Outboard kill switches 

A good tip we are taught at NSRI. Is to actually kill the motor with the kill switches often in stead of using the key. Just to check whether it is working correctly.

Wow, you are a natural teacher. Clear and to the point. Thank you.

i enjoyed your video very much it has a good learning setting as if your in a classroom learning outboards and feels like one on one . you have a good attitude to teaching thanx

I was desperately trying to figure out why I had no spark for my XR4, but I knew it was in the kill switch circuit. Your casual mention of the “soggy” connections causing a similar issue caused me to try replacing all of my bullet connectors in my throttle. What do you know, that fixed it! Thank you so much, this saved me a lot of frustration!

Thank you for this explanation. Having understood how it works I was able to fix the problem. I like your diagrams. Thanks for taking the time produce these videos they have helped me fix a lot of things.

You are so awesome I've had my 1988 checkmate ski boat with a 90 horsepower Yamaha on it and you have helped me do so much on my own instead of spending so much money at the Marine shop

Thanks for this. My yamaha outboard didn´t have a kill switch, and you helped me find the wires to connect a new one. Made my day.

On my old Chrysler the kill switch wire came in contact with the flywheel causing it to run with bad spark. When I noticed what was going on I unhooked the kill switch and the motor worked fine. Glad to see the sponsorship I've ordered from them for years. Its great for someone like me that fools with old motors. They've got NOS parts dating back to the late 50's.

Thank you so much for this! I am new to sailing, just bought my first outboard, have no idea what I'm doing lol ! Spent the first hour looking for the gas tank 'til I realized I had to buy one....Got it started, and realized I had no clue how to turn it off !!!!! "Turning the switch on turns the motor off" perfect !

Thanks Mate! Very helpful info & hats off to the new (very smart folks to sponsor you!) sponsorship! I wasn't aware of them before you mentioned them so many Thanks! Now i have a new source for parts!

Wow, what a good teacher you are ! Some mechanics think (before I saw your video I did too) when you pull the lanyard something is disconnected. But now I know that after pulling the lanyard: the kill switch should make a connection !! Thanks so very very much. I could make my kill switch work myself. (long story: bought a new Glastron, it was rigged for a Mercury outboard, but with the same dealer I bought a Suzuki 140 hp outboard. So the mechanic had to cut the big cable and had to make many connections, but didn't get the kill switch to work)

Great video, very informative and easy to understand and well explained.

Im so glad MARINE ENGINE is supporting you're channel now!! You deserved that for some time now. They couldn't have choosen a better person to sponsor and im now gonna order my parts from them instead of boats. n=€. And PLEASE show some vids on smaller Mercury 2 stroke(40-60) if you ever get the chance! Thanks and great job as always STU

Wow! Another great video I have been wrestling with a 1971 mercury 7,5 hp mercury kicker motor no spark. Your video has helped me so much and your straight forward manner inspires confidence.. I have two older outboards and you have been a coach through both..thanks! anyway long story short after working the points over on a no spark motor and making a few more discoveries I now have spark...yea. I did find an obscure fact in the process, that I wanted to pass along, the 1971 mercury type 2 ignition sends the spark when the points are CLOSED (all other mercury ignitions operate the normal way ) this one really threw me a curve ball. Accordingly the kill switch is backwards as the kill is open and run is closed...yikes.

Congrats on getting sponsorship for your channel Stu! This was a great video on how those switches work. I was always taught when troubleshooting look at the easy things first. It could likely be the problem. I wonder how many times a kill switch that was stuck closed was overlooked by someone with little experience leading to the replacement of an expensive CDI box?

Great video Stu. It made a rather dull day quite funny when you lost the clip and your humour in the face of adversity shone thru. I wasn't laughing so much at you but at myself as this has happened to me numerous times so much that I though it might happen to you. Thanks again for a great video.

Great you now have a sponsor mate and thanks for the reminder about the switch of death.....Stay safe.

Thank you Stu,my mercury broke down once again tonight . No fire ,and no power trim and tilt nothing. Put a brand new battery on it and still nothing. [New problem motor]I bought a 9.9 Yamaha and the man told me a friend worked on the kill switch and therefore it will not fire off. You were highlighted on my computer when i walked in from the break down. hahaha Tomorrow i will check out the white wire and see if it will crank.I have two problem motors....

Tidy Stu, following your vid I managed to get my motor running. Mint

i am glad for sponsors,i will check them up,keep coming with best marine videos

I really enjoy your videos mate. Thank you for taking the time to explain things thoroughly and plainly. Keep up the great work. Subbed!

My new boating ‘bestie’! Love it!

Thanks for taking the time to make this video dude

Hi, i figured out the problem with my 1990 johnson 90hp outboard. And i figured out after trying everything possible to get the rpm to be stable...that the reason behind all the problems are the throttle cables. They have about an inch of play in them, which caused the throttle lever not to end up in the same spot every time i move the remote control forward and back to neutral. Thank you so much for your videos because without them i wouldn't have had the knowledge to do what i did.

Every time I look for a useful video about aouboards yous far exceed my expectations. Thanks for the great work, my 67 merc 200 is up and running because of you.

Outstanding instructive video. Well done!

Thank you for a great video, your vids are all very helpful. All the best.

What a great teacher.. Thanks for doing these videos.

Splendid video Stu. I have a request for future videos. "How to check a used outboards before buying it", maybe one for two-stroke, one for four-stroke and one for two-stroke with injection. Maybe one about what to check if you can not testrun it. Keep up the good work.

Great on your sponsor. Now you need to get your own show like we have over here on the TLC. Could base it off fixer upper except with boats/motors.

Thank you, mine was missing the circlip to hold the pin in. After your video I was able to make a temp fix with a small wire

Perfect timing, I'm wrestling with what I think is a kill switch problem right now. Thanks.

Love ur videos. Knowledgeable and Funny. Thanx for ur help.

You're amazing brother! Love all of your videos!

thanks man, I´m not speak inglish. then sorry. I live in Salta, Argentina. and I can repair my mercury thunderbolt just seen your´s videos. no puedo explicarte lo valiosos que han sido tus videos a la hora de embarcarme en la reparación de mi viejo motor. que empezó con el eje de la caja de cambios torcido pasando por el sistema de refrigeración y ahora terminando con el botón de corte. gracias nuevamente. te cuento que por aqui tuvimos que reconstruir todas las piezas ya que es muy dificil conseguir los repuestos. un abrazo.

Great job explaining the kill switch, find, and to cdi. I just hope my force 85 has the same color combos. I get the jist of it though.

Nice to see a Coopers Pale on the bench. Always works.

Really great videos. Love your work!

BRILLIANT AS USUAL

This really helped me, thank you

Your answer was right .Thank's now i can run my boat more safly.

My black wire with the yellow stripe was broken inside the main harness with the big red plug. I chased it down with an audible ohm meter .Rather than cutting the thick protective coating and repairing the broken wire I ran a separate wire from the CDI box to the ignition switch. Note that I used a correct color wire " for future mechanics" with a thick UV coating to protect it from the elements and getting banged up. I also put a bullet connector on it beside the big red plug in case the motor ever needed to be removed it can be unplugged rather than cutting it. Works great cuts off everytime now.

Big help! Thanks Again!

Thanks so much ;I had to solve the trouble of the white wire .

Good taste in beer!Thanks for a great explanation.

Danger I need to install one of those kill switches to my console on my new boat which never came with one where can I install it can I install it to the ignition key ?

Best explanation. Thank you.

You saved my day

Great news about your sponsor!!! Kill switch...., probably the least suspected item but most often the culprit of no sparks on any plugs. Again, congrats with Marinegine.com

great, thanks for posting

Good video mate always wondered what was inside one of them ,when i did the anglapro up i had 3 kill switches one on the consul the lanyard and also a button on the front which i think would have been used for a starter if you put electric start on an enduro but they were all handy ,pull up to a spot and kill the engine and just glide in trolling at the back get a hit push the button and fight the fish anyway good video .

Very informative thank you so much!!

Great explanation

Thank you for the great videos. I’ve recently “inherited” an old 1970 Mercury Thunderbolt 7.5hp outboard. Your videos have been a tremendous help in basically rebuilding the entire motor. *I’m stuck in the last major part though. I can’t find wiring diagrams anywhere for this! I’ve even purchased the tech manual , and it doesn’t cover this specific motor. ALL the wiring was shot (and some was missing entirely). I need to re-wire the entire thing. That said, it’s a very simple little pull-start unit (new stator from CDI electronics 174-3996, 2 new ignition coils, new spark plugs, etc). Any help/guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated! (I need to know where every wire goes. There aren’t many of them, but I don’t want to mess anything up). I commented on this video specifically because I also need to wire in a kill switch. Thank you in advance!

Thanks for the helpful videos. I just bought a used boat about a month ago. It is a 2003 McKee Craft 172 Backwater and it has a 2004 Tohatsu 90 hp TLDI. First time I took it out it started right up and ran well, I was able to shut it off and restart with no issues. Daughter had to use the restroom so I went to a dock turned the engine off and when she got back in I was able to restart it and slowly made my way back out to deeper water and when I tried to give it some throttle it died and I had a hard time getting it restarted but luckily I was able to get it started and back off the water. Did some research and thought it was likely old gas so I replaced the fuel/water separator and dumped a can of Seafoam in the tank and ran it from home with muffs. Stalled one time in the driveway but figured that was because I didn't prefill the water/fuel separator with fuel but once restarted I could not get it to repeat the issue so I figured problem solved. I have taken it out 2 times since this and it has started on the first try and ran flawlessly for the entire day both times. After taking it out last Monday, I brought it home and started it and ran fresh water through it in the driveway for about 15 minutes on idle. No issues! So I load the wife and kids up this past Sunday drive 45 minutes to the boat ramp, put the boat in the water and I can not get it to start. It was acting like the battery was low. When I turn the key it makes the beep sound and then I try to turn it to start the starter cranks the flywheel but seems to not be cranking with enough power. I unplugged the battery and plugged to another battery I had with me and it does the same thing. Another boater saw me having issues and offered his freshly charged battery and it did the same. The GPS/depth finder and electric trim work fine but the engine will not start. I have been removing the key and kill switch when I park the boat so it has me wondering if the kill switch could have broken and the motor thinks it is removed. The other strange thing it is doing is the beeping sound comes back when I turn the key to start. So what I mean is it beeps for a couple of second when turned to on (this is normal) and when it stops I attempt to turn to start and the engine tries but with little power to start and the beeping returns. Could I have a bad kill switch or ignition switch? I tried turning the key to on and cranking the flywheel manually but it didn't do anything like it was not sending anything to the spark plugs. Pulled and cleaned all 3 spark plugs but cant get the boat to do anything. My local marina cant look at it for 3 weeks and I really want to get it out a couple more times before winter. Any suggestions on what to check, what to do?

Just perfect, thanks a lot.

Nice video and demonstration Stu.

Love the videos keep them coming. Have you thought about doing one on fuel sender unit and gauges? cheers!

Great stuff thanks!!

Thanks for the video. I’m planning to install a lanyard style kill switch on an old Mariner (made by Yamaha in Japan) 25hp. Makes things much safer.

Hello danger. I just found my old outboard mercury engine from 1990. The kill switch on there is just a rubber button wich isnt capable for using a kill cord with it. Should i order a new kill switch? And wich one would you recommend?

Thanks for the info

Congrats . well deserved.

Hello love your videos by the way, question I have a 1986 evenrude 15 tiller electric start, it does have a kill switch on the tip of the tiller, that’s how I stop it, but I need to install a kill switch in the front next to the pull start with the cord In case I fall over board when on the way, it just has a cap on the front where the kill switch is supposed to be any idea y there is not a kill switch there.

Good video, 9:00 pm here and raining also,

good stuff please keep going

A sponsor at last Stu...well done mate that's great ! Funny story about kill switches and lanyards not being in but I won't bore you with that. Just going to check out MarinEngine.com now

Go to push bike shop ask for broken spoke wheel . Cut or disassemble spokes. Picks for life. Place spoke in drill run drill on branch grinder to make point then run drill on knife block or 400g paper.

Excellent video. Very well explained and just subscribed. Have a Johnson 9.9 4-Stroke with a keyed ignition in the boat. Engine is starting perfectly, but won’t shut off on the key. Kill switch on the tiller handle works, so must assume something is wrong with the keyed ignition or harness wire? Cheers!

Hey Stu, another great episode as usual. Do outboards with computers like the tldi use the same method by diverting current to ground or is the switch connected through the computer?

I'm hoping you can help me I have a 1995 70 horsepower Evinrude outboard and I'm wondering if that motor supposed to have a shift interrupter switch

thank you!

My mercury 1998 60hp 3 cylinder would not shut of either by the kill switch or key, do you think the cause would still be the kill switch ?

I hope you can see my post I am working on a mercury 20 hp thunderbolt ignition I removed the push button kill switch and now won't spark I don't know if removing switch has anything to do with spark issue. Thanks

New scenario engine won't shut off, Shut off system was working but then stopped working as I did a pre season check. Johnson 45hp commercial 1984. Two kill switches both work (one on engine & one on helm) good continuity to ground right up to entering the CDI (Black-Yellow strip) . I replaced CDI Aug 2023, I think I ran the boat 3 times after install. Question; Do I replace CDI again ? How can I kill engine excluding disconnecting the fuel line. ?

Thanks!

Thanks for the tip about not point it towards the camera. Ha! P.S. please fix the clock.

Hi Stu, I'm a little worried it took you till 3 minutes 50 to open your beer which i can assume you had a drink of then and 8 minutes 27 till you had a second sip. You should make Dangar marine stubbie cooler to keep your and our beers cold :-)

Thanks, Good explanation. How people can go to sea without at least 3 back-up motors, I will never know.

Hi Dangar, I have a Volvo penta engine, the engine trips when the kilcord is pulled, but can be restarted with the kilcord still out. Is this normal ?

Hello. I'am Panos from Greece and i found this video very helpfull. I have a yamaha 30hp 2stroke 84 model, with a steering wheel and a gear lever in front of the boat. I have the following problem: After I turn on the motor and start working, when i try to stop it, I turn off the switch without effect and even after I pull the cable from the kill switch, the machine continues to work. The result is to shut down the engine using the chock. After watching the video I realized that there is a magnet somewhere, which generally controls the operation of all switches. Could this magnet be damaged and present this problem? Thank you!

I have an 1975 Johnson 15 horse. Changed out the original kill switch because it didn't work. Put another one on it and still doesn't kill it. One wire to power pack and one to coil. Any ideas? Thanks!

‏I have a question, does kill switch stop the CDI by stopping the spark..because I have difficulty starting the engine and when checking the coils, the spark does not come, but when I put the coils in another engine, it works fine. I don't know if the problem is because of the CDI or the kull switch Because the engine running but it takes a long time to work and sometimes the battery dies before it works

I going to like this one.

Ive got no spark on a Yamaha 9.9 - how do I override the kill switch? at the back of remote control box where the switch is I have a white wire, and 2 black wires..

Could this type of switch be wired to a relay or solenoid to kill power to a trolling motor?

thank you.

My Chrysler 15hp motor doesn't have the kill switch and there is no CDI. How can I install one, the only wires from the ignition plate are 2 spark wire and ground wire. Can I disconnect ground wire an connect it to switch and than switch back to ground. With switch on I could start the engine and with switch off it should stop. Is it possible that there is another ground which wouldn't allow for this setup?

Hi, thank you for the very informative video. I have an issue I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on. I have a 2001 Yamaha HPDI that will not turn off once started. I have completely replaced the main ignition key switch assemble to no avail. Trying to turn the motor off with the key or pulling the safety lanyard will not kill the motor. Im assuming I have some sort of issue with the wiring harness or the ground to the motor, but im not really sure. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Hey im in need of some help on an suzuki dt60 motor regarding spark dono if u can help

Hello, I have a 1996 Johnson j30elede and want to replace the neutral switch on the controller but not sure know how to do it. Will please have a video that show how to replace the neutral switch? Thank you.

Good day to you and thanks for the vid. Can you advise why my kill switch seems to heat up quite a bit when I pul out the lanyard and blows the main fuse..?.

If my switch is broke will my motor turn of by key, my motor won’t turn off with key or switch I have to choke it to kill it don’t know if it’s wiring or just the kill switch

Brilliant info and education on kill switches. Can I splice into the kill switch wires to make a second kill switch for a long tiller extension with the second kill switch at the end? Like to leave the factory kill switch in place which is not on the tiller arm. It’s a new 3.5 Mercury.

Splendid video./ Take another wire off the kill switch wire to a hidden toggle switch so no one steels your ride !!.

Thank you very much :) Before i watch this video. i was thinking that whine i put the safety the no electric come to the spark.

My kill switch is in the tiller handle . There's a switch that goes up for on down for off. Is there a switch that connects to it ?@

I need to know if the johnson 40 hp.when put on a boat with one of the trim cylinders unhooked could cause a problem with the steering

Hi. I somehow ‘broke’ and lost the outside ‘button’ of my kill switch. The lanyard was not working properly so I had to push the botton to kill the engine. Now without the button what is another way I can turn the engine off? Thanks in advance.

Crazy that I've been looking all day for content like this, and you just posted it. I have my grandfathers Honda BF15, but can't get it to fire. It wants to start, but won't turn over. Could this be the neutral kill switch? Great vids, I'm just getting started, but will keep watching.