[netminder33]

can anyone help me, my ignition went bad and i dont know witch wires are for what. its a 1996 jet boat and i think its a mercury ignition switch, it has these color wires and how can i hook up a rocker switch and a starter button to bypass the ignition switch itself. any info on how to do this would be greatly appreciated.

red
yellow
yellow w/ black stripe
black
purple
pink

[Dunaruna]

Somewhere in the eighties mercury standardized their wire color codes, 1996 would fall under that standard. Some of the colors you have described do not correspond to ignition switch wiring.

Red - Battery voltage (unfused)

Yellow - Starter solenoid to starter (yellow/red is switch to neutral start)

Yellow/black - Choke

Black - Ground

Purple - Ignition hot (instruments etc)

Pink - Fuel gauge