72 evinrude 65hp blowing fuses

I was starting my boat at the dock and it turned over and almost caught on the first try. Figured a little more throttle and the second turn of the key would start the motor right up, but I turned the key again and nothing-- no crank. Turned out the 20 amp fuse was blown. When I replaced it, the second fuse blew immediately.

Motor was running fine all season up till then. I haven't made any changes to the electrical system. What's the most likely culprit-- bad wire? Fried ignition switch? I also wonder if the fuse was the wrong one-- the shortest 20 amp fuse I could find at the hardware store was a little longer than the one I was replacing, and I couldn't close the connector with the longer fuse in. Is there a certain TYPE of 20 amp fuse I should be using?

Re: 72 evinrude 65hp blowing fuses

I looked through all the wiring in the powerhead and it all looks good. I tried another fuse and this time I thought I heard a zap sound come from the control box. I opened the control box and looked for any shorted wires. Nothing obvious.

Re: 72 evinrude 65hp blowing fuses

The correct fuse is a fast burn, 20 amp fuse. Don't use anything but that. I don't see anything wrong with using something other than the OEM part, as long you are certain that it meets the required criteria. That said, I prefer to use the OMC fuse, simply because I know it is is the right one and it fits in the stock fuse holder.

You obviously have a short to ground somewhere. If you are hearing arcing in the control box, its a pretty good bet that's where the problem is. Open to box again and look for burn marks from arcing. If you can't find any, I would guess that the short is inside of the key switch.



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Re: 72 evinrude 65hp blowing fuses

Thanks Jay. I was looking for signs of arcing in the control box and didn't see anything. I suspected the key switch from the start, since I haven't made any changes to the wiring. It's an inexpensive part, I'll try replacing it and we'll see.

Re: 72 evinrude 65hp blowing fuses

If your current key switch is original and you buy a new switch from an Evinrude dealer, You'll probably find that the new one has one more terminal than the old one did. If you closely, however, you'll find that two of the terminals are joined at the base. This was done to accomodate all of the purple circuits more easily - just note where all of your wires were on the old switch, wire the new one the same way, but split the purple circuits between the two terminals.



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Re: 72 evinrude 65hp blowing fuses

OK, thanks for the tip!

Re: 72 evinrude 65hp blowing fuses

Jay, you are the man! The ignition switch was exactly the problem. Now I have a running motor again

Of course the ignition switch didn't arrive until the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend. So I install it last night to be able to get the boat in the water this morning and do some fishing. And now my Jeep has a flat, with a screw stuck in the tread. Always somethin