1985 Evinrude wiring question

[WesH]

I hope this is the right place for this sort of question...
I am in the process of rebuilding an Arrow Glass from the early 70's. It was damaged ( a tree fell on it ), and the original owner had begun the process of replacing the things that were damaged, but never got around to actually hooking anything up. He had picked up a 1985 Evinrude 40 hp ( model 40elc0 ), and I'm to the point that I'm trying to get it to crank. My hold up now is wiring the ignition. I've spent several hours looking at wiring diagrams, and I'm stumped. Here's my weird question: All of the diagrams for the red amphenol connector inside the motor cowling show eight wires, but I only have seven. Any idea where I might find a wiring diagram that would work for this?
My second issue: The harness from the actual ignition switch only has five wires, and is a black amphenol, so it doesn't mate with the red amphenol in the motor. I'm leaning towards making hard connections rather than hunting down the right harness; is there a reason I shouldn't? Thanks,
Wes

 

[WesH]

I thought it might help if I added a little bit more info. My switch has the following identifiers on the back, wired to these colors:
A, wired to White
B, wired to Red
C, wired to Purple
I, not connected
M, wired to Black with a White Stripe
M (raised), wired to Black.
This terminates at a black amphenol connector. My motor has the red connector, so obviously they don't mate. I want to cut off the amphenols and hard wire these connections. Is there a reason that I can't? Can anybody offer some hints on what to connect? I have an idea of what goes where, but I'm not sure on where my 12v accessory connects and if I should connect the "I" lug to my starter circuit. Thanks again,
Wes H

 

[glenn property of pam]

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/ignitionSwitch.html

this link might help. The big problem is the black plug is for a older style motor. I would really advise against cutting and splicing a connector. Im not saying it can not be done but it would be a shame to cut it then find out that the throttle/shift cables might not work, plus it would be a pain if you ever needed to pull the motor. A used shifter for a red connector shouldn't be that expensive and would be the best way to go.

 

[jhebert]

You are making an assumption that the rigging on a c.1970 boat will automatically be compatible with the wiring of a specific brand of c.1985 outboard engine.

The ignition switch wiring on your c.1970 boat does not sound like it is designed to plug into a c.1985 Evinrude. As Glenn recommended above, your best option is to preserve the integrity of the wiring harness on the c.1985 outboard engine, and buy a used ignition switch assembly. You should be able to find plenty of these. The large red rubber Amphenol connector for Evinrude engine wiring harnesses was no longer used after 1995. This suggests that anyone who re-powered a pre-1996 boat with a newer Evinrude outboard engine will have had to abandon their old style big red Amphenol connector ignition controls. You ought to be able to find these available at very moderate costs.