intermittent starting issue

I have an 86 CC Martinique and every so often I turn the key and nothing happens. Yes the boat is in neutral and the ignition button is on. I have replaced the key ignition and still have the same issues. After turning the key a few times it will start right up. Any ideas.

might have a neutral safty switch going bad or the kill switch lanyard going bad if your's has one. When it happens again try moving the shifter into reverse and back to neutral then hit the key, might just be a slight cable adjustment is needed. Are the guages resetting when the key is in the on postion? look at the tach and it should go to Zero with the key on if not then let us know and we can tell you where to start looking.


Tim.... ford starters don't have an extra wire going to them just the heavy battery cable. A chevy starter would though.

to narrow it down to the neutral safty switch you can by-pass the switch by connecting both wires to the same post. JUST be for warned that the engine will start in gear and move if not in neutral. On the drivers side of the tranny there will be two white wires attached to the tranny, it looks like a sending unit, that's the neutral safty switch. Unscrew the wires and attach them to the same post that will by-pass the switch. Take it out and see if the problem is still there. Just connect it back the way it was before you let someone else take the boat out.

But first you sould visually inspect the shift lever and cable movement. Move the morse control back and forth between forward and reverse and neutral with the boat off and make sure that the lever on the tranny is centered in the neutral postion each time there are cast letters on the housing to indicate where it is you can do it yourself or have someone move it while you watch it or move it then check it. If it doesn't look like it is going to the center spot then the cable needs adjusted so that it does.