2007 Air Nautique 220 TE Starting Problem

[Jrod77]

I'm brand new to the site. I have a 2007 Air Nautique 220 TE. I just replaced both batteries. Running a Cold Crank for starting and Deep Cycle for Accessories. I replaced the starter at the end of last season 2021 Fall, but I'm still having issues starting the boat. I trickle charge the night before I take it out on the lake so I'm seeing that the green "Fully Charged" lights are on the charger. Sometimes it starts up the very first push of the push start, but other times, if I'm starting it up for the first time on the ramp, it will take about 2-3 seconds before fully engaging the engine. I will let go of the push start and press again and then it will eventually start. At first I thought it was the Starter, so I changed the starter. Same issue. Then I thought it was a cold crank issue, so I changed both batteries. Same issue. Then I thought, maybe the ground isn't dispersing enough on the existing ground, which is where I'm at.

I think that the grounding issue could've damaged the starter, so changing out the starter again and adding another ground could be the answer. Has anyone had a starting issue like this before? I don't know how else to describe the sound it makes when trying to start up, but it's like a bunch of metal slamming together, maybe like the pistons aren't lining up to fire? Please help.

[NautiqueJeff]

I would bet your ring gear has some broken teeth and you're hearing the starter trying to engage the ring gear and grinding instead of engaging.

Which engine is in your boat?

[bturner]

Or wrong starter. If the teeth don't match the flywheel gear or the starter nose is not the right depth you won't get full engagement and will have a lot of grinding. I'm left with more questions than suggestions at this point.....

Where are you getting these starters?
Is it a new marine starter or something you're picking up at the auto parts store?
How many hours are on the boat?
How long have you owned the boat?
Did this just start happening one day or has this gradually gotten worse?
Would it be possible to take a video of the issue and post it?

At this point I would have to agree with Jeff. It won't be fun but I would think pulling the flywheel cover plate and turning over the engine manually to inspect the teeth at this point would be your next move. That and ensuring you have the correct starter.

[Jrod77]

Jeff, I have the PCM 330 Excalibur

[Jrod77]

"Or wrong starter. If the teeth don't match the flywheel gear or the starter nose is not the right depth you won't get full engagement and will have a lot of grinding. I'm left with more questions than suggestions at this point.....

Where are you getting these starters?0
Is it a new marine starter or something you're picking up at the auto parts store?
How many hours are on the boat?
How long have you owned the boat?
Did this just start happening one day or has this gradually gotten worse?
Would it be possible to take a video of the issue and post it?


At this point I would have to agree with Jeff. It won't be fun but I would think pulling the flywheel cover plate and turning over the engine manually to inspect the teeth at this point would be your next move. That and ensuring you have the correct starter."

I believe that I'm going to upgrade the starter. I bought it at O'Reily's. I bought the boat last summer and it has about 520 hours. It started gradually happening. If I start it up in my driveway after unplugging the Trickle charger, it fires up NO PROBLEM, but when I take it to the lake an hour or two after unplugging the trickle charger, it takes about 3-5 seconds of pushing the start button to kick the engine over. I can see how a recording would come out and post here this weekend. Hopefully you can hear the sound its making which would give you a much better understanding. Thank you both for your feedback.

[bturner]

Jrod, be aware that automotive starters don't have a spark suppression system built into the starter which can be a potential source of a fire or worse. Be sure what they're providing you is marine rated and states it in the documentation. The other issue I've personally had with some of these rebuilt starters is cheap China crap quality. I know the marine, new stuff is quite a bit more expensive but I would highly recommend going to somewhere like Discount Inboard Marine to get the correct starter and bite the bullet on this one. If you do have the incorrect one you could be grinding teeth on the flywheel gear which will require tons more work to repair at a minimum and if the starter is not marine rated it would be possible to have a fire started by sparks within the starter.

https://skidim.com/engine/electrical.../starters.html

BTW, I realize this is all easy for the guy not footing the bill to say.

[NautiqueJeff]

This is the proper one. PLEASE use a marine part. I don't want to see your boat explode from a spark igniting fuel vapors in the bilge.

https://www.nautiqueparts.com/produc...ount-ra122015/

This one is about $15 less expensive (before our discount) than the SKIDIM part listed above (same PCM part), plus since NautiqueParts is one of our Site Sponsors, they give our members a 10% discount. Use code PND to get the discount.

[Jrod77]

Thank you both. I'm going to see how fast I can get this and update the thread once I have it installed to see if it solved the problem.

[Jrod77]

Guys,

We found about 5 teeth on the flywheel that were worn, so we filed them down which should be the problem. It seems like the previous owner might have hydrolocked the motor prior, which might have caused the bad teeth on the flywheel. I've also been told that those teeth are most of the time the sweet spot where the starter likes to engage the engine upon start. I'm going to take it out on the lake this weekend and will update.