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Hello fellow boaters!

I've dealt with an issue for some time now, where my boat wouldn't start. I wouldn't get turnover, just a click from the slave solenoid up top on the engine. The engine would *eventually* start if I kept beating on the switch, but I have lost trust in it and this year I resolved to fix it..

I'm an amateur boat electrician.. but I think I did good today..

Without going into terrible detail like I want to, me, my multimeter, several semesters of university physics, and chatgpt dove headlong into the bilge.. I tested everything, but I did it in the wrong order, starting from the ignition switch, when I should have started from the battery. Battery (positive cable) -> starter -> starter fuse -> rest of boat. I kept finding I had a huge voltage drop when I turned the key. I dug.. and I dug.. and eventually..

A starter fuse that melted in my hand when I looked at it crossways.
In the process, all my big wire terminals are now corrosion free.. as it the back of my alternator...

and now I've gotta find one of these.

Without the part I can't say for certain if I've killed this particular gremlin, but I'm so, so hopeful!

With any luck, the thing will start now.

With more luck, the captains call will stay on the next time I try it and I might be able to hear it over the sound of the admiral's eye-rolls.

Glad to see you have it sorted! It's tricky to test a lot of things like this, but a long wire with an alligator clip on one end is great for extending multimeter leads to check resistance between components of the electrical system.

I've always found it rewarding to find the $3 part yourself rather than pay for a few hours of shop time to find and replace the same part, both for the cost savings and for the knowledge gained.

so as a follow-up -- I had to drive 40 minutes to a reputable shop to get the part... but now that it's in, everything works!

The captain's call, too!

Good thing it's not an "Admiral's call" or it'd never get used.

Maybe it's just placebo or the feeling of having fixed it, but the motor just sounds stronger.

If it wasn't for having to pick up kids and work, I'd take it to the lake now!

Nice work, Cap’n, and thanks for reporting back

Nice job on the fix. I do find that more often than not, whether it be automotive or marine, a bad connection (most frequently the ground) can cause some weird issues for certain.