Mercury 60 (2016) wouldnt start !

[Orwell boy]

Hi all thought i would share this as it may be helpful
Decided to take my 4.6 rib with merc 60 (four stroke ) for the first outing this year , ran it about a month ago no issues
Went to start after launch at the bottom of slipway ,lowered engine on battery no problem , no weary sounds .......tried to start but no cranking ,was more than a click ,but little more ...........so introduced start charger to battery terminals ,thinking instant solution ,but No extra power or activity at all
At this stage i had the classic partner "have you got any petrol in it " i quickly asked her to leave ........however knowing how she has a habit like most ,i gingerly sqeezed the petrol bulb ,which was a little soft ,however soon came solid .............tried the key again and "instant start "
So can anybody give an explanation for this ,is there an interlock or similar which tells the engine ,dont waste time cranking as there is no fuel at the injectors
thoughts please

[beamishken]

I think the start after the prime was just coincidence sounds like you had a dodgy connection somewhere, earth or positive which after repeated attempts decided it was going to work. I think if it were mine I probably clean up & retighten the battery cable ends & starter leads as a precaution. The engine should happily crank until it flattens the battery regardless of whether theres fuel connected or not

[spartacus]

Agree with beamishken, unlikely to be related. A click at start (rather than the engine turning over) sounds electrical, solenoid, poor connection, etc. There's also start-in-gear protection (plunger switch) on the remote.

You can trace from the remote to the engine with a cheap multimeter for continuity signal. Wiring is susceptible to oxide corrosion, as it wasn't tinned. Tell-tale is either green or black copper wiring in particularly bad cases. If you find that - you need to replace. I've cut wiring insulation to find it before.

[User name]

It sounds like the symptoms of a tired starter motor ,worn brushes or solenoid. Did you bypass the solenoid itself, or just bypass the key switch?

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by User name

It sounds like the symptoms of a tired starter motor ,worn brushes or solenoid. Did you bypass the solenoid itself, or just bypass the key switch?

Thanks to everyone for the input ,reckon most are right re electrical connection however i am not ruling out user error ,i never did anything to bypass anything ,only thing i touched after clipping jump starter on ,was to sqeeze the primer bulb ,maybe i wriggled the hand throttle sub conciously and the neutral protection might have reset
Does the starter make a small click if the hand throttle is still in gear ? ,i need to check this . i also started instantly 3 or 4 times after a run around the local area .

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

Does the starter make a small click if the hand throttle is still in gear?

Not familiar with Mercury, but I would doubt it. Should be dead to the world if in gear. If you’re hearing a click on turning the key, then that’s a starter solenoid or relay, so it’s getting power.

Starters can burn out if repeatedly started in quick succession. As mentioned, could be worn brushes. If in doubt, hook up battery direct to starter (removed from engine) and see what it does. If all that checks out, look at starter relay solenoid, they are inexpensive. Get the real deal, not EBay.