Kill Switch problem?

[Morty]

Went boating today for about ten minutes. My wife was driving and she accidentally pulled out the lanyard kill switch off of the Quicksilver 3000 shifter.

I put back the lanyard on the kill switch, in the run position, the boat would not start. And its not like the engine keeps cranking with no spark. When you try to start it, the starter engauges for one second then stops because it sounds like it cant turn the engine over due to the fact that it is "stuck".
How does the kill switch work? Could it possibly blow a fuse or circuit breaker? I have a circuit breaker above the ignition switch that did not trip. Are there any more fuses or breakers.
What can I do? Thanks, Morty

 

[Don S]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

DO NOT run off, you need to fix the problem TONIGHT.

 

[Don S]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

When your kill switch was pulled, and you were probably going on plane, the boat stopped and the stern wave probably got water into your engine.
What you need to do right now, is pull the spark plugs, crank the engine over and get all the water out of the cylinders. Then dry the sparkplugs or put new ones in and get that engine started. You don't need water sitting in the cylinders and causing rust.
I don't know if you are in fresh water or salt water, but it needs to be taken care of. Also, don't start asking about flappers...... They are NOT that great of an idea, and they do not stop all the water that can get into your engine.

 

[Morty]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

Thanks for quick reply Don.

We were at a "no wake" speed of about 1500 rpm when this all happend. I'm also boating strictly on fresh water lakes in Minnesota.

Do you have any other ideas?

Thanks, Morty

 

[Don S]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

it probably dieseled, Go pull the plugs and look.

 

[Morty]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

Well Don, once again with your expertise you were right. I pulled all of the plugs and they were wet. I then turned the engine over a few times to get the water out.
Do you think that I should change the oil?
I'm going to get new plugs today, what should the spark plug gap be set at.
Thanks, Morty

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

Morty: You need to get that engine running ASAP. There is a very small window in which you can recover from this. Whether or not you need to change your oil is moot. Right now you're deciding whether or not you'll need to change your engine...

 

[Don S]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

You should have got it running last night. Just dry the old plugs off and get it started. You may have to pull the plugs and dry them a couple of times.

 

[mike456]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

I hope Morty recoved OK from the problem but I'm confused about how water would get into to engine. I thought the cooling system was sealed from the conbustion part (unless there is a leak in the manifold or something). Why would stopping the engine quickly on plane casue this problem?

 

[Coors]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

It went up the exhaust, and into the engine cylinders.

 

[Morty]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

I still am unable to get the engine started.

Before I left for my business trip, I squirted oil into the cylinders to help prevent them from rusting.

I put in new plugs, with the gap set .045". Still the engine wil not start. I think I can hear the the plugs firing, some clicking noise.

All of the water is completely out of the cylinders. It turns out that I had a lot of water in cylinder 5, and wet plugs in the rest.

What does the kill switch exactly do? Could it be bad?

Any other ideas would be great!

Thanks Morty

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

At this point it's back to basics. I'd check for Spark,Fuel and compression in that order.

 

[Coors]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

4 days? I would have all the cylinders filled with marvel mystery oil, just for peace of mind.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Kill Switch problem?

Man...4 days later. I hope this turns out for you. While, based on what you've posted, I doubt your kill switch to be at fault, it's easy enough to check it. The kill switch is a momentary switch held closed. If you connect the wire leading to it and the wire leading away from it, you will eliminate it from the circuit.