Urgent help needed - Ignition Switch?

[SeptemberC]

We drove an hour to the lake. Upon arrival I (the wife) noticed that I forgot the key. I was in big trouble (I know!) anyway heres the rest of the story. . .
Hubby decided to try to hot wire it by unscrewing the ignition, to gain access to the wires, and cutting the red and black wires and hooking them together. That didn't work. In the mean time I called my mom to bring me the key. I was lucky that she was heading our way anyway.

While waiting for her to get here with the key hubby connected the wires back using wire connectors. heat shrink tubing is in place but no heat gun with us right now. . .

Mother arrives with the key and now NOTHING happens when we turn the key. The battery is on. Fan, horn, pump work. Gear shift is in the neutral position. What can we try now?

THANK YOU - in advance

Stranded on the last trip of the year is no fun.

 

[SeptemberC]

I've checked all the fuses I can find and all appear to be ok.

 

[LouDoo]

Since you have two identical threads I'm deleting the other thread.

Lou

 

[Dr Honda]

Welllllll.............


I guess we don't have to start with.... "It's stupid to guess about electronics, because you can burn out some very expensive parts"..... Right?


With that NOT said.......


There isn't a straight "Red" wire at your key. There is a red, with a purple trace.


So... if he touched that to the "Black"... he put power straight to ground, and blew the 20a fuse ON THE ENGINE. (did you check those?) But... with that much power... he could have just burnt a wire, or connector somewhere too.


IF>.. he touched it to the black wire, with a yellow trace... then he put power on the kill wire of the ignition. In that case... he could have burnt out the 6 coils, the 2 switch boxes, and the ignition computer. (that will get very expensive)



As far as being stranded on your last trip..... I know that sucks, and everyone will forget things once in a while. But, I leave my boat key, in the boat... and I keep one in my truck. That way... I always have one handy.

 

[SeptemberC]

Thank you. It turned out that it was the 20A fuse at the engine. The way the fuse blew you could barely tell. But once replaced it started right up.
I kicked myself in the butt the whole way home...plus I was embarrassed.
But all things happen for a reason. Once we got it started we went to the river with is 2 min from my house. We enjoyed a nice evening including dinner at our favorite restaurant. It got dark on our way home and as we were approaching the dock we found a stranded boater and towed him in. (There was no one else on the river). It was all meant to be.

Now just wishing the summer wasn't over. I'm gonna get it ready for winter storage.

I have a vacu-hold canvas (I think) cover. Does anyone know if there is a weatherproofing spray or treatment for it?

 

[Dr Honda]

Well... I'm VERY glad it was only the fuse. I looked up the parts on boats.net, and you could have been looking at +$2k worth of electronics.


Just an FYI. Merc keys are VERY generic. If you look on your key... there will be a code. It could be a few numbers or something simple like "2A". If you go to a local Merc dealer with that number... you can get as many keys as you want. (They don't even have to cut them) I got a few keys for my islandia from ebay for about $3 each.



As for the cover......


Terry at Poppy covers recommends 303 protectent. It's very good, but expensive. I've been using the StarBrite waterproof spry with very good results. AND... it's not too expensive. A gallon is only around $45.

Clean the cover with a mild soap (not a heavy detergent, or car washing soap) and let it air dry. Then spray on the waterproofing, and let it dry. It should last at least a season.