1994 yahama stern, shift interrupt help!

[Kuntrykid]

I have a 1994 19' VIP Valiant, with the 5.7L Yamaha sterndrive. I bought the boat in bad shape and just finished a completed rebuild. My only problem is I don't know how to wire up the shift interrupt switch. My upgraded distributor only has two wires, and I also had to upgrade grade the coil. It's HEI style. Please help before I hurt my gears!! Tia

 

[Bondo]

It's HEI style.

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,..... Is it a GM distributor, or a DWI Marine Hei,..??

 

[Kuntrykid]

No Title

Pertronic flamethrower.

 

[Kuntrykid]

It is marine. The pic is the distributor and coil I used.

 

[Bondo]

My only problem is I don't know how to wire up the shift interrupt switch.

Ok,.... So meter the switch, is it normally open,..?? or closed,..??

Ya need to kill the power to the ignition when the cable pulls against it,...

 

[Kuntrykid]

I haven't gotten that far yet. I'll be reading wires this weekend.

 

[Kuntrykid]

Thank you for helping so far! So, I think I hook one wire straight to an engine ground, but I'm not sure where I would attach the other wire (distributor or coil). I'm also not sure whether pos or neg terminal but I know we won't have an answer until I find out which circuit type it has.

 

[Capt Ken]

Easiest way, being you are not using the EST Delco system that came with it, ground one wire then connect the other to the ground side of the coil. That will break the spark to allow shifting. Don't use any of the original Yamaha wiring because it applied power to the distributor and could blow your ignition module.

 

[Kuntrykid]

I did that last weekend. and fried the switch. I am a mess. I used 12 gauge wire and didn't realize the danger. Also, I'm using an aftermarket, high output coil. Could that have something to do with it? Or should I just try again with 16 gauge wire? (I suck at electronics). I also have some resistors that I could add to the wiring. I will add fuses next time to protect the switch.

 

[Bondo]

and fried the switch.

Ayuh,.... Once ya replace the switch, wire it as Ken says,...

 

[Kuntrykid]

No Title

Pertronix replied to my questions finally, and said I should wire the purple wire to the positive side of the coil, and the black wire to the negative. This sounds weird to me. Any thoughts?

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... That's how the distributor is hooked up, ya,....

Ya still need a shift switch to disrupt the spark,...
With a normally open shift switch, it would be wired from the (-) terminal on the coil, to the switch, to ground,...

 

[Kuntrykid]

Well, I tried that with the new switch and it fried again. I'm thinking it's a closed type switch. So, once I get another one, should I try what Pertronix mentioned?

 

[Kuntrykid]

I finally found my wire reader. Not sure if the switch is completely bad, but I read between wires without fully hooking them up and I am reading 12v with only ignition key in run position, gear in neutral, switch as far away from magnet that I can get it. Also, it popped the engine breaker when it blew. Could this be an open switch?

 

[Kuntrykid]

I read the coil out. 12v both + and - side. I'm wondering if the switch just can't handle 12V. If that's the case, how much can it handle? $50 each attempt is pretty annoying. I put an inline fuse, had a 10amp first when the switch blew. Put in a 5amp and the fuse blew out but switch didn't smoke

 

[Kuntrykid]

Ok, I have a theory. When I took apart the old distributor before I threw it away, there was a little black electric box that all the wires tapped into, including the wires for the problem child switch. I actually removed the box and kept it. What are the chances that this box is the actual device that does the job, and the actual switch just tells it when to take action?

 

[Kuntrykid]

I wrote to the distributor manufacturer. Trying to see if they have an EST distributor, or see if I can just wire in the ignition module that I pulled off the old distributor. Would this work?

 

[Kuntrykid]

I'm about ready to give up and n this distributor and coil setup. I contacted Pertronix and asked them if they actually have the correct distributor that I need