Key Wiring Issues

Hi all I have a 1982 Johnson 175HP Outboard on a 18 ft Hydrodyne.
Heres the problems on my previous Key ignition switch it had M1, M2, B, A, C, and S. My new one has the following as you can see in the picture. M1, M2, B, A, C, and I.

And I'm redoing all this because my boat after redoing the wiring didn't start this year so I'm putting a new one of these on.

My first assumption was I and S were meaning the same. Ignition and starter, please correct that if I am wrong.

I hooked up everything the way it was and the things that are troubling me are the B and I connectors.

The B had two wires coming in one big red one from the engine cluster of wires (this makes sense I think this should be there) and it had the rogue yellow wire coming in from the power pack(see the second picture to see the yellow wire running in and where its attaching. I have NO IDEA what the heck its doing, may someone could shed some light here.

The I (on the new switch or S on the old one) has a wire that looks to be going to the trim adjustment (up or down) for the outboard. I have no idea why that would go there? Shouldn't that be on the accessories one.

One another note my trim used to move up and down without a key in it so I think that explains why it used to work like that I think (not really sure).

So my question is does that yellow wire going to the power pack need to be going to the I position on the switch (is that what starts my boat)? And should the trim adjustment just be a accessory when I turn the key halfway?

Sorry I'm at wits end and I wish I could test this without hurting anything. I have a volt meter and a smaller 6v if anyone has ideas on what to try. Thanks so much for any help!

Re: Key Wiring Issues

continuousWave: Whaler: Reference: Ignition Switch

I and A are the same. the link I posted will tell you everything you need to know including the colors.

Re: Key Wiring Issues

This is completely awesome. I can check and attach wires with feeling safe.

Can anyone by chance now just tell me what that yellow wire that someone put on what it could possibly be doing there and where it should be hooked up to the key switch terminals? Someone put it there for a reason, and i Know it was not in the original amphenol red rubber body connector. It originally was connected to the B on the key why would it need to be there?

Re: Key Wiring Issues

ramzzey13 said:

...My first assumption was I and S were meaning the same. Ignition and starter, please correct that if I am wrong.

Click to expand...

That is wrong. The legend "I" is for the ignition circuit, now called the "A" or accessory circuit. The legend "S" is for the starting circuit.

It is common to find boat wiring installed by others that employs the wrong wire color insulation. A wire with YELLOW insulation should now be a battery negative circuit in a DC system. In your case, a YELLOW wire connected to the "B" terminal is part of the battery positive power distribution. There were some legacy uses of YELLOW wire in outboards, but not as part of the battery positive power distribution. The only way to discover the function of this wire is to follow the wire's path and see to what it leads. Whatever is connected to your YELLOW wire from the "B" terminal is being fed 12-Volt power all the time. It is a very poor practice to use a circuit element like a switch as part of the power distribution wiring to other devices.

I am glad your found my article on ignition switch wiring to be useful. You may also find this article on wire color codes to be helpful:

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/wireColorCode.html

Re: Key Wiring Issues

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Re: Key Wiring Issues

That is wrong. The legend "I" is for the ignition circuit, now called the "A" or accessory circuit. The legend "S" is for the starting circuit.

So your statment sort of makes sense. On my switch I have a B, A, I, C, M, and M. in this case would not A be my accessory and my I be my start? That is what makes sense there is no other terminals I don't think they can go to. Correct me if I'm thinking incorrectly.

Also I did trace that wire that goes to the battery along with the Red with violet stripe (that should be there). It goes to the power pack by itself. Does anyone have any info on what that connection on that power pack does and why I would want that wire to go there on that place!?

Re: Key Wiring Issues

I personally would use a volt meter set on ohms and work out what the letters stand for as they are not standard. only one terminal should ohm closed from b to ? when the key is turned to the start position and open when the key is in any other position

Re: Key Wiring Issues

Hello all getting back to my original question. I checked and recently saw another letter on the back of my key ignition. I have a M1, M2, C, B, and then I have a I by itself and then I have a A with a S very close to it meaning it is Acessory and start I believe. I flip flopped these wires so my accessory purple goes to the I and then my red and yellow wire goes to the Acessory and the starter connection. With this configuration when i turn the key to the on position my gauges work as they should (they turn on). So I am thinking this is correct, Right?
However my boat still does not start. The only thing else that was changed on the boat would be I ran 4 gauge to the front of the boat to mount the battery in the front. It is approximately 10 FT of wiring. It is good high priced wire but now I am thinking this is the only thing that I have changed on the boat since I have rewired it. Is 4 gauge wire not big enough to go over that distance for that much power? What gauge of wire should be used? Thanks!