Ever had problems with HPDI's?

[joshm]

Since it got cold my motor (Yam. 150 HPDI) has been taking longer and longer to start. You can hold the key in the start position and hear a click and then wait up to 30 sec. for the motor to start. Once the motor warms up it will start right away. Wondering if my battery is to small or something else. If you guys have any suggestions they sure would help since its kinda embarrassing unloading and having to use my trolling motor.
Thanks
joshm

[gt5bass]

Sounds like your battery doesn't have enough cold cranking amps. The colder it gets, the better your battery needs to be.

[joshm]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking but I replaced the battery about 3 months ago and the one I bought had more cranking amps. Can cheaper batteries not perform as well-even if they say they have more cca's?

[bassdude]

It is not the batteries. This is common for what ever reason when it is cold you just have to give it a little thottle and it will start and it might die once. Do it again. It should run the rest of the day. I run up here in Montana and its cold all the time. All the guys I know that has a HPDI this happens to them about six to 12 months after new. I ask Yammaha when they are at the tournaments but they did not know either.

[Quantum_Kid]

Same thing happens with our Merc 4-stroke...

Scott

[mark poulson]

If it only happens when you start it for the first time, there might be a bad connection at your key switch. Maybe condensation gets in there when it's cold, but it evaporates after it's run a while.
I hate electrical problems!!!!

[BLAZER 210]

I have had two HPDI's a 250 and a 300 they all do this first thing just give it a little gas it should start and it will work perfect the rest of the day. Yamaha knows about this problem but can't seem to find a cure just the way it is.

[Ken C.]

You can hold the key in the start position and hear a click and then wait up to 30 sec. for the motor to start.

Maybe you can clarify the symptom a bit. You say you turn the key and hear a click. Is the motor turning over at that point? Or does it take the 30 seconds you mentioned before the motor even starts to turn over?

Or, does the engine crank over for 30 seconds before it starts?

Two totally different situations. What year is your Hammer and what year is your boat?

The HPDI's do have rather specific battery requirements - exactly what battery do you have - i.e., what size, what are the specs for CCA and Reserve amps, etc? That can make a big difference.

[Hipster]

What Blazer Said!!!

My Yammy is that way if I go two weeks w/o starting or if it gets below 32 outside but just about everyone at the ramp no matter what motor is having the same thing occur.

I talked to Phil at the shop (C&C Marine C.H.) he said Yamaha is coming with some sort of fix to the brain of the puter for this.

You are not alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mark poulson]

[joshm]

Sorry about not being more specific. The motor only clicks once and does NOT turn over. The cca requirements are a min. of 528 and my battery says 685. I have checked all connections and they are good. The boat and motor are on '01 purchased new in '04 with only 24.9 hours on motor-again this just started happening when it got cold. thanks for all of the info guys!

[BLAZER 210]

sounds like a weak batterey or a strarter, or starter cellanoid going bad you better have it checked out or you may get stranded!

[Ken C.]

I'm no expert by any means, but if your starter only makes a clicking noise and the engine does not start turning over until maybe 30 seconds later it sounds to me like a battery or a connection issue. When it does finally start cranking, does it fire right up? I think the guys that are saying it's a known problem are thinking it is cranking but not starting. In your case it is not cranking at all. That makes me think battery or some kind of corrosion on one of the connections - either + or - at the battery or at the motor. Possibly a starter or solenoid as Blazer mentioned. I recently went through a similar thing on my son's Ranger. What brand of battery do you have, and what size? I run a 175 HPDI and I have a group 27 (size) with the following capacities:

MCA @ 30* F = 1180
CCA @ 0* F = 970
Reserve = 178 Minutes

What you are describing sounds like either a battery that is not up to snuff or that you have some less-than-perfect connections. Battery selection is a major issue with not only these motors but the new Mercs and 'Rudes as well. They will actually shut down when the voltage/current in the battery get below a certain point. In your case though it sounds more to me like a connection issue - but you never know! Just because the battery is only 3 months old is no guarantee it's not the problem.

I asked how old your boat is simply because my son's older boat worked perfect one time then next time wouldn't even turn over. All the battery terminals looked great. But when I finally got to the point where I had no other suspects I pulled the terminals off and found some corrosion on the bottom side of the terminals. Cleaned them up and all has been great since then. I found lots of other corrsion on other wiring as well. Don't let outward appearances fool you - take 'em apart and look inside & underneath.

[BLAZER 210]

make sure you buy a good quality name brand like OPTIMA or TROJAN I made the mistake of buying the walmart yellow batteries one time and they were junk had to replace them within 3 months of new bought TROJAN this time and have not had a problem since been over a year.

[Jim Conlow Sr.]

I hook a hose up to my engine and start it and let it idle for a couple of minutes.
It starts immediately the next morning even when there is frost formed on the carpet in my boat. Of course I am talking about a Mercury so I dont know what result you would have with another brand