I have a 2001 9.9hp Nissan 2-stroke on my sailboat and have probems getting it to start.

The scenario usually goes this:
Get to boat, hook up fuel tank, turn on battery switch, open fuel tank vent and squeeze priming bulb a few times. Hit the start button and let it crank for about 10 seconds... nothing.

try again, and again... nothing.

take cover off, check for loose connections, spark plugs, try starter again... nothing.

pull off spark plug boots, check for a spark by holding the end of the wire near an engine ground while cranking... no spark on either cylinder.

Recheck connections going to the CDI box and spark plug wires.... try cranking... nothing.

repeat last 3 steps for 20-40 minutes... still nothing.

Give up on boating and decide to go to the tiki bar.

Try engine one more time... it fires up right away and starts idling. Once it starts it idles fine, runs great at WOT, doesn't run rough at all, doesn't stall, etc. If I shut it down I can start it right back up with a quick tap of the starter button or pull of the pull rope. Even after a few hours of sailing with the engine off it will still start right back up. But the next day it won't start again.

Any ideas? It's hard finding someone around here (MD) that works on Nissan motors

7/28/2005 8:46:31 PM

sounds electrical


thats all I know

how's the battery

7/28/2005 8:57:29 PM

I've got two mostly charged deep cycle marine batteries in parallel, last weekend when I was trying to start the engine, I actually had the charger on too giving an extra 15 amps since the dockmaster finally got around to fixing the power after 6 months.

I want to bet its something in the CDI black box or the box next to it that the spark plug wires come from. Its almost like I have to crank the engine off and on for 30 minutes while something warms up, once it does, the engine runs fine. I need to find a multimeter that reads peak voltages so I can do more checks, I've checked the resistances called out in the Clymers manual and they are all SAT.

7/28/2005 9:27:09 PM

yeah could be the CDI box

but I don't know shit about outboard motors really

7/28/2005 9:29:33 PM

that and make sure youre not getting moisture in any of the starting components, terminals and whatnot. im sure youve checked for corrision on the terminals and all but thats sometimes an issue. we had an outboard on an old boat that had trouble starting and it turned out to be corrosion. now the issue is moisture in the starter on the 350 in the new(er) boat, just something to check for is all...

7/28/2005 9:51:31 PM

Damn...an electric start 9.9...you shit in high cotton. I ain't got nuttin' but a 5 pull-start.

What kind of boat you have?


I would definitely clean all the connections to the CDI box and to the coil pack. Make sure you use dielectric grease on ALL connections. It really sounds like you've got a ground issue due to moisture or salt deposits or both. I usually thought that breakdown in the CDI module or coil pack occurred under heat soak or hot running conditions. Sounds like once you get 'er running and dried out, you don't have any other problems.

Have you checked your kill switch closely?

7/28/2005 11:39:45 PM

pm Houston.

outboard motors make his hull get up and plane.

7/28/2005 11:42:31 PM

sounds like a fuel problem to me, you forget that at cranking speed, the spark is very weak, even if you have a spark tester, its hard to see in the daylight. from the sounds of it, i seriously doubt you have an electrical problem. have you ever tried a little gas or ether in the carb while it wouldnt start? or did you just assume it was an ignition problem?

7/28/2005 11:44:20 PM

The boat is a '77 Oday 25. There is a pic in my gallery. If it wasn't for the electric start I would have dropped the thing off the back of the boat and had the insurance replace it. Trying to pull start it for half an hour would be killer

None of the visible connectors are corroded and they all have rubber boots and dielectric grease. It may not be a bad idea to reapply the grease though. The only wires I haven't checked are the ones that run from the CDI into engine (to the primary coils? - I don't have the book on me now) I would have to take the cover off the flywheel to get at those so that is something I'd want to do in the garage instead of over the water.

I have checked the kill switch with a continutiy meter and it changes state when I push the button. I can't remember if it is open or closed normally but it cycles and will kill the engine once its running.

I haven't tried spraying anything into the carb to get it to start but thats a good idea. I ran a can of outboard carb cleaner through it last winter, it didn't really affect the starting too much though.

I have done a spark check in my garage under low light conditions and didn't see one. The next time I tried it, it of course worked and I guess my fingers were too close to a ground or the pliers weren't insulated enough and it shocked the crap out of my hand but the engine started so it didn't matter. That time I was using the spark plug end as the ground and the spark jumped a 1/4" gap from where I was holding the plug wire and the gap in the plug and still started the engine. Speaking of plugs, they are gapped correctly and probably replaced way too often

7/30/2005 10:38:57 AM

does it have a safety lanyard? (in case you fall off or something it will shut the engine down?). i've seen those switches cause problems like that before.

7/30/2005 4:35:26 PM

The instruction manual says it does, but I don't have one or see where one would connect anywhere

7/31/2005 11:59:05 AM

should be connected to a yellow or wite wire on the cdi box, but i dont think models that old had them, if it has a kill switch, the lanyard should be hooked up to ground the same wire, so just follow it out

7/31/2005 12:14:08 PM