2021 Yamaha 195s intermittent starting problems

[Colindarling]

We bought our boat new and it has about 30 hours on the engine in total. Our boat decides if and when it’s going to start up like it has a mind all its own.

I’m truly at a loss, dealer has been unproductive and my wife and I basically are hoping we can find someone who can help, or we’ll likely sell the boat. We’ve been towed in twice, not a great look for a brand new Yamaha.

Here’s what I’ve captured so far:

- Aft clean-out switch is adjusted and active. Confirmed engine will start and confirmed engine will not start when switch is properly engaged (ruled this out)

- Boat is confirmed in neutral. Safety lanyard is also properly in place.

- Battery is showing 12.4 volts and I’ve used a second battery; believe we have ruled this out.

What I notice consistently (albeit the problem is inconsistent) is that when I turn the key, the voltage dips down by about .75 amps (you can also hear a change in blower revolutions). So I thought first maybe something was clogging the impeller or blockage. However, after several sequences of shutting the battery off at the switch, turning on battery, and the occasional un-seat/re-seat of the starter relay plug (I believe this does nothing but makes me think I’m accomplishing something) the boat will randomly fire up and we’re on our way. Sometimes, the ECU sounds like it’s doing a bunch of sequence checks, and then just does nothing.

My next thought is the starter (again because the voltage dips so something is drawing current), a bad ECU, or a bad ground somewhere, but I can’t find it. It’s a real gremlin. My dealer was AMAZING at selling me the boat and then has been very little help since.

Has anyone experienced a similar set of symptoms?

 

[jdkaeser]

Sounds to me like a loose electrical connection somewhere as well. I’d check every connection from the dash to the battery and engine. Electrical gremlins are the worst! Best of luck to you.

 

[Rockit69]

I would start with cleaning and making sure you battery connections are tight. It does sound like its a loose conection. I would bet you have a loose terminal connection on the battery or in the battery switch. remove the battery switch and check the connections for tight. Dont forget to remove the positive from the battery so you dont get zapped.

 

[Hoyt]

Definitely sounds electrical, and I'm with the guys above as leaning towards battery connections. These yamahas are very finicky when it comes to their voltage. By chance are you trickle charging your battery after every trip? The stator in our engines is barely enough to charge the battery under load
Dealers are zero help, and if they do help they'll keep your boat forever. It really sucks. However, these boats are also super simple to work on.

 

[Colindarling]

Update: Brought the boat to the dealer, they insisted it was the stern clean out switch was not properly aligned. I (multiple times) let them know that I had purchased a second switch, and the problem still existed when I was holding the switch literally in my hand. The boat fired up once more, so they assumed "it's all fixed". Picked it up, got it home, cranks once in driveway (didn't start it, didn't have water connected). Then it wouldn't crank again.

I have been trickle charging the battery, I also used a separate battery, from my car, to try and rule out the battery itself. Does anyone have any more insight about the voltage? Would the ECU be stopping something if the voltage is off? The reason I ask, is it sounds like something is happening (Not cranking or anything) but like a system check if that makes sense near the engine, then nothing happens. If I wait for about a minute, the same sequence of sounds happens, but again doesn't crank.

 

[Hoyt]

This is really weird honestly. Perhaps try looping (bypass/eliminate) the safety switches (clean out port, engine, safety lanyard) individually to see if one of them is the problem? Definitely still think it's an electrical gremlin, but what is the question. Yamahas definitely won't start under 10 volts (under load), but you said you checked voltage drop. Even still it wouldn't crank like normal if it was battery dead or would drag like a dead battery. My guess is 1. Faulty safety switch
2. Bad ground
Really hate your going through this.

 

[jetboatjay]

Not sure if you are still having issues now that it's June 16th, but this video is a good example of what a friend of mine just did on his 2017 AR195. He was also struggling to get a consistent start, but knew it wasn't the battery. He disconnected this relay on the back of the dash, sprayed it, and has not had a problem since. Again, just offering my experience, not saying this is what will work for you.