Replace kill switch or bypass?

[griggsmars]

Hello, I have a '94 Force Mercury 120 hp on a Suntracker Pontoon boat. I lost spark and believe the kill switch could be the culprit. I have been looking for a kill switch to swap out the old one, but can not seem to find a direct match. Can I just bypass the kill switch until I can find a replacement? Attached are some pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Griggsmars

 

[dwco5051]

Don't bypass or jump the switch. If you have to run the boat without it and suspect the switch is bad disconnect the wire that comes from the motor and tape it off. That switch has to be open to run. When the cord is removed it closes the contacts and grounds out the ignition.

 

[griggsmars]

Thank you for the advise. Out of curiosity I tried testing the kill switch by wiring it to a spare bilge pump I had. The bilge did not run when the switch was in the ON position but when I turned the switch to the OFF position it ran. Does this confirm that the switch is bad? I'm scratching my head

 

[Redbarron%%]

As of April 1 federal law requires the use of the kill switch if the boat is (was) equipped with one. If you are in federal waters that is. Many states have followed this guideline. There are some exceptions, but why risk your life and that of others?

 

[dwco5051]

Thank you for the advise. Out of curiosity I tried testing the kill switch by wiring it to a spare bilge pump I had. The bilge did not run when the switch was in the ON position but when I turned the switch to the OFF position it ran. Does this confirm that the switch is bad? I'm scratching my head

If you mean the on position is when the motor is running and the off position is when the lanyard is pulled there is nothing wrong with the kill switch. Connect it back up and search elsewhere to find your problem.

 

[griggsmars]

That's what I thought you would say. I have already replaced stator and voltage regulator. Not sure where to look next.

 

[legalfee]

I would suggest following these troubleshooting steps rather than throwing parts at the problem:

NO FIRE ON ANY CYLINDER:
1. Disconnect the Black/Yellow kill wire AT THE SWITCHBOX and retest. If the engine’s Ignition now has spark, the stop circuit has a fault. Check the key switch, harness, and shift switch (if present).
2. Disconnect the Yellow wires from the Stator to the Regulator/Rectifier and retest. If the engine now has spark, replace the Regulator/Rectifier.
3. Check the cranking RPM. A cranking speed less than 250 RPM will not allow the system to fire properly. This can be caused by a weak battery, dragging starter, bad battery cables, or a mechanical problem inside the engine.
4. Check the Stator resistance and DVA as given below:
Black Stator using Flywheel with Bolted-In Magnets Read from Read to OEM Ohms CDI Ohms DVA (Connected) DVA (Disconnected) Blue(Low Speed Coil) Engine Gnd 5.8-7.0K Ω 2.2-2.4K Ω 180-400 V 180-400 V (*) Red (High Speed Coil) Engine Gnd 125-155 Ω 45-55 Ω 25-100 V 25-100 V (*)

Black Stator using Flywheel with Glued-in Magnets Read from Read to OEM Ohms CDI Ohms DVA (Connected) DVA (Disconnected) Blue (Low Speed Coil) Engine Gnd 3.25-3.65K Ω 488-662 Ω 180-400 V 180-400 V (*) Red (High Speed Coil) Engine Gnd 75-90 Ω 28-32 Ω 25-100 V 25-100 V (*) Red Stator Kit Read from Read to OEM Ohms CDI Ohms DVA (Connected) DVA (Disconnected) White/Green (Stator) Green/White 500-700 Ω 400-550 Ω 180-400 V 180-400 V (*) Blue (Adapter Module) Blue (Adapter Module) Open - 180-400 V 180-400 V (*) Blue (Adapter Module) Engine Gnd Open Open 180-400 V 180-400 V (*) (*) This reading can be used to determine if a Stator (or Adapter Module) or Switchbox has a problem. For instance, if you have no spark on any cylinder and the Stator’s DVA reading is low disconnect the Stator wires and recheck the DVA. If the reading stays low, the Stator is bad. If the reading is now within specification, the Switchbox is bad

 

[puffitu]

Here’s my two cents; when I got my boat it had a intermittent spark issue which I was chasing and it also had a funky kill switch rigged up because the ignition was faulty( couldn’t turn it off with key). I put in a new key ignition and that alone seemed to solve several issues.

 

[puffitu]

I need to add that I also replaced the spark plug boots and the spark had improved as well. Doing a simple resistance test on all plug boots revealed one bad or intermittent condition-just saying check it all anyway you can

 

[The Force power]

As of April 1 federal law requires the use of the kill switch if the boat is (was) equipped with one. If you are in federal waters that is. Many states have followed this guideline. There are some exceptions, but why risk your life and that of others?

Totally agree, you don't need it.......TILL YOU DO and it will be in the most crucial moment

 

[The Force power]

Hello, I have a '94 Force Mercury 120 hp on a Suntracker Pontoon boat. I lost spark and believe the kill switch could be the culprit. I have been looking for a kill switch to swap out the old one, but can not seem to find a direct match. Can I just bypass the kill switch until I can find a replacement? Attached are some pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Griggsmars

The switches out there either normally open & normally closed and some switches have the terminals to hook up for either requirements

 

[griggsmars]

From my posts about my lower unit not coming off, I have been informed that my motor is NOT a 1994 it is a 96-99 model. This may be the reason I can't find the things I am looking for, and also I have possibly ordered the wrong parts. I could not find any label showing the year or serial # so I just assumed the motor was the same year as the boat. Hopefully this will lead me in the right direction. Thank you.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Your control/shifter is called :

1. Remote Control-4000 Side Mount(Power Trim)(if it has power trim)
2. The difference would be the non power tilt wouldn't have a T@T switch.

The safety switch is :

SWITCH ASSEMBLY 91941A8 about 25$ LANYARD ASSEMBLY 15920Q54 NLA but can be found on Ebay under $20 BUT!!! yours might not be bad???

 

[griggsmars]

I think my whole spark problem is that I believed that the motor was a 1994. I bought a new stator and voltage regulator for a 1994 model. If the motor is a 1996-1999 the stator and regulator may be different from the 1994 model.

 

[griggsmars]

Caltric has a stator on ebay that fits 96-99 Force 120 hp ELPT and ELPT 25 Do you think this would be the right part?

 

[Redbarron%%]

If you have a post 1996 you should have CDM modules and not a CDI box. I think.
You should have a red stator with 4 leads Two Yellow and green/white and white/green IIRC.
The trigger would have one black wire with a ring terminal and then 4 other wires and no black / white with a bullet connector.
I could be wrong, but you should check the motor and the manuals.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Now that you know the possible year is there any marking ANYWHERE on the motor giving the model or serial#??
On the very
Need a side pic of the lower unit and then the coils and if there's a pack or voltage reg?

 

[griggsmars]

I took the flywheel and stator off and found the magnets in the flywheel to be quite damaged. 261 9007-C4 was stamped inside the flywheel. Attached are some pics. I'll take more this afternoon. Thank you in advance.

 

[pnwboat]

If the magnets are basically intact and in place, they should be able to produce enough voltage for spark. If they are broken and pieces are missing, then they may not be good. Pictures of the magnets would help.

As far as the CDM units, if you have a bad one, it can affect the others.

Make sure the Kill Circuit is not engaged. If you have any doubts, you can unplug the Black/White wire just above the Voltage Regulator. NOTE: If the motor starts, you cannot shut the motor off with the key when the Black/White wire is disconnected.

Disconnect the flat 4 pin modular connector on number 1 CDM. Crank the motor and check for spark. If still no spark, reconnect number 1 and disconnect the connector for CDM number 2. Crank the motor and check for spark. If you have spark, then CDM number 2 is bad. Just go down the CDM units checking each one. If spark returns after disconnecting one of them, then that's the one that is bad.

 

[griggsmars]

I'll take more pics in a couple hours, but the magnets are chipped up pretty good. Are the CDM units the black coil packs? Any other thoughts on the year of motor? Thanks