Carver Owners Forum

Good morning,

I am new to the forum and this is my first season with my 1986 3607 with gas Crusader Model 350s. I appreciate any assistance with the unusual problem I have been having.

The issue began with some difficult starting on the port motor. It needed to have the throttle wide open to get re-started after the engine was warm.

Several weeks later, the port engine would lose power and stall at idle after warming up for about 20 minutes. After reading the forums, I changed the fuel filters, spark plugs, ignition coil, ballast resistor (had a broken wire), and choke coil spring. The choke coil seemed to do the trick and the engine ran better for one trip.

This weekend, the engine had even less power after warming up and then stalled. Made it to my destination on one engine and then the next day, things got very strange. The boat was cold from sitting overnight. I started up the starboard motor without issue. I turned the key for the port motor and there was a buzzing noise that was different from the regular ignition buzzer and a power draw occurred that stalled the right motor. From that point on, there was no 12 volt power anywhere on the boat except to the windlass. The starter on the port motor was also smoking a bit and registered 180 degrees with the infrared gun.

I have a three battery setup which appears to be wired with one to the port motor, one to the starboard, and one for the generator/house?

The 50 amp push button breakers on the battery switch panel appear to be out and don't stay when pushed in. I run with the battery switch on "all" and that was the position when the power draw occurred. The breakers on the 12 volt panel in the electronic control center all appear ok. After a long tow home, I am at a loss.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Was the starboard side ok all along until the suspected short. Figure out what is on Battery #1 and what is on #2......because your switch was on both when whatever it was blew, then it affected both sides.....It almost sounds from your description something is shorted, although this could be a few things at the same time.....get a real bright light and inspect all your wiring and connections and look for overheated wire insulation and terminals.....

Regarding the hot starter.....disconnect all your batteries and have them tested or just replace them since this is your first year, clean all the grounds and terminals before reconnect. Try your boat with just one known good battery connected.You may have to have the starter checked as well now.

Regarding the engine runability.....this could just be the carb needs some attention......good luck man.

Need to test the batteries to make sure they're good.

On the "no DC"... need to check the input and output of the 1-both-2-off switch. Sometimes these do go bad and you'll lose all DC power. If that happens when the engines are running you may also fry the diodes in one or both alternators. After you get everything running you need to verify that both alternators are indeed charging OK.

On the port engine starter: You probably should pull that and get it checked. How long do you think it was at 180 degrees? While they can tolerate some heat (afterall, they're bolted to a motor that could be running at 192F if it was in a car), if the heat was caused by internal wiring that wiring must have been much hotter. You might have had a stuck solenoid that applied some power to the starter for too long.

Your port engine running/stalling: You should check the choke and make sure it's opening and closing correctly. The thermostatic element on these (if it's the 'divorced choke' style") sometimes comes loose inside and the choke will be open when it should be closed, or closed when it should be open.

Thanks Bud and KM!
Yes, the starboard motor has been running fine all along until the short.
All three batteries were replaced at the time of delivery. Will definitely check them as well as the battery switch and trace the wiring as suggested.

On the starter, I was trying to crank it with that buzzing sound for only 5 seconds or so. The engine never even turned, so I agree the stuck solenoid makes sense. There was an electrical smell and some minor smoking from the vicinity of the starter which is why I started checking the temp of the components.

For the running/stalling problem, I agree that the carb needs a rebuild. All internal components (butterflies, primaries and secondaries) move like they should and I replaced the thermal choke coil as well. Spark plugs looked pretty fouled so agree the mixture looks off. I also have been burning about 25% more fuel in the port motor than in the starboard.

Thanks again.