# Battery Terminals on 50 hp Merc



## devinmurray99 (Jan 7, 2010)

This probably gives away a lot about how little I know about outboards but I hung my new motor and I do not know if I hooked the end terminals (in from the battery, + and -) in the right place.  I am not talking about the bundle coming in from the remote.

Anyways the trim works just fine but (goes up when I hit up, etc), what sounds like the starter ticks when I try to crank the motor.  I have 2 brand new batteries, both fully charged and I get the same result with both.  Also the terminal cables/ends are brand new too.

Here is a picture of where I bolted both + and - end terminals.  Am I hooking this up to the right place?

Thanks in advance.

:-[


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

When you push the start botton does the starter spin and engage the sprocket? or does it not even get that far?

Just a word of caution- if yours is like mine there is a not on the bach side of the terminal and one that you tighten to clamp the wires together. If so, did you hold that nut so it won't turn when you tightened the outer nut? If not you probably damaged the solenoid and that will not let enough juice through to the starter.

Try this - push in on the terminals (hard) when trying to start it. Push one at a time then both at the same time. If you get any sound difference you need new one. If this is the case you need a set of ignition wrenches (these are very thin wrenches) that will fit on the backing nut and allow you to tighten the outer nut properly.


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## devinmurray99 (Jan 7, 2010)

Thanks for the info Ducknut. Apparently the positive terminal belongs on the solenoid terminal and you are supposed to ground the negative elsewhere like the starter. Luckily I did not fry the solenoid by doing this.

In the process I found a cool resource to share on parts, etc. I will post that in a separate topic.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Negative wire to starter bolt (ground). Jumper wire from bottom of starter (negative) to solenoid. Positive to solenoid.


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