A good tip we are taught at NSRI. Is to actually kill the motor with the kill switches often in stead of using the key. Just to check whether it is working correctly.
You are so awesome I've had my 1988 checkmate ski boat with a 90 horsepower Yamaha on it and you have helped me do so much on my own instead of spending so much money at the Marine shop
On my old Chrysler the kill switch wire came in contact with the flywheel causing it to run with bad spark. When I noticed what was going on I unhooked the kill switch and the motor worked fine. Glad to see the sponsorship I've ordered from them for years. Its great for someone like me that fools with old motors. They've got NOS parts dating back to the late 50's.
HI mate, wires rubbing against moving parts is always going to cause you trouble, that's for sure. Glad to hear that MarineEngine.com has been able to supply you the parts you've needed. :)
Hi, i figured out the problem with my 1990 johnson 90hp outboard. And i figured out after trying everything possible to get the rpm to be stable...that the reason behind all the problems are the throttle cables. They have about an inch of play in them, which caused the throttle lever not to end up in the same spot every time i move the remote control forward and back to neutral. Thank you so much for your videos because without them i wouldn't have had the knowledge to do what i did.
I was desperately trying to figure out why I had no spark for my XR4, but I knew it was in the kill switch circuit. Your casual mention of the “soggy” connections causing a similar issue caused me to try replacing all of my bullet connectors in my throttle. What do you know, that fixed it! Thank you so much, this saved me a lot of frustration!
Wow, what a good teacher you are ! Some mechanics think (before I saw your video I did too) when you pull the lanyard something is disconnected. But now I know that after pulling the lanyard: the kill switch should make a connection !! Thanks so very very much. I could make my kill switch work myself. (long story: bought a new Glastron, it was rigged for a Mercury outboard, but with the same dealer I bought a Suzuki 140 hp outboard. So the mechanic had to cut the big cable and had to make many connections, but didn't get the kill switch to work)
And your videos are excellent. You speak clearly and relaxed, not too fast, not too slow. No stuttering, no 'uh's . Folks who'se native language isn't english (like me) understand. Camerawork also sharp and clear. Gonna watch many more, and learn a lot more
Thanks Frank, glad the video helped you. The newer videos are better produced that the old ones. They have loads of 'uhs' and bad audio. I must remake those ones one day. :)
Thank you so much for this! I am new to sailing, just bought my first outboard, have no idea what I'm doing lol ! Spent the first hour looking for the gas tank 'til I realized I had to buy one....Got it started, and realized I had no clue how to turn it off !!!!! "Turning the switch on turns the motor off" perfect !
Thank you Stu,my mercury broke down once again tonight . No fire ,and no power trim and tilt nothing. Put a brand new battery on it and still nothing. [New problem motor]I bought a 9.9 Yamaha and the man told me a friend worked on the kill switch and therefore it will not fire off. You were highlighted on my computer when i walked in from the break down. hahaha Tomorrow i will check out the white wire and see if it will crank.I have two problem motors....
It was the fuse on the mercury. Have not had time to work on the Yamaha.The tiller handle throttle cable is a wreck. Will look at it tomorrow and bypass the kill switch and manually work the carburetor.
thanks man, I´m not speak inglish. then sorry. I live in Salta, Argentina. and I can repair my mercury thunderbolt just seen your´s videos. no puedo explicarte lo valiosos que han sido tus videos a la hora de embarcarme en la reparación de mi viejo motor. que empezó con el eje de la caja de cambios torcido pasando por el sistema de refrigeración y ahora terminando con el botón de corte. gracias nuevamente. te cuento que por aqui tuvimos que reconstruir todas las piezas ya que es muy dificil conseguir los repuestos. un abrazo.
Thank you for this explanation. Having understood how it works I was able to fix the problem. I like your diagrams. Thanks for taking the time produce these videos they have helped me fix a lot of things.
Congrats on getting sponsorship for your channel Stu! This was a great video on how those switches work. I was always taught when troubleshooting look at the easy things first. It could likely be the problem. I wonder how many times a kill switch that was stuck closed was overlooked by someone with little experience leading to the replacement of an expensive CDI box?
Thanks Jack. You are dead right about starting with the simple things. No spark is much more likely to be a kill switch than a CDI unit, and certainly much cheaper!
Im so glad MARINE ENGINE is supporting you're channel now!! You deserved that for some time now. They couldn't have choosen a better person to sponsor and im now gonna order my parts from them instead of boats. n=€. And PLEASE show some vids on smaller Mercury 2 stroke(40-60) if you ever get the chance! Thanks and great job as always STU
Thanks mate, It's great that they get the extra business in exchange for helping to make this all possible. Will definitely film some jobs on smaller Mercs whenever I can get my hands on one for a few days.
Great video Stu. It made a rather dull day quite funny when you lost the clip and your humour in the face of adversity shone thru. I wasn't laughing so much at you but at myself as this has happened to me numerous times so much that I though it might happen to you. Thanks again for a great video.
Thanks Alan. I'm forever losing things! I do tend to do it more often when I'm trying to film at the same time though. As well as things shooting across the workshop I have a terrible habit of putting things down and forgetting where I put them...
Join the club Stu. Yea you have a difficult time trying to work with the camera and your tools at the same time. For me I think it's just too many years on the planet. But as long as we can still enjoy working on our projects that's what matters......
Splendid video Stu. I have a request for future videos. "How to check a used outboards before buying it", maybe one for two-stroke, one for four-stroke and one for two-stroke with injection. Maybe one about what to check if you can not testrun it. Keep up the good work.
i enjoyed your video very much it has a good learning setting as if your in a classroom learning outboards and feels like one on one . you have a good attitude to teaching thanx
Every time I look for a useful video about aouboards yous far exceed my expectations. Thanks for the great work, my 67 merc 200 is up and running because of you.
Thanks Mate! Very helpful info & hats off to the new (very smart folks to sponsor you!) sponsorship! I wasn't aware of them before you mentioned them so many Thanks! Now i have a new source for parts!
My black wire with the yellow stripe was broken inside the main harness with the big red plug. I chased it down with an audible ohm meter .Rather than cutting the thick protective coating and repairing the broken wire I ran a separate wire from the CDI box to the ignition switch. Note that I used a correct color wire " for future mechanics" with a thick UV coating to protect it from the elements and getting banged up. I also put a bullet connector on it beside the big red plug in case the motor ever needed to be removed it can be unplugged rather than cutting it. Works great cuts off everytime now.
Wow! Another great video I have been wrestling with a 1971 mercury 7,5 hp mercury kicker motor no spark. Your video has helped me so much and your straight forward manner inspires confidence.. I have two older outboards and you have been a coach through both..thanks! anyway long story short after working the points over on a no spark motor and making a few more discoveries I now have spark...yea. I did find an obscure fact in the process, that I wanted to pass along, the 1971 mercury type 2 ignition sends the spark when the points are CLOSED (all other mercury ignitions operate the normal way ) this one really threw me a curve ball. Accordingly the kill switch is backwards as the kill is open and run is closed...yikes.
Good video mate always wondered what was inside one of them ,when i did the anglapro up i had 3 kill switches one on the consul the lanyard and also a button on the front which i think would have been used for a starter if you put electric start on an enduro but they were all handy ,pull up to a spot and kill the engine and just glide in trolling at the back get a hit push the button and fight the fish anyway good video .
Go to push bike shop ask for broken spoke wheel . Cut or disassemble spokes. Picks for life. Place spoke in drill run drill on branch grinder to make point then run drill on knife block or 400g paper.
Thanks for the helpful videos. I just bought a used boat about a month ago. It is a 2003 McKee Craft 172 Backwater and it has a 2004 Tohatsu 90 hp TLDI. First time I took it out it started right up and ran well, I was able to shut it off and restart with no issues. Daughter had to use the restroom so I went to a dock turned the engine off and when she got back in I was able to restart it and slowly made my way back out to deeper water and when I tried to give it some throttle it died and I had a hard time getting it restarted but luckily I was able to get it started and back off the water. Did some research and thought it was likely old gas so I replaced the fuel/water separator and dumped a can of Seafoam in the tank and ran it from home with muffs. Stalled one time in the driveway but figured that was because I didn't prefill the water/fuel separator with fuel but once restarted I could not get it to repeat the issue so I figured problem solved. I have taken it out 2 times since this and it has started on the first try and ran flawlessly for the entire day both times. After taking it out last Monday, I brought it home and started it and ran fresh water through it in the driveway for about 15 minutes on idle. No issues! So I load the wife and kids up this past Sunday drive 45 minutes to the boat ramp, put the boat in the water and I can not get it to start. It was acting like the battery was low. When I turn the key it makes the beep sound and then I try to turn it to start the starter cranks the flywheel but seems to not be cranking with enough power. I unplugged the battery and plugged to another battery I had with me and it does the same thing. Another boater saw me having issues and offered his freshly charged battery and it did the same. The GPS/depth finder and electric trim work fine but the engine will not start. I have been removing the key and kill switch when I park the boat so it has me wondering if the kill switch could have broken and the motor thinks it is removed. The other strange thing it is doing is the beeping sound comes back when I turn the key to start. So what I mean is it beeps for a couple of second when turned to on (this is normal) and when it stops I attempt to turn to start and the engine tries but with little power to start and the beeping returns. Could I have a bad kill switch or ignition switch? I tried turning the key to on and cranking the flywheel manually but it didn't do anything like it was not sending anything to the spark plugs. Pulled and cleaned all 3 spark plugs but cant get the boat to do anything. My local marina cant look at it for 3 weeks and I really want to get it out a couple more times before winter. Any suggestions on what to check, what to do?
So there could be a couple of things going on here. Firstly, if it is cranking slowly even though the battery is good, it could be that there is a voltage drop over the battery leads (th-cam.com/video/5tGCepHveHk/w-d-xo.html) due to some internal damage or the brushes in the starter motor itself (th-cam.com/video/woVT4czk6ao/w-d-xo.html) are starting to fail. The kill switch can be tested by unplugging it as when it is unplugged you should get spark. th-cam.com/video/SN17iBL5lps/w-d-xo.html
Dangar Marine Is it really possible that the slightest amount of rust on the battery connectors could have been causing my issue? I tested the continuity of the kill switch and determined it was fine. I had 12.5 volts at the battery and at the starter solenoid when i turned the key to on so I didn't think it was a connection issue but figured I would start with the simplist thing and pulled the battery out wire brushed the terminals and connectors then reconnected and tightened everything snuggly. I did that and cleared all existing fault codes then gave it a try. Didn't start the first attempt so I checked to see if it fired new codes and it didn't so I gave it a 2nd try and it fired right up! Turned it off and on multiple times with no issues. Almost wish I had tried again before cleaning the terminals and connectors just so I knew that was really the issue. Just seems too insignificant as the terminal and connectors looked pretty clean before I did anything and I had the boat out less than a week before having issues and it ran and started fine then. Hopefully my problem is fixed but I am not 100% convinced.
Danger I need to install one of those kill switches to my console on my new boat which never came with one where can I install it can I install it to the ignition key ?
New scenario engine won't shut off, Shut off system was working but then stopped working as I did a pre season check. Johnson 45hp commercial 1984. Two kill switches both work (one on engine & one on helm) good continuity to ground right up to entering the CDI (Black-Yellow strip) . I replaced CDI Aug 2023, I think I ran the boat 3 times after install. Question; Do I replace CDI again ? How can I kill engine excluding disconnecting the fuel line. ?
Great news about your sponsor!!! Kill switch...., probably the least suspected item but most often the culprit of no sparks on any plugs. Again, congrats with Marinegine.com
Brilliant info and education on kill switches. Can I splice into the kill switch wires to make a second kill switch for a long tiller extension with the second kill switch at the end? Like to leave the factory kill switch in place which is not on the tiller arm. It’s a new 3.5 Mercury.
Thank you for the great videos. I’ve recently “inherited” an old 1970 Mercury Thunderbolt 7.5hp outboard. Your videos have been a tremendous help in basically rebuilding the entire motor. *I’m stuck in the last major part though. I can’t find wiring diagrams anywhere for this! I’ve even purchased the tech manual , and it doesn’t cover this specific motor. ALL the wiring was shot (and some was missing entirely). I need to re-wire the entire thing. That said, it’s a very simple little pull-start unit (new stator from CDI electronics 174-3996, 2 new ignition coils, new spark plugs, etc). Any help/guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated! (I need to know where every wire goes. There aren’t many of them, but I don’t want to mess anything up). I commented on this video specifically because I also need to wire in a kill switch. Thank you in advance!
Hello danger. I just found my old outboard mercury engine from 1990. The kill switch on there is just a rubber button wich isnt capable for using a kill cord with it. Should i order a new kill switch? And wich one would you recommend?
Hi Stu, I'm a little worried it took you till 3 minutes 50 to open your beer which i can assume you had a drink of then and 8 minutes 27 till you had a second sip. You should make Dangar marine stubbie cooler to keep your and our beers cold :-)
Hey mate, I really appreciate your concern. I worry when I start to let work distract me from my beer, but custom Dangar Marine beer coolers is a great idea. :)
Dangar Marine That's crazy to think that it's about to get cold there. Summer is on its way in New Orleans. Im waiting for the 97 degree mark with 95% humidity. But hey the fishing kicks ass at that time
Same. I gotta 1980-83 25hp Mercury Nothing in the book. But if I isolate/disconnect both stop switches one on tiller and safety switch(which safety switch not in book wiring either). May not stop running, but maybe it would start. Then just ground the black/yel wire to the block to stop.
Love your videos. I have a 50hp merc 3cyl. the motor will crank but not start. no spark condition. the motor will crank and turn even when kill switch is activated or kill switch wire is didconected. What can it be?
Excellent video. Very well explained and just subscribed. Have a Johnson 9.9 4-Stroke with a keyed ignition in the boat. Engine is starting perfectly, but won’t shut off on the key. Kill switch on the tiller handle works, so must assume something is wrong with the keyed ignition or harness wire? Cheers!
Still love to watch your vid. My 98 Opti 150 not start: air 80lbs, fuel 90lbs , sparks good, 120 lbs on six hole. what I need to check from this point? Thank you for the head ups.
if an outboard doesn’t have a kill switch just a stop button like a lot of the older outboards could you swap the switches around so the kill switch instead of the stop button ?
Hello, I have a 1996 Johnson j30elede and want to replace the neutral switch on the controller but not sure know how to do it. Will please have a video that show how to replace the neutral switch? Thank you.
congratulations, quick question. Is this what happens when you turn the key switch into the off position? the sparks are sent to ground and shut the motor off?
Great video , can you do a video on correct way to earth electronics, I am looking for a new tinny and have seen some brands use earth to the hull i was told it is not the correct way.
Yes, I was a bit sad about that too, but when I spoke to them they said that they like to really lock down a good reliable delivery service before opening up to a new market so I think it is definitely something that is on the cards for the future. Of course people emailing and asking when they is going to happen isn't going to hurt. ;)
Alright, good to know that they are at least thinking about it! I'll send them an email. Not that it's currently to any use for me if they would ship to Europe, got a '78 yamaha 28hp outboard and they don't sell parts for pre '84 models, but since they seem to have a lot of parts available it would be a nice source for parts for future outboards.
I have an 1975 Johnson 15 horse. Changed out the original kill switch because it didn't work. Put another one on it and still doesn't kill it. One wire to power pack and one to coil. Any ideas? Thanks!
Please can you help me? I'm retrofitting a kill switch to a 4hp twin 2 stroke engine. The original stop button has ground and TWO wires (one for each plug system?) But my new kill switch only has one earth n one other wire. What do I do? Thank you.
@@DangarMarine thank you so much for this reply - I have scoured the internet for this answer for over a year! I owe you a few beers! I fitted my kill switch only to realise it's a normally open and I need a normally close (or vice versa) so I have now ordered a kill switch with option of either so hope this can work. It's a 1991 evinrude 4hp engine and when works runs very nice. Thank you once again.
Hey Stu, another great episode as usual. Do outboards with computers like the tldi use the same method by diverting current to ground or is the switch connected through the computer?
A sponsor at last Stu...well done mate that's great ! Funny story about kill switches and lanyards not being in but I won't bore you with that. Just going to check out MarinEngine.com now
So I am assuming it could be the same problen in reverse? If the kill switch is stuck open (or is it closed) that the engine may not turn over. My 1983 Honda 75 wasn't starting. Watched your video on this motor (awesome!!!) I replaced the spark plugs, fuel tank, fuel, fuel hose and fitting, New oil, cleaned out the carb and got it started and running for at least 10 minutes. Tuned the idle and it was running pretty smoothly! Yay me!! Then I shut it off via the throttle handle "stop" button, and went to start it 10 secs later and it wouldn't turn over....what do you think?
Glad to hear you got your motor running nicely. :) It could well be the switch sticking closed. Test if you have spark, if you do then it isn't the switch. If you do have spark I would check that the carbs didn't run out of fuel.
@@DangarMarine After disconnecting the ground and priming from the prime bulb like crazy and jiggling the fuel line attachment I did get it going again. Just long enough to confirm that indeed there was no water being pumped through! So probably the impeller needs replacing and that means hauling it out. So a big strong block at the Marina pulled it out for me. I have decided to leave it to the pros. I have learned a lot though and that is what I hoped for! Hope it's not too expensive for a full overhaul!
Hi, thank you for the very informative video. I have an issue I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on. I have a 2001 Yamaha HPDI that will not turn off once started. I have completely replaced the main ignition key switch assemble to no avail. Trying to turn the motor off with the key or pulling the safety lanyard will not kill the motor. Im assuming I have some sort of issue with the wiring harness or the ground to the motor, but im not really sure. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Yes, sounds like the wire might be broken as the connection is made to stop the motor and broken to let it run. It is the white wire that stops the motor so try disconnecting that at the outboard end and connecting to ground (any bit of metal) and see if the motor stops. If so, trace the wire towards for the forward controls.
Crazy that I've been looking all day for content like this, and you just posted it. I have my grandfathers Honda BF15, but can't get it to fire. It wants to start, but won't turn over. Could this be the neutral kill switch? Great vids, I'm just getting started, but will keep watching.
Generally the neutral safety switch will stop the start motor from activating, so if it isn't cranking, check that. If it is cranking but won't fire up (no spark), it could be the kill switch like in this video.
I have a question, does kill switch stop the CDI by stopping the spark..because I have difficulty starting the engine and when checking the coils, the spark does not come, but when I put the coils in another engine, it works fine. I don't know if the problem is because of the CDI or the kull switch Because the engine running but it takes a long time to work and sometimes the battery dies before it works
Hello. I'am Panos from Greece and i found this video very helpfull. I have a yamaha 30hp 2stroke 84 model, with a steering wheel and a gear lever in front of the boat. I have the following problem: After I turn on the motor and start working, when i try to stop it, I turn off the switch without effect and even after I pull the cable from the kill switch, the machine continues to work. The result is to shut down the engine using the chock. After watching the video I realized that there is a magnet somewhere, which generally controls the operation of all switches. Could this magnet be damaged and present this problem? Thank you!
nice vid stu and good timeming .i have just put a yamaha 70hp on a centre console dory and it had side remotes which i have just changed too centre mounted one so i need to wire in a kill switch and a new after market ignition in the dashboard . can you do a follow on video from this one please explaining the colour codeing of the wires from the engine loom (yamaha) to the ignition which are random colours .which i would have to meter out . but once i understand the colours i could then wire in the yam tach guage . many thx peter from england
There definitely are charts for the standard colours online, Ron is right. I am planning add forward controls to a friends boat soon though by adding mis-matched parts so I'll be sure to film it.
Hi Stu, I think I have the exact same motor as the one you are working on, the orange rubber cap on the kill switch is perished on mine. I guess this cap helps keeps water out of the internals, I can find a replacement on a website but they want $7 for the cap and $8 postage. I also tried looking on your sponsors site but found it unhelpful and confusing, maybe a tutorial on using their site if you are short on material some time. Can you suggest alternate replacements of should I go with the genuine Yamaha part? Thanks Athol
If you can get the part you need for $15 total I would go for that. I have only ever seen the entire switch sold by Yamaha and they would be a lot more than that.
Wow, you are a natural teacher. Clear and to the point. Thank you.
You're welcome mate, hope the video helped you.
A good tip we are taught at NSRI. Is to actually kill the motor with the kill switches often in stead of using the key. Just to check whether it is working correctly.
He Cedric, I like that. It makes a lot of sense to test something before the day you actually need it and find it doesn't work!
You are so awesome I've had my 1988 checkmate ski boat with a 90 horsepower Yamaha on it and you have helped me do so much on my own instead of spending so much money at the Marine shop
Thanks mate, glad the vids have been helping you save some money. :)
On my old Chrysler the kill switch wire came in contact with the flywheel causing it to run with bad spark. When I noticed what was going on I unhooked the kill switch and the motor worked fine. Glad to see the sponsorship I've ordered from them for years. Its great for someone like me that fools with old motors. They've got NOS parts dating back to the late 50's.
HI mate, wires rubbing against moving parts is always going to cause you trouble, that's for sure. Glad to hear that MarineEngine.com has been able to supply you the parts you've needed. :)
Hi, i figured out the problem with my 1990 johnson 90hp outboard. And i figured out after trying everything possible to get the rpm to be stable...that the reason behind all the problems are the throttle cables. They have about an inch of play in them, which caused the throttle lever not to end up in the same spot every time i move the remote control forward and back to neutral.
Thank you so much for your videos because without them i wouldn't have had the knowledge to do what i did.
Hey Moe, glad you got your problem sorted out. Nice work! :)
I was desperately trying to figure out why I had no spark for my XR4, but I knew it was in the kill switch circuit. Your casual mention of the “soggy” connections causing a similar issue caused me to try replacing all of my bullet connectors in my throttle. What do you know, that fixed it! Thank you so much, this saved me a lot of frustration!
Wow, what a good teacher you are !
Some mechanics think (before I saw your video I did too) when you pull the lanyard something is disconnected. But now I know that after pulling the lanyard: the kill switch should make a connection !! Thanks so very very much. I could make my kill switch work myself.
(long story: bought a new Glastron, it was rigged for a Mercury outboard, but with the same dealer I bought a Suzuki 140 hp outboard. So the mechanic had to cut the big cable and had to make many connections, but didn't get the kill switch to work)
And your videos are excellent. You speak clearly and relaxed, not too fast, not too slow. No stuttering, no 'uh's . Folks who'se native language isn't english (like me) understand. Camerawork also sharp and clear. Gonna watch many more, and learn a lot more
Thanks Frank, glad the video helped you. The newer videos are better produced that the old ones. They have loads of 'uhs' and bad audio. I must remake those ones one day. :)
Thank you so much for this! I am new to sailing, just bought my first outboard, have no idea what I'm doing lol ! Spent the first hour looking for the gas tank 'til I realized I had to buy one....Got it started, and realized I had no clue how to turn it off !!!!! "Turning the switch on turns the motor off" perfect !
Glad I could help!
Thank you Stu,my mercury broke down once again tonight . No fire ,and no power trim and tilt nothing. Put a brand new battery on it and still nothing. [New problem motor]I bought a 9.9 Yamaha and the man told me a friend worked on the kill switch and therefore it will not fire off. You were highlighted on my computer when i walked in from the break down. hahaha Tomorrow i will check out the white wire and see if it will crank.I have two problem motors....
Hopefully it will be a simple kill switch problem on your Yamaha. Your Mercury sounds like it might just be a fuse.
It was the fuse on the mercury. Have not had time to work on the Yamaha.The tiller handle throttle cable is a wreck. Will look at it tomorrow and bypass the kill switch and manually work the carburetor.
Thanks for this. My yamaha outboard didn´t have a kill switch, and you helped me find the wires to connect a new one. Made my day.
You're welcome, glad it helped you. :)
thanks man, I´m not speak inglish. then sorry. I live in Salta, Argentina. and I can repair my mercury thunderbolt just seen your´s videos. no puedo explicarte lo valiosos que han sido tus videos a la hora de embarcarme en la reparación de mi viejo motor. que empezó con el eje de la caja de cambios torcido pasando por el sistema de refrigeración y ahora terminando con el botón de corte. gracias nuevamente. te cuento que por aqui tuvimos que reconstruir todas las piezas ya que es muy dificil conseguir los repuestos. un abrazo.
De nada. Me alegro de oír que los videos te han ayudado con tu fueraborda.
Thank you for this explanation. Having understood how it works I was able to fix the problem. I like your diagrams. Thanks for taking the time produce these videos they have helped me fix a lot of things.
Thanks Stephen, glad the vids have helped you. :)
Congrats on getting sponsorship for your channel Stu! This was a great video on how those switches work. I was always taught when troubleshooting look at the easy things first. It could likely be the problem. I wonder how many times a kill switch that was stuck closed was overlooked by someone with little experience leading to the replacement of an expensive CDI box?
Thanks Jack. You are dead right about starting with the simple things. No spark is much more likely to be a kill switch than a CDI unit, and certainly much cheaper!
Im so glad MARINE ENGINE is supporting you're channel now!! You deserved that for some time now. They couldn't have choosen a better person to sponsor and im now gonna order my parts from them instead of boats. n=€. And PLEASE show some vids on smaller Mercury 2 stroke(40-60) if you ever get the chance! Thanks and great job as always STU
Thanks mate, It's great that they get the extra business in exchange for helping to make this all possible. Will definitely film some jobs on smaller Mercs whenever I can get my hands on one for a few days.
Great video Stu. It made a rather dull day quite funny when you lost the clip and your humour in the face of adversity shone thru. I wasn't laughing so much at you but at myself as this has happened to me numerous times so much that I though it might happen to you. Thanks again for a great video.
Thanks Alan. I'm forever losing things! I do tend to do it more often when I'm trying to film at the same time though. As well as things shooting across the workshop I have a terrible habit of putting things down and forgetting where I put them...
Join the club Stu. Yea you have a difficult time trying to work with the camera and your tools at the same time. For me I think it's just too many years on the planet. But as long as we can still enjoy working on our projects that's what matters......
Splendid video Stu. I have a request for future videos. "How to check a used outboards before buying it", maybe one for two-stroke, one for four-stroke and one for two-stroke with injection. Maybe one about what to check if you can not testrun it. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Johan. I actually have a video half finished on that exact subject. I'll finish it off soon and get it uploaded.
Thank you, mine was missing the circlip to hold the pin in. After your video I was able to make a temp fix with a small wire
Great you now have a sponsor mate and thanks for the reminder about the switch of death.....Stay safe.
Thanks mate, I'm really pleased too. :)
i enjoyed your video very much it has a good learning setting as if your in a classroom learning outboards and feels like one on one . you have a good attitude to teaching thanx
Every time I look for a useful video about aouboards yous far exceed my expectations. Thanks for the great work, my 67 merc 200 is up and running because of you.
Thanks Ryan, I'm glad the vids helped you with your outboard. :)
Great video, very informative and easy to understand and well explained.
Thanks Mate! Very helpful info & hats off to the new (very smart folks to sponsor you!) sponsorship! I wasn't aware of them before you mentioned them so many Thanks! Now i have a new source for parts!
Thanks mate, glad you found the vid helpful and thanks for supporting MarineEngine.com! :)
Perfect timing, I'm wrestling with what I think is a kill switch problem right now. Thanks.
Good luck with it Luke.
My black wire with the yellow stripe was broken inside the main harness with the big red plug. I chased it down with an audible ohm meter .Rather than cutting the thick protective coating and repairing the broken wire I ran a separate wire from the CDI box to the ignition switch. Note that I used a correct color wire " for future mechanics" with a thick UV coating to protect it from the elements and getting banged up. I also put a bullet connector on it beside the big red plug in case the motor ever needed to be removed it can be unplugged rather than cutting it. Works great cuts off everytime now.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video dude
Tidy Stu, following your vid I managed to get my motor running. Mint
i am glad for sponsors,i will check them up,keep coming with best marine videos
Thanks mate, they are well worth checking out as they have lots of great information on their site as well as parts.
Wow! Another great video I have been wrestling with a 1971 mercury 7,5 hp mercury kicker motor no spark. Your video has helped me so much and your straight forward manner inspires confidence.. I have two older outboards and you have been a coach through both..thanks! anyway long story short after working the points over on a no spark motor and making a few more discoveries I now have spark...yea. I did find an obscure fact in the process, that I wanted to pass along, the 1971 mercury type 2 ignition sends the spark when the points are CLOSED (all other mercury ignitions operate the normal way ) this one really threw me a curve ball. Accordingly the kill switch is backwards as the kill is open and run is closed...yikes.
Great job explaining the kill switch, find, and to cdi. I just hope my force 85 has the same color combos. I get the jist of it though.
Great on your sponsor. Now you need to get your own show like we have over here on the TLC. Could base it off fixer upper except with boats/motors.
That would be nice!
Good video mate always wondered what was inside one of them ,when i did the anglapro up i had 3 kill switches one on the consul the lanyard and also a button on the front which i think would have been used for a starter if you put electric start on an enduro but they were all handy ,pull up to a spot and kill the engine and just glide in trolling at the back get a hit push the button and fight the fish anyway good video .
Sounds like you had a good setup.
Go to push bike shop ask for broken spoke wheel . Cut or disassemble spokes. Picks for life. Place spoke in drill run drill on branch grinder to make point then run drill on knife block or 400g paper.
Thank you for a great video, your vids are all very helpful.
All the best.
Thanks for the helpful videos. I just bought a used boat about a month ago. It is a 2003 McKee Craft 172 Backwater and it has a 2004 Tohatsu 90 hp TLDI. First time I took it out it started right up and ran well, I was able to shut it off and restart with no issues. Daughter had to use the restroom so I went to a dock turned the engine off and when she got back in I was able to restart it and slowly made my way back out to deeper water and when I tried to give it some throttle it died and I had a hard time getting it restarted but luckily I was able to get it started and back off the water. Did some research and thought it was likely old gas so I replaced the fuel/water separator and dumped a can of Seafoam in the tank and ran it from home with muffs. Stalled one time in the driveway but figured that was because I didn't prefill the water/fuel separator with fuel but once restarted I could not get it to repeat the issue so I figured problem solved. I have taken it out 2 times since this and it has started on the first try and ran flawlessly for the entire day both times. After taking it out last Monday, I brought it home and started it and ran fresh water through it in the driveway for about 15 minutes on idle. No issues! So I load the wife and kids up this past Sunday drive 45 minutes to the boat ramp, put the boat in the water and I can not get it to start. It was acting like the battery was low. When I turn the key it makes the beep sound and then I try to turn it to start the starter cranks the flywheel but seems to not be cranking with enough power. I unplugged the battery and plugged to another battery I had with me and it does the same thing. Another boater saw me having issues and offered his freshly charged battery and it did the same. The GPS/depth finder and electric trim work fine but the engine will not start. I have been removing the key and kill switch when I park the boat so it has me wondering if the kill switch could have broken and the motor thinks it is removed. The other strange thing it is doing is the beeping sound comes back when I turn the key to start. So what I mean is it beeps for a couple of second when turned to on (this is normal) and when it stops I attempt to turn to start and the engine tries but with little power to start and the beeping returns. Could I have a bad kill switch or ignition switch? I tried turning the key to on and cranking the flywheel manually but it didn't do anything like it was not sending anything to the spark plugs. Pulled and cleaned all 3 spark plugs but cant get the boat to do anything. My local marina cant look at it for 3 weeks and I really want to get it out a couple more times before winter. Any suggestions on what to check, what to do?
So there could be a couple of things going on here. Firstly, if it is cranking slowly even though the battery is good, it could be that there is a voltage drop over the battery leads (th-cam.com/video/5tGCepHveHk/w-d-xo.html) due to some internal damage or the brushes in the starter motor itself (th-cam.com/video/woVT4czk6ao/w-d-xo.html) are starting to fail. The kill switch can be tested by unplugging it as when it is unplugged you should get spark. th-cam.com/video/SN17iBL5lps/w-d-xo.html
Dangar Marine Is it really possible that the slightest amount of rust on the battery connectors could have been causing my issue? I tested the continuity of the kill switch and determined it was fine. I had 12.5 volts at the battery and at the starter solenoid when i turned the key to on so I didn't think it was a connection issue but figured I would start with the simplist thing and pulled the battery out wire brushed the terminals and connectors then reconnected and tightened everything snuggly. I did that and cleared all existing fault codes then gave it a try. Didn't start the first attempt so I checked to see if it fired new codes and it didn't so I gave it a 2nd try and it fired right up! Turned it off and on multiple times with no issues.
Almost wish I had tried again before cleaning the terminals and connectors just so I knew that was really the issue. Just seems too insignificant as the terminal and connectors looked pretty clean before I did anything and I had the boat out less than a week before having issues and it ran and started fine then. Hopefully my problem is fixed but I am not 100% convinced.
What a great teacher..
Thanks for doing these videos.
Thanks mate, you're most welcome. :)
Outstanding instructive video. Well done!
Love ur videos. Knowledgeable and Funny. Thanx for ur help.
Nice to see a Coopers Pale on the bench. Always works.
Thanks for the video. I’m planning to install a lanyard style kill switch on an old Mariner (made by Yamaha in Japan) 25hp. Makes things much safer.
My new boating ‘bestie’! Love it!
Danger I need to install one of those kill switches to my console on my new boat which never came with one where can I install it can I install it to the ignition key ?
Your answer was right .Thank's now i can run my boat more safly.
Good news! :)
Good taste in beer!Thanks for a great explanation.
New scenario engine won't shut off, Shut off system was working but then stopped working as I did a pre season check.
Johnson 45hp commercial 1984. Two kill switches both work (one on engine & one on helm) good continuity to ground right up to entering the CDI (Black-Yellow strip) .
I replaced CDI Aug 2023, I think I ran the boat 3 times after install.
Question; Do I replace CDI again ? How can I kill engine excluding disconnecting the fuel line. ?
Great news about your sponsor!!! Kill switch...., probably the least suspected item but most often the culprit of no sparks on any plugs.
Again, congrats with Marinegine.com
Thanks Keon, you're dead right about it being the prime suspect in that situation.
BRILLIANT AS USUAL
Brilliant info and education on kill switches. Can I splice into the kill switch wires to make a second kill switch for a long tiller extension with the second kill switch at the end? Like to leave the factory kill switch in place which is not on the tiller arm. It’s a new 3.5 Mercury.
Yes, you can have multiple kill switches no problem.
You're amazing brother! Love all of your videos!
Thanks mate. :)
Thank you for the great videos. I’ve recently “inherited” an old 1970 Mercury Thunderbolt 7.5hp outboard. Your videos have been a tremendous help in basically rebuilding the entire motor. *I’m stuck in the last major part though. I can’t find wiring diagrams anywhere for this! I’ve even purchased the tech manual , and it doesn’t cover this specific motor. ALL the wiring was shot (and some was missing entirely). I need to re-wire the entire thing. That said, it’s a very simple little pull-start unit (new stator from CDI electronics 174-3996, 2 new ignition coils, new spark plugs, etc). Any help/guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated! (I need to know where every wire goes. There aren’t many of them, but I don’t want to mess anything up). I commented on this video specifically because I also need to wire in a kill switch. Thank you in advance!
Thanks, Good explanation. How people can go to sea without at least 3 back-up motors, I will never know.
Hello danger. I just found my old outboard mercury engine from 1990. The kill switch on there is just a rubber button wich isnt capable for using a kill cord with it. Should i order a new kill switch? And wich one would you recommend?
Thanks so much ;I had to solve the trouble of the white wire .
Hi Stu, I'm a little worried it took you till 3 minutes 50 to open your beer which i can assume you had a drink of then and 8 minutes 27 till you had a second sip. You should make Dangar marine stubbie cooler to keep your and our beers cold :-)
Hey mate, I really appreciate your concern. I worry when I start to let work distract me from my beer, but custom Dangar Marine beer coolers is a great idea. :)
Stubby holders ! I’ll buy one $$$
This really helped me, thank you
You saved my day
Good video, 9:00 pm here and raining also,
Winter is definitely on its way!
Dangar Marine That's crazy to think that it's about to get cold there. Summer is on its way in New Orleans. Im waiting for the 97 degree mark with 95% humidity. But hey the fishing kicks ass at that time
I would like to have seen how you got the switch off the end of the tiller with the wires attached.
Same. I gotta 1980-83 25hp Mercury
Nothing in the book. But if I isolate/disconnect both stop switches one on tiller and safety switch(which safety switch not in book wiring either). May not stop running, but maybe it would start. Then just ground the black/yel wire to the block to stop.
Love your videos. I have a 50hp merc 3cyl. the motor will crank but not start. no spark condition. the motor will crank and turn even when kill switch is activated or kill switch wire is didconected. What can it be?
th-cam.com/video/MDbvkFM1V_c/w-d-xo.html
Nice video and demonstration Stu.
Thanks Will. How you healing up?
I've been back to work full duty since mid January.
That's good, no residual pain?
only occasionally
Thanks for the tip about not point it towards the camera. Ha!
P.S. please fix the clock.
You're welcome. Clock is definitely on the TODO list. ;)
Excellent video. Very well explained and just subscribed. Have a Johnson 9.9 4-Stroke with a keyed ignition in the boat. Engine is starting perfectly, but won’t shut off on the key. Kill switch on the tiller handle works, so must assume something is wrong with the keyed ignition or harness wire? Cheers!
I really enjoy your videos mate. Thank you for taking the time to explain things thoroughly and plainly. Keep up the great work. Subbed!
Thanks mate!
Love the videos keep them coming. Have you thought about doing one on fuel sender unit and gauges? cheers!
Thank Doug. Yes, I have a fuel sender and gauge I'm hoping to install in the Green Machine.
Still love to watch your vid. My 98 Opti 150 not start: air 80lbs, fuel 90lbs , sparks good, 120 lbs on six hole. what I need to check from this point? Thank you for the head ups.
Have you tried to dab some fuel into the cylinders? Will it start then?
if an outboard doesn’t have a kill switch just a stop button like a lot of the older outboards could you swap the switches around so the kill switch instead of the stop button ?
Yep, sure can.
Splendid video./ Take another wire off the kill switch wire to a hidden toggle switch so no one steels your ride !!.
Thanks mate, that's a good idea, I should have done a sneaky kill switch section in this video.
Hello, I have a 1996 Johnson j30elede and want to replace the neutral switch on the controller but not sure know how to do it. Will please have a video that show how to replace the neutral switch? Thank you.
Best explanation. Thank you.
Really great videos. Love your work!
Thanks mate. :)
congratulations, quick question. Is this what happens when you turn the key switch into the off position? the sparks are sent to ground and shut the motor off?
Yes.
Big help! Thanks Again!
Great video , can you do a video on correct way to earth electronics, I am looking for a new tinny and have seen some brands use earth to the hull i was told it is not the correct way.
This video covers the way I like to do it. th-cam.com/video/p-Yup0OPofk/w-d-xo.html I wouldn't use the hull for ground as it will cause electrolysis.
Thanks for the video. Ironic that marine engine.com won't ship to Australia...
Nor to Canada !!!
Congrats . well deserved.
Thank you!
Very informative thank you so much!!
Congrats on the sponsorship! Too bad they don't ship to Europe
Yes, I was a bit sad about that too, but when I spoke to them they said that they like to really lock down a good reliable delivery service before opening up to a new market so I think it is definitely something that is on the cards for the future. Of course people emailing and asking when they is going to happen isn't going to hurt. ;)
Alright, good to know that they are at least thinking about it! I'll send them an email. Not that it's currently to any use for me if they would ship to Europe, got a '78 yamaha 28hp outboard and they don't sell parts for pre '84 models, but since they seem to have a lot of parts available it would be a nice source for parts for future outboards.
Or to Africa :(
I have an 1975 Johnson 15 horse. Changed out the original kill switch because it didn't work. Put another one on it and still doesn't kill it. One wire to power pack and one to coil. Any ideas? Thanks!
Great stuff thanks!!
Please can you help me? I'm retrofitting a kill switch to a 4hp twin 2 stroke engine. The original stop button has ground and TWO wires (one for each plug system?) But my new kill switch only has one earth n one other wire.
What do I do? Thank you.
Connect both of the coil wires to one side of the switch and the other to ground.
@@DangarMarine thank you so much for this reply - I have scoured the internet for this answer for over a year!
I owe you a few beers!
I fitted my kill switch only to realise it's a normally open and I need a normally close (or vice versa) so I have now ordered a kill switch with option of either so hope this can work.
It's a 1991 evinrude 4hp engine and when works runs very nice. Thank you once again.
Hey Stu, another great episode as usual. Do outboards with computers like the tldi use the same method by diverting current to ground or is the switch connected through the computer?
Hey Anthony, yep, they use the same system for shutting of the ignition.
A sponsor at last Stu...well done mate that's great ! Funny story about kill switches and lanyards not being in but I won't bore you with that. Just going to check out MarinEngine.com now
Ah, we've all been there! ;)
So I am assuming it could be the same problen in reverse? If the kill switch is stuck open (or is it closed) that the engine may not turn over. My 1983 Honda 75 wasn't starting. Watched your video on this motor (awesome!!!) I replaced the spark plugs, fuel tank, fuel, fuel hose and fitting, New oil, cleaned out the carb and got it started and running for at least 10 minutes. Tuned the idle and it was running pretty smoothly! Yay me!! Then I shut it off via the throttle handle "stop" button, and went to start it 10 secs later and it wouldn't turn over....what do you think?
Glad to hear you got your motor running nicely. :) It could well be the switch sticking closed. Test if you have spark, if you do then it isn't the switch. If you do have spark I would check that the carbs didn't run out of fuel.
@@DangarMarine After disconnecting the ground and priming from the prime bulb like crazy and jiggling the fuel line attachment I did get it going again. Just long enough to confirm that indeed there was no water being pumped through! So probably the impeller needs replacing and that means hauling it out. So a big strong block at the Marina pulled it out for me. I have decided to leave it to the pros. I have learned a lot though and that is what I hoped for! Hope it's not too expensive for a full overhaul!
So will you get spark by disconnecting the kill switch
Hi, thank you for the very informative video. I have an issue I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on.
I have a 2001 Yamaha HPDI that will not turn off once started. I have completely replaced the main ignition key switch assemble to no avail. Trying to turn the motor off with the key or pulling the safety lanyard will not kill the motor. Im assuming I have some sort of issue with the wiring harness or the ground to the motor, but im not really sure. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Yes, sounds like the wire might be broken as the connection is made to stop the motor and broken to let it run. It is the white wire that stops the motor so try disconnecting that at the outboard end and connecting to ground (any bit of metal) and see if the motor stops. If so, trace the wire towards for the forward controls.
Hi Dangar,
I have a Volvo penta engine, the engine trips when the kilcord is pulled, but can be restarted with the kilcord still out. Is this normal ?
Crazy that I've been looking all day for content like this, and you just posted it. I have my grandfathers Honda BF15, but can't get it to fire. It wants to start, but won't turn over. Could this be the neutral kill switch? Great vids, I'm just getting started, but will keep watching.
Generally the neutral safety switch will stop the start motor from activating, so if it isn't cranking, check that. If it is cranking but won't fire up (no spark), it could be the kill switch like in this video.
Dangar Marine Thanks a ton. A buddy and I got it isolated out to a gummed up carb today. Again, great videos. I'll be watching more.
Great explanation
I'm hoping you can help me I have a 1995 70 horsepower Evinrude outboard and I'm wondering if that motor supposed to have a shift interrupter switch
can u make a video about replacing a throttle cable on a 5hp Honda 4stroke outboard
Forward control or tiller?
$10 part from Australia post or around $40 to $50 from ya local boat shop
Your clock needs a new battery, Stu. You must be a mind reader. My new kill switch just arrived and I had no idea how they worked.
My 1992 yamaha 15hp 2stroke has an electric start. Do you know how to use that electric start? I can't seem to figure it out. Thank you
I have a question, does kill switch stop the CDI by stopping the spark..because I have difficulty starting the engine and when checking the coils, the spark does not come, but when I put the coils in another engine, it works fine. I don't know if the problem is because of the CDI or the kull switch Because the engine running but it takes a long time to work and sometimes the battery dies before it works
Hello. I'am Panos from Greece and i found this video very helpfull. I have a yamaha 30hp 2stroke 84 model, with a steering wheel and a gear lever in front of the boat. I have the following problem: After I turn on the motor and start working, when i try to stop it, I turn off the switch without effect and even after I pull the cable from the kill switch, the machine continues to work. The result is to shut down the engine using the chock. After watching the video I realized that there is a magnet somewhere, which generally controls the operation of all switches. Could this magnet be damaged and present this problem? Thank you!
good stuff please keep going
Thanks John, will do!
My mercury 1998 60hp 3 cylinder would not shut of either by the kill switch or key, do you think the cause would still be the kill switch ?
nice vid stu and good timeming .i have just put a yamaha 70hp on a centre console dory and it had side remotes which i have just changed too centre mounted one so i need to wire in a kill switch and a new after market ignition in the dashboard . can you do a follow on video from this one please explaining the colour codeing of the wires from the engine loom (yamaha) to the ignition which are random colours .which i would have to meter out . but once i understand the colours i could then wire in the yam tach guage . many thx peter from england
Check the colour codes for a US made motor - they standardised the colours back in the late 70's .
There definitely are charts for the standard colours online, Ron is right. I am planning add forward controls to a friends boat soon though by adding mis-matched parts so I'll be sure to film it.
great, thanks for posting
Great video. And nice carb cleaning bonus tip :-). The last time my $$$ CDI went out I was really really hoping it was the kill switch. lol
Thanks mate. Yes, we always keep our fingers crossed it is something cheap and simple but unfortunately it doesn't always turn out that way...
Hi Stu, I think I have the exact same motor as the one you are working on, the orange rubber cap on the kill switch is perished on mine. I guess this cap helps keeps water out of the internals, I can find a replacement on a website but they want $7 for the cap and $8 postage. I also tried looking on your sponsors site but found it unhelpful and confusing, maybe a tutorial on using their site if you are short on material some time. Can you suggest alternate replacements of should I go with the genuine Yamaha part?
Thanks
Athol
If you can get the part you need for $15 total I would go for that. I have only ever seen the entire switch sold by Yamaha and they would be a lot more than that.