High pitch whine, then smoke, now nothing

[sdw8892]

I have a 94 mercury 40 and it usually runs okay. Recently had weird starting problem where the key turn wouldn't crank anything, kind of like a really dead battery. Battery is new, so I assumed it was a cable. Haven't replaced the cables but they are making good contact. Then last week, the motor made a really high pitch whine. Turned it off, restarted, then it started to smoke and give the high pitch whine. Swam it to shore, went back a couple hours later, and now nothing. Checked the battery cables and they're all fine and tight; accessories and radio work. But otherwise motor does NOTHING. I've recently hit some sand (b/c our lake is 16 ft low) so I'm wondering if some junk got into the motor?

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[JB]

Re: High pitch whine, then smoke, now nothing

Your battery cables may have nothing to do with the engine problem, but looking okay is never enough. The only way to know that the connections are good is to take them off and clean them.