Getting shock in the remote, key, kill switch will not shut off engine

[barnesjb31]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and am excited to part of it. I have 1989 Johnson 70 on a starcraft. Recently I had a sudden problem occur. The boat is shocking me through the screws on the Remote Control, the shock is defiantly much stronger than a tingle, it carries a pretty good jolt. In addition the kill switch and and key will not shut off the engine, not does the warning horn work (not sure this is related).

Knowing the engine is 30 years old, I decided to replace the key switch and the kill switch and the horn as all of them were fairly inexpensive. When I did this I also checked, cleaned and tightened all my ground sin the remote and at the engine.. All the wires in the remote looked good. Problem persisted.

Since the shcok was carrying a punch, I though it might be the coils, replaced those with known working coils, problem still present. All wires in the outboard looked good.

I am guessing I am getting feedback from the engine that is not allowing it to ground out and shut off.

The spark plug wires look good and fit, tight. Can the power pack or Stator cause this? The boat runs well and smooth when it is going, (just dont touch the bolts on the remote!)

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[raczekp1]

check wirnig coming to remote control.
check cables coming from powerpack. 3 cables is gonng to ignition coil and 1 black is a stop cable.
cut this black and touch to powerhead, if stop curcit is faulty -motor will run whice clack is to the block
if motor stops, than check black cable rout to the remote controler

 

[oldboat1]

You might reinstall the old parts one at a time, and check after each replacement to see if the problem stops. Start with the old key switch assembly -- likely have to determine what went wrong with the new assembly.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Also The positive and negative may of worn and come into contact in the wire harness. You probably need a cheap $10 digital meter with resistance measuring or continuity to find this short. Ive had this before, it isnt a pleasant memory

 

[racerone]

Check the wee ground wire inside the control box.-----It is part of the kill circuit.----It goes from control box to negative on the battery.----It is NOT the big black negative cable.----It is a small ground wire.

 

[barnesjb31]

Thank you for all the feedback. This one is trying my patience. I replaces all the old components in the remote because of this issue. I do go back and put the old key switch back in just to ( I had taken a picture of the wiring prior, and it lined up with the wiring diagram in the repair manual. I have checked and rechecked all the wires in the box, no breaks anywhere, all the grounds are connected, clean and look good. Is it possible the one of the grounds is broken in the rubber coating) I looked closely at the kill switch and the black and yellow wire (as the shock carries a punch, much more than a tingle)

With the engine running well I should assume the problem is in the remote or wiring leading to it as opposed to maybe a bad spark plug wire?

I will invest in a wire tester and see if I can track this down. I will let you know what I find

 

[oldboat1]

Maybe a point or two: Your Starcraft is a great conductor if an aluminum hull. Need to take precautions to make sure all electronics are insulated from hull (battery should be in a plastic battery box, transom box if present should not be mounted directly to the hull). Make sure t. and t. wiring doesn't contact hull (and that there is no short). A/C current could run from a plug boot or wire as well, if there is a route.

A somewhat unique way to check for shorts is to use an infrared heat gun. Short creates a hot spot.

 

[barnesjb31]

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses. I was not able to get back to it until this past weekend (was rained out the one before)

I took much of the advice and triple checked the wires, and grounds in the in the control, everything looked good, I tested all the wires for shorts from the control box to the engine, no shorts all have good conductivity. I replaced and rotated, the new key switch and new kill switch in with the old to check all of them, still the same result. I went ahead and replaced the spark plug wires ( I had previously replaced the coils) still same result. But man, the engine seems to have a new lease on life and power with the new coils and wires, I mean besides trying to kill me.

Trying to think of next steps. Just to clarify in case it was not clear before, the only place I get a jolt is in the remote particularly the screws in it, hands do not have to be wet, the rest of the metal on the boat is fine, no tingle or anything. I

I have about 5 feet of surplus wire running from the engine to the control box. Thinking I could just cut it a foot down and attach new connectors to the "new" wires and redo the remote control wiring.

Could it be the power pack or the stator? I would think if there was an issue there the engine would run poorly, but it runs really well.

Any further thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Crosbyman]

when you get shocked you are completing a circuit...becoming the return point of stray voltages. I agree it should not happen so something is screwy

try grounding the "troublesome source of jolts" back to the engine frame itself by running an extra "new" wire to effectively short out the stray voltages away from your mounting screws .

Hopefully that won't blow anything but at least you should not be getting zapped anymore. (disclamer… this is your decision to try or not)

If the problem clears out I suspect your remote is not properly grounded. Is it mounted on non metallic surface or insulated somehow ?

BTW have you tried running that engine in total darkness to see if you can spot any arcing of high voltages ??

 

[Crosbyman]

gee no news…. :concern: last shock must have been the BIG one

 

[Joe Reeves]

Yes, your two problems are related................

The ignition "Kill" circuit is a simple one, as follows:

1 - Black wire from powerhead ground to powerpack.
2 - Black/Yellow wire from powerpack to raised "M" terminal of ignition switch. (No Other Wire Allowed here!)
3 - Black wire from regular "M" terminal of ignition switch grounded to control box. (No other wire allowed here)
4 - Black wire attached to control box leads into wiring harness that grounds to powerhead.

Eliminate any one of those connections and you have a problem.

Yeah, the shock you get from that black/yellow wire will curl your fingernails!

 

[tblshur]

Good explanation joe I think black wire from m terminal to motor ground is open just my 2 cents hope you find it soon please let us know what it is

 

[tblshur]

By the way barnesjb31 welcome to the site :welcome:I’ve found the people here very knowledgeable very willing to help hang in there they will get you fixed

 

[David Greer]

I had a similar series of problems with a mid-80's 70 OMC. One way to look for these issues is to do it at night so you can see sparks and arcs. Mine was up under the console; the steering assembly was sometimes touching the power wire to the gas gauge. I'd get some shocks and also blow the 20A fuse that operates the PTT and starter--went through about a bushel of them until we found the problem.

Point is, sometimes the short occurs outside the electrical schematic.