Thread: Water in fuel

Originally Posted by JRJ

Took the boat out, ran good but still has a very small miss. I think it’ll work itself out. Another problem! I pulled it in my slip and cut the key off, motor kept running. Removed the kill switch and it stayed running. Cut the key on and off a few times, it finally cut off. Now when I turn the key on, nothing happens. No instruments work. Engine will not turn over. You think it’s the switch? I did have to turn it on and off a lot to get the motor to run. Battery is filling charged and power lift works on the motor.


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I'd say you have a problem inside the key switch ... corroded wires/bad connections - the whole assembly is loose or coming apart.

But, that part about pulling the kill switch & the motor still running worries me. That's its sole purpose ... kill the engine when the contact is broken (grounds out the circuit). Now, lots of times it's the kill switch that won't let you "start" the engine ... like when the lanyard clip is not in place (seen/done that). But, never seen a engine keep running when the lanyard clip was removed from the holder. Now, on mine (90 hp Merc) I can simply flip the toggle lever UP and the engine will start/run without the kill switch lanyard clip being in place. But, I've never had the lanyard clip get pulled free and the engine keep running.

If it were me, I'd have the key switch and the kill switch assemblies totally replaced .... unless, of course, I found loose wires, bad crimps, corroded connectors & such, and could do the work myself on the kill switch ... the key switch deal, nope, I'd just replace the whole thing.

Check the 20 amp (I think) fuse under the cowling.

Remove the Cowl, check the fuse bill talked about. But in this process check all the wiring under the cowl. Check real close for any small wires that could have got hot and melted the insulation. Some thing had to be crossed to cause power to stay engaged when key was shut off. That In turn could have blown fuse. I would expect it's aft of ignition switch since kill switch had no affect on it.

It'll be a couple of days before I can get to it. I'll get back on here after I find out what's going on. Thanks

The switch and kill switch will kill the engine even with a bad fuse. It's a different circuit. If you've lost all control function, I'd check the connection where the control harness connects to the engine under the cowling. Once the engine is started, it will continue to run without the need for the harness. However, it does require the harness to engage the starter and supply power to the dash for instrument function.