Starter?

[ryanv8]

I have a 2003 Ski Nautique 206 , 5.7L 330hp. I've been having difficulty with starting. At times it starts normal but sometimes it just makes a rapid series of clicks without turning over once. I've changed the battery once but it happened again recently wtih nothing but clicking but later started again. I've played with the wires and verifyed the contacts on the battery terminal. The inconsistency is what concerns me. Any advice would be welcome, thanks,
Ryan

[James]

Assuming you have ~12.5 plus volts at your battery and the same at the starter you most likely have a problem with the solenoid. If you have a voltage drop at the starter you likely have #1: a contact issue at the battery terminals and/or the positive terminal at the starter or negative ground terminal at the block or #2: a bad positive or negative battery cable.

[mpost]

Changed battery and after a while acting like the battery is low again? As James said do you have 12.5 or more at the battery? Maybe your alternator is not charging the battery? Check the voltage on the starter solenoid prior to trying to start and then what do you see when you try to start. If it drops much below 12v, could be cable, battery.
I have seen 3-4 post in the past 2 weeks where people ended up after trying multiple other things, with a bad positive cable that looked good, but further investigation showed corrosion under the insulation at the battery end!

[ryanv8]

Thanks guys, I will check the voltage at battery then work towards alternator. So if it was the starter failing, I would be experiencing something different?

[mpost]

To verify the alternator is charging, check battery voltage with power off. Then again with motor running and it should be higher while running, say 13.5 to 14. If it stays the same your alternator is not working. If it is charging, then start checking for voltage drop at different spots getting closer to the starter.
It could be the starter of Solenoid but check the easy things like cables and connection first.

[ryanv8]

Hi Guys,
I checked the voltage on the battery at rest and the voltage was 12.4 That was enough to start the motor yesterday, but I beleive that is borderline for a dying/low battery. I also checked the battery when the motor was running with accessories running to see what the alternator was doing and the voltage was 14.4 which I think means the alternator is charging fine. If it starts again today I will check the voltage at the starter. Thanks agian for all your advice,

[mpost]

Yes, sounds like the Alt. is OK. Check out this post also.
https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...ick#post620534