What is this component???

[Robitron8]

Hello, I have a 1989 mercruiser 3.0 sterndrive. I recently replaced all the battery cables. When I went to put the wires that came off the starter stud to back on, it looks like the threads were chewed up. Because of the new thickness of the battery cable, I couldn’t get the nut back on… so i removed this component and looked around for another post with power and put it there. See the picture. After a lot of research it looks like I put this component onto the starter solenoid. I suspect that the two red wires coming off of this component run to the ignition switch? What is this component, what does it do and can i put it on the solenoid like that without exploding? Will it work like this or do I need to get a new starter to accomodate all the wires? Thanks for any help!

 

[dubs283]

Looks like a circuit breaker. Definitely not part of mercruiser oem engine/harness wiring

Some boat manufacturers will add these breakers to a (+) battery post for accessories/helm switch power

Mercruiser oem wiring for the dash/helm power and ignition circuit is part of the engine harness and cannon plug (boat) harness. Once the harness reaches the dash/helm the boat manufacturer ties into it for guages, key switch, and most cases accessory fuse panel +/-

It's possible a previous owner added it to bypass original wiring but that is just a guess. You'll have to trace wires to figure out what circuit(s) the breaker is protecting

 

[Bt Doctur]

from the pic, the red wire is the 12v feed to the slave solenoid relay and usually does not use a resetting circuit breaker