IronOutlaw
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2009
- Messages
- 44
Ok, I just bought a boat that had a mercury on it that wasnt getting spark, I gave up on that engine because I want the boat going by this weekend and I had what I thought was a good 55 johnson which I switched onto it.
Well, after looking at it the wiring harness was rotten. When you would crank it, it wouldnt go off until out of gas, and the switch did nothing. I just found out it was because the magneto cutoff wasnt wired to it.
Ok, I rewired everything, tried to do one at a time and match colors but it was hard because the wires were so brittle when I would touch one it would break, and then someone also had patched up some wires when the engine was rebuilt about 6 years ago.
Now, after everything was hooked up, which im 90% sure correctly, the choke will only move about a quarter of an inch instead of all the way when I push the elec choke button. Maybe its not getting enough voltage?
Also the switch will not turn the starter.
I jumped the motor with a screw driver on the cylinoid and it cranked fine. The ignition switch however does work in the fact that it has to be on for the engine to run and will kill the engine when turned to off.
This motor has sat for around 3 years without running so the switch could be bad, but before I go and spend money on a new switch I wanted to make sure this didnt sound like a wiring error.
PS: Can I wire up a pushbutton switch to the ignition wires or can it fry it since it is a magneto switch? I hate to be cheap but with work slow Id rather spend 5 bucks on a button switch that 30+ on a marine switch.
Well, after looking at it the wiring harness was rotten. When you would crank it, it wouldnt go off until out of gas, and the switch did nothing. I just found out it was because the magneto cutoff wasnt wired to it.
Ok, I rewired everything, tried to do one at a time and match colors but it was hard because the wires were so brittle when I would touch one it would break, and then someone also had patched up some wires when the engine was rebuilt about 6 years ago.
Now, after everything was hooked up, which im 90% sure correctly, the choke will only move about a quarter of an inch instead of all the way when I push the elec choke button. Maybe its not getting enough voltage?
Also the switch will not turn the starter.
I jumped the motor with a screw driver on the cylinoid and it cranked fine. The ignition switch however does work in the fact that it has to be on for the engine to run and will kill the engine when turned to off.
This motor has sat for around 3 years without running so the switch could be bad, but before I go and spend money on a new switch I wanted to make sure this didnt sound like a wiring error.
PS: Can I wire up a pushbutton switch to the ignition wires or can it fry it since it is a magneto switch? I hate to be cheap but with work slow Id rather spend 5 bucks on a button switch that 30+ on a marine switch.
