1968 Evinrude 33hp solenoid

[jmatoon]

Just went through a rough troubleshooting session... Turn key and nothing.. no click nothing. power was going everywhere it was supposed to be going. so jumping the solenoid starter worked, figured ok i have a bad solenoid. solenoid replaced, same issue. One thing i have found is that when i ground out the "I" terminal on the solenoid everything works fine, but the "I" terminal is supposed to be going to my safety swtich. does this mean my safety switch is bad? how do you test the switch?

 

[F_R]

You have already proven the safety switch is bad--or the wire going to it. Pull the wire off the safety switch and ground it (the wire). If the motor cranks ok now, you know the wire is ok. So, problem must be the switch----OR it is out of adjustment. You can also test the switch with a multimeter or continuity tester. Should be zero resistance with button depressed, and infinite (very high) resistance with button released.

EDIT: The seemingly bad solenoid--was it the correct one, or a car solenoid? Attempting to use a car solenoid will instantly destroy the safety switch the first time you attempt a start. They look identical, but are different inside. The one you have in there now is correct (works with terminal grounded)