Starting electrical mystery

[Drummer1]

Man I feel like an inept idiot sometimes but I figured I'd post this because I know there are many of you who are much more informed on this stuff than me.
2004 SV211 with the PCM Excalibur 330. Just changed the starter, impeller, filters, wires plugs blah blah blah.

I Fired up the boat in the driveway, it started perfectly then after about a minute it just deep sixed like I pulled the kill switch. I Tried again and no starter at all, the gauges on, fuel cycled, but nothing. So I start checking the battery power, starter, connections, neutral safety, kill switch, breakers, fuses etc. No issues found.

Went through the starting process again from scratch (keypad routine) and it turned over but I don't even know if it got a full revolution then stopped.

Next step would be relays and such, With the power on but engine off, I touched, literally touched, the mounting bracket with the relays and the fuel pump cycled, got the dash beep (although I got that before) etc. Hit the start and got a partial revolution. Went back to the mounting plate and pulled up on it slightly right at the arrow in the picture and it cycled again. This time, I hit start, it fired up with no problem and started running. Okay, cool, I know it has to be a connection issue...or does it, and where?

Everything I'm checking in that area is right and tightly connected. No rust, corrosion or anything like that. I started it again and I ran it for 5 minutes and then I started lightly pushing and pulling on that plate and it died again.

I walked away for a bit and just started it again without issue and had it run for about 15 minutes, throttling up a little here and there and now I CAN'T REPLICATE IT! I can't get it to die doing anything I was doing before. Nothing worse than an electrical issue that corrects itself.
Could a bad relay be sensitive to such little movement like that or is there something else that someone can suggest checking? The breaker is right there but could it be intermittently bad to that extreme? Since it's not happening now, I don't think there's much I can do but I'm just concerned I'll be on the water and it will decide to act up again. I really do appreciate any input or ideas.

[jpwhit]

It's fixed, just go boating and don't worry about it

I'd unplug the relays and see if any of the pins or sockets where the relay pins insert into look damaged or burned. It's not uncommon for the sockets the relay plug into too loose their grip on the pins and start heating up and get damaged. That can cause the issue you've described.

I have seen breakers fail like this as well. But usually if that's what's happening you can get it to disconnect by messing with the button.

[Drummer1]

Thank you JP. I know right? People are always like; "cool, problem solved".
I will check those pins more closely. I did notice that the connection studs on the bottom of the breaker were pretty hot to the touch while running. I'd assume with that size that heat might be normal however, I could keep my hand on it but I'd say after 10 seconds or so it was getting uncomfortable. Other than a thermometer, I'm not sure how to describe how hot something is. Anyway, is that normal for those connections?

[NautiqueJeff]

Those relays are known to fail. I keep three on hand just in case. They are cheap, and easy to replace if necessary.

[jpwhit]

Thank you JP. I know right? People are always like; "cool, problem solved".
I will check those pins more closely. I did notice that the connection studs on the bottom of the breaker were pretty hot to the touch while running. I'd assume with that size that heat might be normal however, I could keep my hand on it but I'd say after 10 seconds or so it was getting uncomfortable. Other than a thermometer, I'm not sure how to describe how hot something is. Anyway, is that normal for those connections?

No, I wouldn't expect anything to be hot. That would point to a bad connection that's resistive and creating heat. I'd take those connections apart and clean everything. Or just go ahead and replace the breaker and clean up the wire terminals in the process of replacing it.

[Drummer1]

Thank's guys, I'll go ahead and take it apart grab and some replacements.

[shag]

Probably the really... Also, although less likely, the wire ends could be bad. I have seen the wire corrode but look ok from the outside... But when you cut to put a new terminal on, the whole inside of the cable was corroded. I can't remember what gauge 'that' wire is though... The corrosion is usually more of an issue on a battery or starter cable... Best of luck!

[ihaveansv211]

Did you ever find a fix for this?

Hope the boat is doing great for you otherwise!!