kill wire question

[verado7]

1988 merc. 45hp 4cyl.

the test procedure says i should not see any voltage on the black/yellow wire (kill wire ) at the pack - i just replaced my box and stator - but before i fired it up i double checked the kill wire and got a reading of 0.03 volts with the engine off / ign. on --- i did a running test and the voltage was fluctuating on my meter ( no dva adapter hence the fluctuation) so i am wondering is this small voltage reading an issue ? i'm not putting the wire back on til i figure this out

as an alternative - this wire is shorted to ground is it not ? coud i just install a seperate switch wired to a ground and seperate line back to the pack ? my thinking is - that way i never have to worry about stray ignition voltage from the key switch .

 

[verado7]

Re: kill wire question

yeah it was a late night - thanks to me for answering my own question

 

[achris]

Re: kill wire question

The kill terminal is grounded to shut the engine down. If you short the terminal to ground the engine will never start. In normal operation, when you turn the key to the ON position it opens the kill wire circuit. It will then have 250-400 volts on it, and running all the way up to the control box and into the back of the ignition switch. When you turn the key to OFF, the kill wire (and it's 250-400 volts) are connected to ground, shutting the engine off.

HTH,

Chris......