Cannot get motor to shut off

L

ldysmann3

Cadet
Joined
Jan 18, 2012
Messages
8
I have been messing with some wiring due to motor not starting with ignition switch. Finally, I replaced the battery cables and solved my issue. Today, I tested out the new cables and was able to get the motor started. I was feeling pretty good since I have always had to pull start it since I have had the boat. I turned the key off and the motor kept running. I unplugged both battery cables and it still kept running. Finally, I unplugged the gas and a few minutes later it ran out of gas and stopped. Not sure what the problem could be. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Boat also seemed to be slightly in gear. I jiggled throttle, appeared to be in neutral.
 
Don S

Don S

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Re: Cannot get motor to shut off

What do you have for an engine?
 
Silvertip

Silvertip

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Re: Cannot get motor to shut off

Since you disconnected the battery with the engine running you now probably have a bad voltage regulator/rectifier. Don't do that again. The only thing the battery does on an outboard is spin the starter motor. The motor ignition is a magneto system that generates it's own power. Beiing a magneto, the ignition is killed by shorting it to ground. You need to look at the ignition switch for two "M" (magneto) terminals. One of those comes from the ignitiion system and the other goes to ground. When the key is turned off the two "M" terminals are connected and the engine dies. Unless that connection is made, she keeps on chugging happily away -- as you found out. The kill switch is also tied into that system so you might see if that works.
 
P

phebus1

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Aug 19, 2011
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Re: Cannot get motor to shut off

Black wire with the yellow stripe.
 
L

ldysmann3

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Jan 18, 2012
Messages
8
Re: Cannot get motor to shut off

I noticed that I did not hook kill switch back up after trying to get starter working. I have not tried it again, hopefully this will fix the issue. Would the kill switch not being connected cause the prop to engage while in neutral? Also, how do I test the rectifier to make sure it is still working properly? Thanks for replies!
 
Texasmark

Texasmark

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Re: Cannot get motor to shut off

ldysmann3 said:
I noticed that I did not hook kill switch back up after trying to get starter working. I have not tried it again, hopefully this will fix the issue. Would the kill switch not being connected cause the prop to engage while in neutral? Also, how do I test the rectifier to make sure it is still working properly? Thanks for replies!
Click to expand...

You answered your own question. Hook up the kill wire and be done with it!

Mark
 
jbjennings

jbjennings

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Jul 18, 2007
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3,903
Re: Cannot get motor to shut off

ldysmann3 said:
I noticed that I did not hook kill switch back up after trying to get starter working. I have not tried it again, hopefully this will fix the issue. Would the kill switch not being connected cause the prop to engage while in neutral? Also, how do I test the rectifier to make sure it is still working properly? Thanks for replies!
Click to expand...
THe prop spinning a little bit in neutral is normal. One way to test the rectifier is use your multimeter and test for continuity across the wires. You should get very low resistance one way, but if you reverse the meter contacts, you will get infinite resistance the other way. In other words, the rectifier lets current go one way, but not the other.
Or, you can put a voltmeter on the battery posts and measure the voltage with the engine off. Then test it again with the engine running on the muffs at fast idle. If the voltage is higher, the charging system is working, including the rectifier.
Hope this helps,
JBJ
 
L

ldysmann3

Cadet
Joined
Jan 18, 2012
Messages
8
Re: Cannot get motor to shut off

Thanks for all the info! Hooked up the kill switch and now it shuts off when I turn key. Still not sure about the prop spinning while in neutral though. When I had to pull start it, everytime I flushed the motor after use it would never spin. Now it spins fairly fast while in neutral.
 
jbjennings

jbjennings

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Jul 18, 2007
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Re: Cannot get motor to shut off

Since your motor is mechanical shift, the electrical system doesn't have anything to do with shifting as far as I know. The only thing I can think of if it is actually in gear, is that you somehow messed up the shift cable adjustment. If you opened the control box or fiddled with the cables in any way, that could be it. I've seen lots of motors spin a little when in neutral, although if one put some friction on the prop with water or such, it wouldn't have much force on it and would stop. I'm thinking the oil currents in the lower unit due to the spinning of the pinion gear might cause it to spin some. I really don't know for sure why they do it, but they do.
 
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