Motor will not turn over!!

[gman 82 aquasport]

I just put my 1992 Johnson 150 back on my boat this week and got it all wired back up, I had made a diagram of the harnesses and such when I took it off last Dec..I have the factory harness and its plugged in correctly( only 1 way).I have 2 new batteries, all the battery cables are hooked up to the battery switch all the grounds are together...( 1 battery to the other and the motor ground to the second battery, plus the ground to my fuse panel is to the second battery also..While tilting motor up and down it sounds kind of weak, batteries show good charge...when trying to start the motor it will only get a single click and thats it ..Have sanded and cleaned the battery cable ends and made sure they were tight.. Had the Mrs turn the key while I had my hand on the starter silanoid? and you can feel it click but thats it ... I ran my hand on the battery cables and they were warmer than I thought they should be...not to hot but warm..condidering that the motor wasn't turning over..the glass fuse at the motor is intact...I'm stumped as I have very little experience with outboards.....any I really don't want to take it to the marine shop if I don't have to.... :pirat:

[wingtime]

Start with the basics...  Are the batteries fully charged?  Can you turn the flywheel a bit by hand?  Does the starter shaft and pinion gear extend and engage the flywheel?   Try bypassing the solenoid by using a screwdriver (an old one you don't like) to short the two large terminals together for a moment...  if the starter turns then the contacts in the solenoid is bad...

[Capt. Bob]

Rotate the flywheel then try tapping the starter a few times with the key on start.

Next, if you have a volt meter, measure the voltage at the two starter connection points with the key on but not in the start position.

Batteries are "brand new" as stated, correct?

From your description of the tilt function, it sounds like a bad battery/connection/starter but....

Whenever you fiddle with the harness, strange things can happen.

Did you try cranking with the battery switch in the "Both" position?

Edit: Oops, some of the same stuff but a good place to start.

[Blue Agave]

Good advice already given, its a process of elimination.  How old are the battery cables?  How about the starter safety neutral switch?  Memorial day is right around the corner, Good luck!

[RickK]

I think you can bypass everything before the starter and take some jumper cables from the "new batteries" to the + and - on the starter and see if it jumps up and turns the flywheel.  That will tell you the engine cabling is corroded or the batteries are dead or ....

[Treefish]

Test the resistance between the - and + on the battery cables with them disconnected from the motor and battery.  Connect one end - to + and test the other end - to + with the ohm meter.  Should be real close to 0 ?.

[gman 82 aquasport]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll cover all that I have checked;
Both batteries checked at 13.1 volts
Cables are 2-3 years old and are in good shape
Battery switch in position of both, made no difference.
Have not turned the flywheel by hand, will not get to do anything before Sat...on duty 24 hrs Friday :|
Will try to bypass the solenoid Sat am
Will check voltage at the starter connection Sat also
Have not checked the neutral safety switch, or the safety switch at the key switch(kill switch) will do Sat...will also check the starter with a jump box to see if that gets it to turn over and will check the cables resistance..Will report findings after some more test Sat.

[gran398]

As stated earlier...make sure the starter shaft pops up and engages the flywheel....could be something as simple as lube.

Turn the flywheel, pull the shaft upward, check that both spin freely on the key-over.

[Blue Agave]

or the safety switch at the key switch(kill switch)

I'd start there.  

[John Jones]

I would start with those warm battery cables.  Something is pulling too much current.

[gman 82 aquasport]

Thanks guys, I am going to dig into it Sat am after I get home from the fire station..

[Skoot]

Could the throttle have accidentally been bumped into gear?  

[Capt. Bob]

Thinking the same thing on the cables JJ. Starter problem, armature winding, brushes etc.
I always assumed that the safety switch and the "in gear" no start deals functioned like a "kill switch" allowing no current to reach the starter. If that's correct, then they appear to be a positive function because G is getting juice to the starter (or so it seems by the description).

Troubleshooting over cyberspace.  

[GoneFission]

Sounds like a shorted/frozen starter or seized engine.  My vote is for bad starter.  I would NOT bypass the solenoid - it either works or it does not, and you can get a pretty bad burn from leads if the system is shorted.  Either starter or engine seizure will cause a click as the solenoid engages but no movement.  

Have someone turn the starter over while you are looking at the motor.  See if the starter gear comes up and engages the flywheel.  If it does, you've got to try to turn the engine by hand to see if it's seized.  If the gear does not come up and engage the flywheel, you have a bad starter.  Simple as that!

[wingtime]

HOLY REPLIES!  LOL  All good advice too... but like I said keep it simple and start with the basics before digging out a meter and all that stuff.  The key here is it has been sitting and you were fooling with the harness.  So either something is stuck or the harness has a problem.  Turning the flywheel by had rules a stuck power head out.  Jumping the solenoid at the motor rules out the harness....  and so on...   of course on the simple side as already mentioned make sure it's in neutral!  Good luck and let us know how you make out!