suzuki 9.9 sudden death, help needed!

[Mexican Hat]

I have a pair of 2022 Suzuki 9.9 High thrust, remote control, power tilt, 25 inch shaft outboards on my sailing ca. tOnly a few hundred hours on them at most. One has suddenly and inexplicably gone completely completely dead.



It was running on Monday when I motored a few miles to my chosen anchorage, shut them down, checked and topped up the oil and they sat the next day. Wednesday morning the R motor started and ran like normal, the L was completely silent when I turned key to start it. The normal buzzer sounds but there is no response from the engine. The motors are started by a common bank that also powers the windlass. It's fine. I can remove the motor from it's sled under the boat but I'm solo and it's not an easy task. This model weighs around 130lbs so getting it up on deck, never mind ashore will be a job in itself if it comes to that.



The list may not be 100% complete but so far:


1. Visually checked all wiring from remote to motor and inside motor
2. Checked the three fuses I can see (2 on motor, 1 at remote)
3. Swopped L remote onto R wiring and the R motor started and ran as normal. Of course a reverse swop did not change anything.
4. Physically checked motor is in neutral and that remote does work the gears.
5. Cleaned and reconnected wiring at the battery for the hell of it.
6. Cleaned and reconnected the two grounds on the motor.
7. Tried manual pull start and the motor does not start.
8. Gas in the intermediate reservoir.
9. Traded ECM from R to L with no change.

10. Called multiple dealers in Fort Myers who are either weeks or months out or simply don't work on the small motors. As one said; with a couple of hours labor and some parts on that you're better off just buying a new motor. Should have asked what the shop rate is....

11. Thought about buying the Suzuki diagnostic software and a thrift store PC but found out that it only works when the motor is running. Which raises the question: where are the codes stored? If it's in the ECM then I could perhaps swop L to R again and read them off the running motor?


I have thought of swopping the wiring runs from remote to motor to test that section as I can't easily check continuity alone.



Any outboard guru's that have any suggestions?


And BTW yes Jedi, I do know that gas, like propane, is the stuff people used to use before lithium so you don't have to belabor that point

[Jammer]

Troubleshooting over the internet is hard.

Does the starter motor operate (from your description it sounds like it does not)?

Have you tried the tilt? Does it work normally? If the tilt does not work you probably have 12v power problems somewhere and can trace them with a meter or a simple test light. (A test light is actually a more reliable test in many ways for this)

If you hot-wire the starter solenoid can you get the engine to start? (Disconnect the small red wire from the solenoid and touch it to the the nearby + stud on the solenoid; be careful as all safeties are bypassed when you do this)


Have you checked to be sure that the kill switch lanyard clip has not been dislodged?

[Mexican Hat]

Thanks Jammer.

Power tilt works
Checked kill switch when I swopped remotes. It's working.
Haven't tried hot wiring the starter but can do so. I didn't mostly because it won't start with the pull cord either.

Moving to a mooring at FMBeach in a few to have better access to service. Ill try the hotwire when Im settled.

[Mexican Hat]

Oh, starter does not operate when key is turned.

[Avionics_Joe]

This sounds like the neutral lockout to me. I would try and get an ohm meter on the neutral lockout switch and see if it changes when you shift into forward or reverse.

[Mexican Hat]

Thanks. It does seem like that so I switched the L controls to the R motor and it worked normally. Also verified that the L control did shift the L motor into neutral and F/R when operated. I didnt test the switch itself because the L remote worked normally on the R motor.

[Tortuga's Lie]

I was thinking of the neutral lockout or maybe the kill switch stuck or is there an emergency stop lanyard missing? A 9.9 should have have one of those.

[Avionics_Joe]

Originally Posted by Mexican Hat

Thanks. It does seem like that so I switched the L controls to the R motor and it worked normally. Also verified that the L control did shift the L motor into neutral and F/R when operated. I didnt test the switch itself because the L remote worked normally on the R motor.

Are you sure the switch is in the control and not in the motor? Do you have a wiring diagram?

[Mexican Hat]

Thanks. It does have the emergency stop lanyard and when I switched controls to the other motor I did test it. It does seem like some electrical stop function has been turned on but I can't figure it out.

[Mexican Hat]

I do have a wiring diagram and the switch is in the control head. But despite the swop suggesting otherwise I think you're right. I should test the switch itself.

[Avionics_Joe]

According to this wiring diagram, it is in the motor.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/84...age=214#manual

Good luck.

[Captain Bill]

There is a switch on the lower port side of the motor that can come loose and the shift lever does not move the button enough. You can put something between the button and the lever to engage the switch. I once used a piece of folded up paper, but anything that will depress the button will do to test it. If it's not too loose this will allow the motor to start. If it's too loose you'll see it move. In either case you will have identified the problem if this switch is the problem. It's happened to me twice so it's a possibility. I will attempt to attach a photo of the switch.

[Mexican Hat]

AJoe, I definitely have a neutral switch in the remotes. I had to reconfigure one so they could be mounted back to back and it was fiddly enough that I remember it well. There are multiple possible configurations of this motor and obviously a tiller model must have the switch somewhere. But perhaps the captain is on to something. I can't tell much from the foto but thank you for the lead. Is yours a remote control model? If so, there must be two neutral switches on those models.

[Captain Bill]

Mine is a tiller model. I have links to exploded views of the remote model below. The yellowish piece in the photo is Item 22 in the first link and the switch which is black and to the right of the yellowish piece is Item 6 on the second link. Item 10 is the piece that pushes on the switch button. There is a plastic hex nut on item 6 that vibrates loose.



https://www.brownspoint.com/t-bpasse...semblyId=24815


https://www.brownspoint.com/t-bpasse...semblyId=24830

[Mexican Hat]

Excellent CaptainBill and thank you. That would certainly fit the sudden death syndrome and I will dig into it tomorrow.