Loss of power

I can't believe it's been so long since I've had boat issues. It's been a while since I posted but was hoping for some guidance. Probably one of the more annoying issues is a very intermittent electrical problem on my 1998 SSN.. Occasionally, and usually in the morning, I completely lose power to the dash and ignition. It is not the key because none of the accessories work with the ignition breaker pressed. I have checked the throttle and safety lanyard switch and they are fine. What makes it especially frustrating is I can't open the engine cover since it's power actuated (a serious design flaw in my opinion). I wait an hour or so, try again and it fires right up.

I have noticed that when it does start which is almost always, it sounds kind of like the starter stays engaged for a few moments but I'm not quite sure. Is it possible the starter or the solenoid/bendix could cause a complete lack of power?

I'm in the early stages and I've not checked the engine other that to confirm the battery is fully charged. Can anyone recommend where they would start first?

SNobsessed wrote: I would hook up tests wires to both the +/- terminals of the main breaker (usually mounted to rear of engine). The wires don't need to be heavy gage. When it acts up, you can use a VOM to see if there is 12V to both wires. If one of them is dead, then that would be good info to have.

It's only got positive terminals.

Positive goes into the breaker and back out again.

So like SNobsessed said, check for 12 volts in and 12 volts out

An afterthought - just unhook the power lift of the dog house, then you can just lift it up when it's dead to check voltages.