Evinrude Wiring Problems

1993 Evinrude 88 HP SPL on a 1993 Suntracker 22' Pontoon

While trying to get the boat going for the season I have discovered a wirng problem in the engine harness of my 1993 Evinrude 88 SPL. Could not get this to crank when I put the battery in yesterday so I began to troubleshoot. Had power to the starter terminal from the battery but no power to the iginition switch in the controller on the boat. Opened up the red rubber boot on the engine wiring harness and found a melted mess. At least two of the pins have melted off so I'm thinking some kind of short within the connector. Damage has occurred on both the engine side and the boat side. Two of the lower pins on engine harness are melted with the plastic insulating material having turned to black cinder. Similar issue with the corresponding two female sockets on the boat side harness that runs to the controller. I have checked the wiring throughout the engine and found no other evidence of wiring damage or shorts other then within the large 8 pin red rubber boot connection. This appears on the surface to have been some type of corrosion and shorting just within the red rubber connector

Now that I have presented the problem I am looking for an economical solution given that this is a 1993 engine/boat. I'm assuming the absolute correct fix would be to replace both engine and boat harnesses but this seems like it will be a fairly expensive propositon especially if I take this into a marine repair place in the area. I'm thinking this could end up being a $550-$1000 repair, which is a lot more money then I want to put into a 20 year old engine.

Is there a way to replace just the watertight connector without having to install all new harnesses? Is there some aftermarket product available to preclude tearing out all of this wiring just because the red rubber plug is bad?

How about hardwiring each of the wires using marine grade heat shrink connectors? I know this is not the ideal solution but appears at least to be more affordable. Has anyone had success with this type of fix? Are there any drawbacks I'm missing other then the obvious? I don't contemplate having to seperate the engine from the boat anytime in the near future.

I'm interested in any help, feedback, or solutions that have previously worked for forum members in the past.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Re: Evinrude Wiring Problems

You asked: "How about hard wiring each of the wires using marine grade heat shrink connectors? I know this is not the ideal solution but appears at least to be more affordable. Has anyone had success with this type of fix?"

Frankly my friend, that is the route I'd take. I've had occasions whereas a wire or two would ground out and simply went the soldered/heat shrink route in jumping over that plug. Doing away with the plug completely will take a bit of time BUT if you're going to keep the engine for some time, it's worth the effort.

I did one time use knife connectors along with the heat shrink tubing just in case someone wanted to disconnect everything BUT that was a little too much.

As you say, the alternative (to do it properly) will be quite expensive!

Re: Evinrude Wiring Problems

You could always buy some Deutsch 6 or 8 pin male and female connectors and make a very reliable and completely safe (and water resistant) harness for very little money. EBay sells them in both silver and gold contacts for under $20 dollars a set (yes both male and female sides). These connectors are used by the racing industry and are very reliable. If I had your situation I won’t think twice about replace both sides of your harness with such a setup... Of course this is just my opinion...