Restoring 84 F3LS, no crank
 

Restoring an 84 F3LS. 5.7L Mercruiser. Just got around to hooking up a battery to it, and I have no crank. Started does not turn at all. I have no power to Nav lights, dash lights, wiper etc. Bilge is out, so don't know about that.

What works... the blower, the clock, and the outdrive (up/down). The blower looks like it might be wired directly. The fuse on the panel is partially melted and their is no fuse there anymore.. but it works. The outdrive is wired directly from the battery.

Checked the basics.. battery cables, battery switch, harness.. cleaned them all. It has a master breaker on it, but I can't push in. Already looks reset

Any other obvious things before I dig deeper? All the other fuses at the dash. It has had electrical work done in the past, but did run the way it's wired. I can tell it's had work done because most of the electrical connections are labeled from the factory, but some are just newer crimped on connectors.

<div style="text-align:left;">You may have eliminated this already; but the cannon plug will shut it all down if not fully connected.</div>

Well, cleaned some more connections and have power but only the solonoid will fire. Engine doesn't spin. Hopefully it's just a bad starter...don't want to think the motor is locked up.

Well... motor won't spin. Starter seems to be good.

My question is, is any part of the outdrive making it harder to spin the motor even if it's in neutral? I guess the easiest way is to just pull it.. seems easy enough. Only reason I really ask is because my father put an impeller kit in, and has never used the boat since. I'm wondering if something inside the unit it stopping the engine from turning.

Pull the drive and try. Sometimes starters get old and don't have the torque needed to spin it. If the boat has been sitting for a long time you need to go about it the correct way. I would replace the starter first. Before trying to start I would change the oil. Then pull the distributor and prime the oil system. Pull the plugs and put some marvel mystery oil in each cylinder. Pull the coil wire or power to the coil. Then with a ratchet or breaker bar try to spin the motor by hand. If that works then crank a few times with the starter.

after all that tune up time, plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. Find tdc and put it all back together. Probably rebuild the carb and fuel system. Then try to fire it.

I didnt make it a step by step procedure on when to put the distributor back in but if you know about engines you can figure that out. My main concern is that he didnt fog the engine and coat the cylinder walls before storing. This would lead to rusted cylinder walls and a seized motor. If that's the case this may get it running but it will have some issues down the road on oil usage and things

Yes, all of that has been done. plugs out, marvel, primed, fuel drained, new fuel, carb rebuilt, new filters... etc etc. Engine was always fogged correctly and coolant poured in (Ohio boat). So, I didn't have any reason to think the motor was seized. I guess it's a last ditch try to see if the drive unit is holding it up from spinning.

Trying to post a picture.... it's dead...