Hi Chris,
I have a question concerning the one you posted a reply to. I asked about checking some electrical items out to figure out why my motor would not start. I disconnected the two wires(black with a yellow stripe) for the safety kills. One was for the mercury tilt switch and the other was the safety kill switch on the controls on the side console. I checked the continuity with a an ohmmeter and got zero ohms, shorted out, did not matter if the small toggle kill switch was up or down, got the same reading. I disconnected the mercury switch, the black ground wire and hooked my ohm meter up to the disconnected wire off the switch box and connected the other lead to the black wire off of the mercury tilt switch, whenever I rotated the mercury switch the ohms would zero out as if having a short. I believe this is the correct reading. I then reconnected the mercury tilt back on the motor and reconnected the black ground wire off of the switch. I know the mercury tilt switch is working just fine. My question is do I have to have the key in the switch in the off position when Im checking the kill switch on the side console controls? I know the key has to be off to check the ohms, but Im not sure if having the key in the ignition switch is required?? Again, however, when I checked the continuity of the black wire with the yellow stripe after disconnecting it from the switch box it did not matter if I had the kill switch toggle in the up position or in the down position, I got continuity in both directions. Please help, where should I go from here, replacing the kill switch???
I'm sorry about all the confusion!!!
Hi,
You should post this question in the forum... Not as a PM. Mainly because the question is a very good one.... With an interesting answer that I'm sure will cause a lot of debate....
Due to the nature of the circuitry, the way to test the toggle switch in the control box is to disconnect the black/yellow wire from the switch box in the engine (which you've done). Then, with the key in the RUN position, measure for continuity with the kill switch up and then down. You're looking for a short with the toggle down, and open circuit with the toggle up. If you test with the key in the OFF position, or no key at all, then you will see the readings you have...
The reason is because when the key switch is in the OFF position, the kill wire is connected to the ground. Both the key switch and the toggle switch use the same black/yellow to do the job. That is how these engines are shutdown, by grounding the kill wire, which shorts the capacitor in the switchbox and stops any sparks from being generated.
Cheers,
Chris.........
I have a question concerning the one you posted a reply to. I asked about checking some electrical items out to figure out why my motor would not start. I disconnected the two wires(black with a yellow stripe) for the safety kills. One was for the mercury tilt switch and the other was the safety kill switch on the controls on the side console. I checked the continuity with a an ohmmeter and got zero ohms, shorted out, did not matter if the small toggle kill switch was up or down, got the same reading. I disconnected the mercury switch, the black ground wire and hooked my ohm meter up to the disconnected wire off the switch box and connected the other lead to the black wire off of the mercury tilt switch, whenever I rotated the mercury switch the ohms would zero out as if having a short. I believe this is the correct reading. I then reconnected the mercury tilt back on the motor and reconnected the black ground wire off of the switch. I know the mercury tilt switch is working just fine. My question is do I have to have the key in the switch in the off position when Im checking the kill switch on the side console controls? I know the key has to be off to check the ohms, but Im not sure if having the key in the ignition switch is required?? Again, however, when I checked the continuity of the black wire with the yellow stripe after disconnecting it from the switch box it did not matter if I had the kill switch toggle in the up position or in the down position, I got continuity in both directions. Please help, where should I go from here, replacing the kill switch???
I'm sorry about all the confusion!!!
Hi,
You should post this question in the forum... Not as a PM. Mainly because the question is a very good one.... With an interesting answer that I'm sure will cause a lot of debate....
Due to the nature of the circuitry, the way to test the toggle switch in the control box is to disconnect the black/yellow wire from the switch box in the engine (which you've done). Then, with the key in the RUN position, measure for continuity with the kill switch up and then down. You're looking for a short with the toggle down, and open circuit with the toggle up. If you test with the key in the OFF position, or no key at all, then you will see the readings you have...
The reason is because when the key switch is in the OFF position, the kill wire is connected to the ground. Both the key switch and the toggle switch use the same black/yellow to do the job. That is how these engines are shutdown, by grounding the kill wire, which shorts the capacitor in the switchbox and stops any sparks from being generated.
Cheers,
Chris.........