Dumbness, can happen to the best of us.

[Way2slow]

I usually run about a gallon of gas with 1.5 ounces of SeaFoam through my 225 Ficht, in the tank at 2,000 rpm, every six to eight weeks when not using it. 

About two months ago I went to do this when it was about 34 degrees outside.  It wouldn’t start, and cranking kinda slow so I disconnected the negative cable from the battery, ran jumper cables from a TM battery to the cranking battery and reconnected the negative.  Still wouldn’t.  I check the plugs and it wasn’t firing.  It was too cold to be messing with it so I gave up. 

Well, about three weeks ago, I tried again when it was a lot warmer and it was cranking over a lot faster.  Still wouldn’t start and no fire to the plugs and the injectors were not firing. 

I’ve been the last three weeks looking for my service manual and diagnostics cable.  The wife was happy because now the garage, one of the storage buildings and my computer/junk room are all nice and cleaned now, trying to find that service manual.  I said my wife was happy, well that was until I told her that it was looking like the CPU was bad and it was going to cost approx. $700 to get it repaired.  She commented “you had better find that manual”.  Finely found it today. 

Started trouble shooting the electrical and saw the ignition/shut down relay was not energizing.  Checking the grounding wire from the switches, it was at  3 ohms but when I turned the key off, it went to 0.2 ohms so made me believe the problem was not the ignition switch.  I then go to check the kill switch and thought, why is the lanyard laying in the floor?  Right there on the floor, with the clip still attached that goes in the kill switch.  Put the clip back in the kill switch and the motor started right up.   Two flipping months of agony, thinking I was going to have to shell out $700 for a CPU over a simple, dumb problem that should have been the first thing I checked.

[BrianinMD]

occam's razor

[sully420]

My buddy did the same thing. We went up to his cabin i have a boat he just bought a used boat. So on day 2 he wanted to get his boat on the water. So me and one buddy on my boat watched the other buddy at the launch trying to start his boat. I trolled up to his boat and he's getting frustrated he cant start the boat. I yell at him " is there a little red switch by the throttle" he's all mad and shruggs me off so i go back to fishing and after a half hour he trailers his boat and fishes with me for the weekend. He gets home on monday and realized it was the kill switch the whole time.

[Jig Man]

I can't tell you the number of times I have seen this happen.  Some people have had complete "come aparts" over this.

[WRB]

Know your pain. Kill switches should be the 1st to look at, sometimes it's the most obvious things we can't see. 

I was fishing in the rain several years ago and the engine would start to go home, after several hours checking everything possible on the water with the cowling off, as a after thought I went to pull off the kill switch cover and it fell off, put back on and the engine started....ah ***** moment.

Tom

 

[A-Jay]

I have not yet been 'victimized' by the devious kill switch lanyard deal.  (but it's coming)

However, I know a guy who pulled his boat out of the garage for a summer night trip, without unplugging the charging cord  first ~ Dooh . . .

Good Times.

A-Jay

[riverbasser]

Been there, well not 2 months in but still. It happens even to us mechanics. Always reminds me of the movie slingblade where Carl says "ain't got no gas in it" after a guy spent hours working on a lawn mower

The other day at work I was replacing an oil pan gasket and when I was done I started refilling the oil. I put the normal amount in and checked the stick, no oil. I assume after sitting overnight the reserve oil had all drained out so I added more. Still nothing. I then assumed my oil gun wasnt reading right and just added more. Anyway 2 gallons later I remembered that I forgot to hook the oil dipstick tube back up and I wasnt checking anything.   Truck had plenty of oil!!

[Fishing Rhino]

Don't feel bad WTS. About fifty years ago I was the general manager of a production woodworking shop.  One of the employees told be his drill press wouldn't run.  I noticed that the plug was about ready to fall out of the socket.  I also saw there was a loose overhand not in the cord.

 

I told the employee that knot was the problem, and that electicity could not go through a knot..  He didn't believe me.  I pulled the plug from its socket, undid the knot then solidly plugged the power cord into the receptacle.  Told him to try it now.  He flipped the switch, and the drill press ran.

 

I don't think I ever told him it was the loose plug that was the problem.

[Way2slow]

When I first went into the Air Force, I had a SSgt that was supposed to be training me on a particular radio.  Going through the meter readings, it was DOA.  An hour later, and him having most of the modules pulled out of the radio, I handed him the plug and asked it that wasn't supposed to be in an outlet?  This was the same guy that stuck five fuses back to back into a radio, and it blowing everyone as fast as he stuck them in.  Then sticks a #2 Philips in the hole and says when it quit smoking, it will show where the shorts at.

I had an associates degree and a 1st Class FCC license with Radar Endorsement when I went in, so thankfully, I was able to recognize an electronics Dum***s when I saw one, and I met a lot of them during my carrier. 

[Way north bass guy]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

I have not yet been 'victimized' by the devious kill switch lanyard deal.  (but it's coming)

However, I know a guy who pulled his boat out of the garage for a summer night trip, without unplugging the charging cord  first ~ Dooh . . .

Good Times.

A-Jay

I did the same thing one cold winter morning with the truck block heater. Got about a mile down the road before I noticed the 50’ cord following me down the road ?. 

[Ratherbfishing]

Drain plug?  A semi annual event.  ALMOST drove off with the trailer jack still down (once).  That's an easy one to miss.

[DINK WHISPERER]

Freakin switch has gotten me more times than I care to remember! The latest was while flying down the lake. I took a hard turn and over stretched the lanyard on my life jacket that hooks to the kill switch. Motor shuts off and we come off plane. I spent a half hour panicking and diagnosing crap before I sat in the driver's seat to call for a tow. That's when I saw it! ?

[haggard]

Not a boat, but a '91 BMW 318is beater ($300) that didn't start up right away one day, I thought that was odd and kept going. A mile down the road at a traffic light, stalled and wouldn't start. Fuel gauge says full. Pushed it to a parking space, figured it was the fuel filter. Got a ride, went to parts store, got filter, replaced it at the side of the road, no luck. Pushed it down the road to a free parking spot for the night, went back the next day and tried again, no luck. Called for a tow. Garage figures it's the fuel pump, which means dropping the driveshaft (rear wheel drive) to remove the gas tank.

 

Which is about when they discover it was out of gas, and when I learned that tapping the fuel gauge will unstick the needle.

 

[kjfishman]

21 hours ago, Way2slow said:

When I first went into the Air Force, I had a SSgt that was supposed to be training me on a particular radio.  Going through the meter readings, it was DOA.  An hour later, and him having most of the modules pulled out of the radio, I handed him the plug and asked it that wasn't supposed to be in an outlet?  This was the same guy that stuck five fuses back to back into a radio, and it blowing everyone as fast as he stuck them in.  Then sticks a #2 Philips in the hole and says when it quit smoking, it will show where the shorts at.

I had an associates degree and a 1st Class FCC license with Radar Endorsement when I went in, so thankfully, I was able to recognize an electronics Dum***s when I saw one, and I met a lot of them during my carrier. 

You have to wonder how he passed his 7 level test.

 

[Fishing Rhino]

Here's a trick I use to remember to unplug the charger.  I take the hitch from my receiver and set in on a piece of cardboard on the rear deck.  I don't take my drain plug out unless I intend to drain the bilge.  I park it on a hill to raise the bow higher than the stern, then pull the plug.  When it stops draining, I put the plug in.

 

Prior to this technique, I've twice forgotten to put the plug in before launching.  I was able to lean over the stern and reach the plug.  I needed my buddy to hold my legs lest I flip over into the drink.

[PAbasser927]

My brother and I spent 3 months restoring our boat before it even saw the water for the first time.  Then we did this the on the water for the maiden launch... and we realized we left the lanyard at home.

[Scott F]

52 minutes ago, PAbasser927 said:

My brother and I spent 3 months restoring our boat before it even saw the water for the first time.  Then we did this the on the water for the maiden launch... and we realized we left the lanyard at home.

I’ve taken my boat out hundreds of times and never brought a lanyard with me. What’s so important about a lanyard?

[riverbasser]

57 minutes ago, Scott F said:

I’ve taken my boat out hundreds of times and never brought a lanyard with me. What’s so important about a lanyard?

The lanyard he's referring to is the kill switch lanyard. I hope you use this

[Scott F]

15 minutes ago, riverbasser said:

The lanyard he's referring to is the kill switch lanyard. I hope you use this

Oh, OK. Of course I use it. But mine never leaves the boat.

[Way2slow]

Drop cords to the onboard charger.  Been there, done that also, except I was not lucky enough just to pull the plug out.  NOoo!!, I had to be at my sister in-law's spending the weekend.  It was before daylight and I wanted to be on the water at crack of dawn because the schooling bass were very active on the surface just after sunrise.  I told her son-in-law that was going with me that morning to unplug the charger while I put the drain plug in.  Well, he didn't, and I drove off.  Of course  the cord wraps around a PCV pipe for an outdoor faucet and breaks it off.  I'm half way to the lake when sister-in-laws husband calls wanting to know what we did, there was water going everywhere.  So, instead of being at the lake before daybreak, I'm playing plumber.   

[Dens228]

On 4/19/2018 at 1:07 PM, Way2slow said:

I usually run about a gallon of gas with 1.5 ounces of SeaFoam through my 225 Ficht, in the tank at 2,000 rpm, every six to eight weeks when not using it. 

About two months ago I went to do this when it was about 34 degrees outside.  It wouldn’t start, and cranking kinda slow so I disconnected the negative cable from the battery, ran jumper cables from a TM battery to the cranking battery and reconnected the negative.  Still wouldn’t.  I check the plugs and it wasn’t firing.  It was too cold to be messing with it so I gave up. 

Well, about three weeks ago, I tried again when it was a lot warmer and it was cranking over a lot faster.  Still wouldn’t start and no fire to the plugs and the injectors were not firing. 

I’ve been the last three weeks looking for my service manual and diagnostics cable.  The wife was happy because now the garage, one of the storage buildings and my computer/junk room are all nice and cleaned now, trying to find that service manual.  I said my wife was happy, well that was until I told her that it was looking like the CPU was bad and it was going to cost approx. $700 to get it repaired.  She commented “you had better find that manual”.  Finely found it today. 

Started trouble shooting the electrical and saw the ignition/shut down relay was not energizing.  Checking the grounding wire from the switches, it was at  3 ohms but when I turned the key off, it went to 0.2 ohms so made me believe the problem was not the ignition switch.  I then go to check the kill switch and thought, why is the lanyard laying in the floor?  Right there on the floor, with the clip still attached that goes in the kill switch.  Put the clip back in the kill switch and the motor started right up.   Two flipping months of agony, thinking I was going to have to shell out $700 for a CPU over a simple, dumb problem that should have been the first thing I checked.

A few summers ago my old college roomie took me and my sons out on his new boat on Lake Michigan.  After our last stop for some fishing and swimming it wouldn't start.  We ended up being towed in.  The next day he calls and tells me he must have accidentally hit the kill switch under the throttle that he didn't  even know was there......$300 oops.