Merc 150 won't Crank

Long story short-Bought a new 1875 Impact with 150 Merc 4-stroke. Went to break in today and it wouldn’t crank. You are suppose to turn the switch to Run–it beeps and runs fuel pump–turn key to Start and release and it is suppose to crank. However, it wouldn’t crank. The kill switch was in the on position, voltage was at 11.5, shift lever in neutral, and all fuses are good. When I call the boat dealer they told me the battery was probably too low so it wouldn’t crank. Got back home and remembered the Hummingbird has a voltage check on it and reset the alarm until it wouldn’t go off anymore and that was at 11.5 volts. Put on charger for quite a while, hooked up the muffs, and still nothing. Any ideas?

Thanks
Todd Geerdes

So it has never ran since you brought it home? Check the shifter again. Wiggle it around. That and the kill switch would be where I would start. If you can’t get it running I would be sitting at my dealers door monday morning at 8.

What’s the voltage after charging?

At 11.5 I think it should still crank, but it shouldn’t be 11.5 either.

You might actually have a bad battery or even a bad charger.

Dutchboy-New boat, never tried to start until today.

Biggill-never checked after charging. My old 115 Mercury 4 stroke would crank over at 9.5 volts according to my Bird. The dealer installed a 3 bank charger and when plugged in it also shows it is charging. Didn’t trust that so hooked up a regular charger and still a no go.

Could be a ton of things, but it sounds like it’s locked out for a safety reason (tether/kill, neutral sensor)

Is it fly by wire or manual?

Could be an unconnected wiring harness.

Fly by wire or Manual? Meaning?

Have you checked to see in one of the back compartments where the batteries are stored if there is an off/on switch?
This cuts off/turns on all power to all electrical and to your main fuse panel.

I was at a resort on Mille lacs a couple years back. Guy had a new merc. The starter was staying engaged. Check on the fly wheel if the starter gear is stuck up. We used a screw driver and pryed it down. The starter would then turn over the motor, but again the starter wouldn’t disengage.

Take off the cowling, check for any loose wires. Once had a ground wire come off the motor and kill my Yamaha.

Did u squeeze the fuel line bulb till it was hard? When I brought my new boat home they made sure to tell me that was the first thing

Geerdes wrote:

Fly by wire or Manual? Meaning?

Some outboards control throttle and/or shifting digitally (versus the traditional cable). They have more electronic connections to check, including some behind the throttle.

First guess for me would be the kill switch. That, or shifter not in neutral. Possibly a loose wire, especially if dealer used wing nuts. Battery is probably fine, if new. Low voltage reading at the locator is probably from the boats built in wiring, if that’s what the dealer used, as it’s most always undersized. If you use a volt meter at the battery, you will probably find that the reading is almost a volt higher than at the locator. Good dealers will install heavier wire when installing your locators because of this. Never was an issue before, till most all locators now come with voltage read outs. Locator wires on my boat were upgraded to 10 ga by the dealer at the set up. Virtually no voltage drop. Buy a volt meter, they are only about $15, and handy to have around.

A fully charge battery should be well over 12.5 volts.

The moment the key is turned on the fuel pump should start and build pressure in the fuel manifold and the ECM should fire up both drawing power. This will draw the battery voltage down to maybe 12 volt. There is probably not enough juice left at 11.5 volt to support the fuel pump, ECM, and spin the motor over. This will jam the bendix unit into the flywheel and it will not release until you give it some help with ???.

I know the battery is new but it sound like you have a bad cell in the battery if it will not charge to over 12.5 volts. I would have the battery load tested at a reputable shop (maybe Fleet Farm)

Bad cell in the battery would probaly show a fault with the charger, especially if it is a built in charger. Check your voltage at the battery, not with the locator, as the locator will be quite a bit lower due to the voltage drop of the factory wirring, if the wireing hasnt been upgraded. If you are below 12.5 volts at the battery, when charged, something is wrong, as you should see at least 12.7 volts on a reasonably new battery. New engines do require a minimum volts, or they wont even try to turn over, not sure what the new Merc’s are, but an ETec I had in 08, was 11.7 volts. Below that and the electronics locked it out. I would assume that most new engines are in that high 11 range. Do not rely on your locator to know what your battery voltage is, as you could be substancially off from the true voltage. If you don’t own a volt meter, you could take the battery out to have it checked, but I would just go buy a volt meter, they are cheap,and handy to have arround. Do not try to check the voltage as soon as you take the charger off, as it will be somewhat higher,probably over 13, it needs to sit for about 15 min’s or so to stabilize.

Try a different battery or hook up jumper cables from your truck to test crank it. That will answer if it’s the battery or something else.

It’s new, as already stated take it to the dealer and let them deal with it.

I am but not open on Saturday or Sunday. Tried jumping.

I would think it would turn over if it was a kill switch issue.A low battery would at least get a click out of starter solenoid.Iwould check for power at the starter.I’m guessing it’s bad starter or the shift linkage is out of adjustment.

You don’t by chance have to push the key ad turn do you?

Geerdes wrote:

Long story short-Bought a new 1875 Impact with 150 Merc 4-stroke. Went to break in today and it wouldn’t crank. You are suppose to turn the switch to Run–it beeps and runs fuel pump–turn key to Start and release and it is suppose to crank. However, it wouldn’t crank. The kill switch was in the on position, voltage was at 11.5, shift lever in neutral, and all fuses are good. When I call the boat dealer they told me the battery was probably too low so it wouldn’t crank. Got back home and remembered the Hummingbird has a voltage check on it and reset the alarm until it wouldn’t go off anymore and that was at 11.5 volts. Put on charger for quite a while, hooked up the muffs, and still nothing. Any ideas?

Thanks
Todd Geerdes

Does it beep but not crank or are you not getting the beep either? I just looked at my ’18 merc 115 and it will still beep in gear but will not beep if the tether switch is not fully closed.

It beeps and can hear fuel pump, bUT won’t turn over when,turn key to start.

Tom, not sure, out of town til Wednesday, but will check.

Mine just did the same thing last week on the same motor. Tried jumping it and nothing. Swapped batteries and it started right up.

MnPat1 wrote:

Mine just did the same thing last week on the same motor. Tried jumping it and nothing. Swapped batteries and it started right up.

Could be that the motor’s computer is “brain locked” and by switching batteries you “rebooted” it. If it happens again try removing one battery cable for a minute and then reconnecting it – that can clear the problem by shutting down the computer and clearing whatever bug it is locked up with. Also works with cars for some things.

I would do these things in order…all have been mentioned.

1. Ensure neutral….they can be touchy/tight when new.
2. Unhook and reconnect tether.
3. Swap a second battery in or try to start while in jumpers. Your charger bank should tell you if the cranking battery is bad. This would be really surprising.

I’d be surprised if they dealer didn’t test fire it….I’d call them right away. If they installed anything I would’ve assumed they tested systems.

Sorry….sucks with a new boat. I’d be raising heck with the dealer personally.

Matt Moen wrote:

I’d be surprised if they dealer didn’t test fire it…

My uncle bought a new boat with no gas tank…found out filling it up before heading to the lake.

chuck100 wrote:

I would think it would turn over if it was a kill switch issue.A low battery would at least get a click out of starter solenoid.Iwould check for power at the starter.I’m guessing it’s bad starter or the shift linkage is out of adjustment.

The kill switch will keep it from turning over. I’ve had that happen out on the lake. Six miles out and ready to head in at the end of the day and nothing. Motor won’t turn over. After a bit I figured out that somehow the kill switch had been triggered. Flipped the switch and away we went.
Felt pretty silly about that for a while. I still hear grief about it. “Is the kill switch on?”

OP, you have already heard a lot of good advice.

I have a 2014 Merc 150 4S. These motors drain batteries when they sit idle. Opening weekend my alternator died. We fished as long as we could without turning off the motor. Back at the dock, with a battery below 11.5 it would not turn over but fired it back up using a jump pack.

My take, if it wouldn’t turn over with a jump then something else is probably wrong. I’d start with resetting the computer by disconnecting the negative post for a few seconds. Also start with a fully charged battery reading 12.5v – 12.6v at the posts.
If that doesn’t do it, I’d skip all the other stuff and take it back to the dealer. Might be a starter solenoid, might be a wiring issue, might be a bad switch somewhere, who knows. I’d let them figure it out.

Also, your description of the starting procedure sounds correct. Turn to run and let the fuel pump pressurize, then turn to start and let go. From that point the computer will take over and run its own starting routine.

David Blais wrote:

I was at a resort on Mille lacs a couple years back. Guy had a new merc. The starter was staying engaged. Check on the fly wheel if the starter gear is stuck up. We used a screw driver and pryed it down. The starter would then turn over the motor, but again the starter wouldn’t disengage.

Have you looked to see if this was the issue. This has happened to me a few times. Easy fix.

Thanks got call from dealer. Neutral safety switch unhooked in a new boat?

Geerdes wrote:

Thanks got call from dealer. Neutral safety switch unhooked in a new boat?

Glad they found the problem. I’d push for a little kick back since your first weekend was a total bust (free oil change or something).

Do I get a cookie for my guess of a disconnected neutral sensor??

or 2 B-man. Can’t believe the dealer started it after rigging. Got it new in October, drove it 25 miles to my son’s heated shop for the winter, and drove it 90 miles to break it in, and it wouldn’t turn over. Find it hard to believe that the connection came loose while trailering it 115 miles. Taking it to Worthington tomorrow after work to break it in before heading to Cass Lake area on Saturday. Sure hope it all works fine tomorrow as time is running short!