Engine will not shut off

[DarrinT]

1973 Starcraft Islander 140 Mercruiser restore project

Just swapped engine , outdrive and tilt rams from a 71 Larson donator boat following the manual and being as careful as an ignorant amateur can be

I have a short somewhere in my system and I can't turn the motor off at the key switch.

When I connect the battery the lights come on in the dash and when I run the motor it will not shut off unless I pull the wire off the coil.

I disconnected the ignition switch and the lights still come on in the dash

I'm trying to determine if the fault is at the engine or dash so I pulled the main connector that brings the wires from the dash to the engine when the engine was running thinking that this would kill the motor - but it kept running.

Should this happen?

Also when I start the motor the ammeter stays flat for a minute or so then jumps to indicate its charging the battery. I'm beginning to suspect the ammeter is the problem but being a total electrical neophyte I'm afraid if I mess with it too much I might blow something up.

All help and comments greatly appreciated

Thanks Darrin

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: Engine will not shut off

If u unplugged the harness at the engine and it kept running, I would say you have an issue with the harness on the engine and if your not good with electrical, find someone who is.

 

[DarrinT]

Re: Engine will not shut off

Success

Whole sordid story in this thread;

And during the process I discovered an automotive coil that is perfect for marine applications

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=404398