be causing the engine to turn over so slowly. Any and all thoughtful suggestions would be appreciated.
Barry Clark Swan’s Wing, 1995 NS 354, #71
Urbby Marina, Urbanna, VA
We had a similar issue. If the battery is good, then I think it needs to be
one of the following: Cable or connector from battery to switch, Bad switch contact, cable or connector from switch to starter, starter solenoid contact, weak starter motor.
A quick test is to connect the battery directly to the starter terminal with a new or known good cable (bypassing the battery switch and existing cables). If the engine starts fine you know the problem is with one of those components. If not, take a closer look at the starter motor
In our case we first rebuilt the starter which didn’t solve the problem. In the end it appeared to be a cable connector problem on an almost new cable
Bill Kroes
NS36 #24
Sarnia yacht club
The most common problem would be the ground on the engine. As someone mentioned, wherever the bad connection is (assuming that’s the problem) it will be warm. You can buy very inexpensive infrared temperature guns and crank the engine without starting it and then check all the big wire connections. They should be just about at ambient temp. Also, they make inexpensive no contact amp meters to place on the heavy cable to the solenoid from the battery. It will tell you the cranking amps you’re using.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Had the same mystery problem last year. Finally pulled the starter - no rebuild shop around. Split the starter. Burnished the stator Checked the brushes. Put it back together. Spun like a top. We doubled up the battery before breaking down the Starter. Didn’t help. Good luck
Hi Barry -
If you haven’t done this already - simpliest check is to put a multimeter on the battery terminals while it is just sitting there. You may have put a charger on it, but the 'new battery may have a bad cell or two which will prevent it from starting the engine. A charger won’t help[.
Last summer I bought a battery that had been apparently in the shop for a while. Before installing I put a multimeter on it and it was low (10.5 volts). The shop said this was probably because it had been sitting for a year or two (it was their last one and I needed a start battery so I took it). They said after running the engine for several hours it should charge up and be fine. It wasn’t. After a few days of motoring it still wouldn’t turn over the engine (I had to use my house bank to start). They replaced the battery and when the yard that did the exchange tested the returned battery they said it had two ‘dead’ cells… once exchanged, the engine started as it should.
Good luck -
Peter Grabow
S/V CAKE WALK III
1987 30U 430
Jersey City, NJ
Thanks to all who have replied about this issue. I will be going to the boat tomorrow to start tracking this down. The plan is to have the battery checked to make sure it is okay. Next step will be to remove just about everything on the left side of the engine to get access to the starter motor and ground. If it isn’t the ground then the starter seems to me the likely culprit. The engine can only turn as fast as the starter, so the plan is to remove it and take it to a service shop to be checked. I will let everyone know what happens when I have something to report. Thanks again for all the help.
Barry Clark Swan’s Wing, 1995 NS 354 #71
Urbby Marina
Urbanna, VA