Need a bit of Help guys,
In preperations for spring and summer I changed my oil this weekend etc, and while running my engine (7.4l mercruiser) I noticed when I would hit my Silent Choice switch my diverters would open but then shut. I could manually open them and they would stay open. I then shut them and re-opened and they would shut again. every once in a while they would stay open when suppose to. Can anybody tell me what to look for? what could be causing this? Seems as though it does not happen everytime I hit the switch, but most..
My batteries will start the motor, but could they be too weak to open the selenoids?
Thanks in advance.

That's very well possible. I had the same issue with a weak battery. New battery and they worked fine.

What would be a sure way to tell if one of the batteries are weak? Volt meter? I guess I should put them on the charger and see if they will stay charged?

Start off with a fresh charge. Or have them checked at AutoZone, or any place that sells batteries. Even a bad battery can show 12v on a meter.

Or just hook a known good battery up with jumper cables to the battery cables to check the solenoids themselves. I'd disconnect the boats battery just so it can't pull down a good battery for testing.

I know this sounds dumb but hit the switch to open 2 or 3 times. If they get caught in the middle, they can close on there own. Usually hitting the switch 2 or 3 times makes sure they are all the way open...

Chris

Mine got stuck after a winter, when disconecting the electric engine I could barely move the right one with a wrench and the left one moved only with a lot of muscle-work.

Disconnect the arms of the engines and see if they move freely. I removed mines, diasembled them at home and (yes my wife almost killed me) ran all parts in the dishwasher. After lots of lubing and working them from one side to another they worked again.....

However these were late 80-ties mercruiser-stamped silent choices, might still be the same prob.

Good luck