Half power to boat.

[Philgconnors]

Hi guys,

New to the forums and cobalt boats. Just purchased a 1999 226 with 109 hours on it from my relatives. We were trying to start it today and while the lights and other features work, I’m not getting any power to the dash and the ignition does nothing. The switches in the left side are working backwards of normal and the switches on the right do not work and no motor crank. I checked the inline fuses I could find and they are fine. I checked the neutral switch connection and tested the ohms for resistance. I did find a red wire under the dash that is not hooked to anything, however, I can’t find anyplace where it would go. Not sure where to go from, hoping you all with your great expertise can chime in.

Thanks,
Phil.

[AsLan7]

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Hey phil. Welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us!

Let’s start with the easy stuff. I’m curious how old your battery or batteries are? Any corrosion? Any loose wires?

Have you checked the main breaker on top of the engine (usually 50 amp)?

And welcome aboard mate.

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[Philgconnors]

Thanks for the reply. Batteries are brand new. Cleaned all the terminals and tried everything with batts combined and individually.

[akorcovelos]

Did it work when your relatives put it away?

[Big Block Power]

The batteries are connected correctly right? Do you have power at the starter. Do you have power at the back of the alt? Is that 50 amp breaker good and power to each of those wires too. Connecting not loose behind them. Is the kill switch lanyard in? check the main pos and neg distribution connectors by the helm. It's tracing time my friend. Power at the fuse block and ign switch.

[Philgconnors]

Did it work when your relatives put it away?

Yes they used it last 3 years ago, put it in storage and haven’t used it since. I can hear the fuel pump engage when I turn the batteries on and get the warning beep when I turn the batteries on. When I turn the ignition on I’m now getting a slight shutter from the tachometer needle, however no other gauges work. The switches on the right of the steering wheel including captain call, aux, docking lights, wiper, dimmer, depth sounder and temp gauges do not work. On the right side, the blower, bilge, and lights are working, hydraulic trim tabs work and I can lift and lower the with trim/trailer button. I’ve check all the kill switch wiring connections, throttle connections and under dash connections. Again the only thing that seems out of place and would make sense as to why these items are not functional, would be this 14ga red wire with a connector on it that is hanging loose under the dash. I can’t seem to find anywhere that it could go.

I’m going to call my repair guy this morning to see if he can get it in. So frustrating as I want to hear this 454 run!

Thanks for the replies I really appreciate it and will keep updating as I figure this out.

[SAB220]

Fuel Air ignition. Its not half start, its no start. You need to learn the model of your engine and its serial number and then from there you can talk to a mechanic and/or search the Illustrated Parts Breakdown (IPB) for parts . Lots of Q's? Carburetor? There also a fuse at the starter but if bad fuel, bad carb, spark, filters .... I think I would be ready to do a complete tune-up,including the outdrive. SW/FW boat? If you can try running it on a external gas tank.

I have two 15 year old cars with less the 50K miles...almost every week there's a new problem with them. Good luck

[Big Block Power]

I guess get a picture of this red wire for us. There are a bunch of 226 guys on here maybe they can find it on theirs. Also it's only so long so it's good to go in a spot close by you would think. Is there 12v at that red wire?

[akorcovelos]

Wait, you hear the ignition tone and the fuel pump runs when you turn the batteries on? It should only do that when the key is turned to the ‘on’ position.

[Philgconnors]

Exactly what I thought and the switches that do work are now switching backwards.

[Philgconnors]

Finally had sometime to work on my boat today. This is what I’ve uncovered so far. When rebooking then battery’s up I turned the switch on and had the same results. I started pulling back the black cover on the wires running to the 20 ground fault switch and everything g started working. The power engine lid, power anchor light, All the guages and temp gauge, and the switches that worked previously backwards work normally. The hour meter only ticks when the key is on as well with the “beep from turning the ignition on. I decided to clean up the battery terminals again and put new bolts on them and hooked it back up and the same problems TL from before reoccurred. I narrowed it down to a single black wire in the pack and if I pull on it things start working, let go and goes back to the previous problems. I tried fishing where that wire goes but the exhaust is in my way. I plan to remove the exhaust pip tomorrow to see where this wire is going. I thought I share some pics of the wire and the wire under the dash that is not hooked to anything. Any help is greatly appreciated.
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[Big Block Power]

How are those grd wired going to the grd block located under the Corsa.

[AsLan7]

How are those grd wired going to the grd block located under the Corsa.

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+1....check for loose or chafed wires here....
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[Philgconnors]

I suspect the is a ground short somewhere along the line. The ground block is secure and all fittings snug. Everytime when everything is working and I try to crank the motor I get the “click” and everything dies. Move the wire it all comes back to life. I’m showing 13.5 volts on my brand new batteries. I think I’m getting close to the problem.

[Big Block Power]

Or remove the corsa and ship them to me so they are out of your way