So I have been scouring the typical sites looking for a good used wiring harness for my 1982 J60ELCNM which requires part number 582061. I couldn't find a suitable replacement without going the the "brand new" route for $117 and up. I kept searching and came across the 583099 from a 40-50HP (this particular one came off of a J40ELCOB). After quite some time of staring and comparing on my comp screen, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a very nice $50 583099. The guy who sold it to me said it would not fit my engine but my eyes were telling me a different story. 
After getting the harness I went over the two (old/new) with a fine tooth comb. The plug and pin placement are identical, the length (from what I can tell) is identical, wiring colors are identical, wire gauges are identical, and end connectors are identical. That said the ONLY difference between the two is the 583099 has two temp sensor wires that splice from a single lead. They are the same color wire exiting the harness and the splice for them is buried in the main trunk of the assembly.
My J60ELCNM only requires one temp sensor wire so I will simply tape the extra one back to use later if ever needed. These wires have the small knife disconnect on them (PN 038808).
In order to use an original harness from the J60ELCNM (PN 582061) instead of the 583099, you would simply need to splice a second knife disconnect onto the existing single lead to make two available. A very simple and cost saving retrofit IMO.
I thought this may be somewhat useful information because P/N 583099 is no longer available/obsolete. Used ones are out there and were easier to find than the 582061 (replaced by P/Ns: 583005, 0767968, 413-9915 aftermarket). I cannot confirm the same modification will work on the replacement P/N's.
I was also going to attempt to rebuild my original harness, but the wires were dry rotted all the way back to the plug. You'll see in the pics it was pretty crusty (understatement).
If anyone has any other questions about this modification and setup, or if I missed something in the explanation, please feel free to leave a post.
Otherwise I hope this info was useful and I hope it can help someone out there in boat land. Happy Boating!
After getting the harness I went over the two (old/new) with a fine tooth comb. The plug and pin placement are identical, the length (from what I can tell) is identical, wiring colors are identical, wire gauges are identical, and end connectors are identical. That said the ONLY difference between the two is the 583099 has two temp sensor wires that splice from a single lead. They are the same color wire exiting the harness and the splice for them is buried in the main trunk of the assembly.
My J60ELCNM only requires one temp sensor wire so I will simply tape the extra one back to use later if ever needed. These wires have the small knife disconnect on them (PN 038808).
In order to use an original harness from the J60ELCNM (PN 582061) instead of the 583099, you would simply need to splice a second knife disconnect onto the existing single lead to make two available. A very simple and cost saving retrofit IMO.
I thought this may be somewhat useful information because P/N 583099 is no longer available/obsolete. Used ones are out there and were easier to find than the 582061 (replaced by P/Ns: 583005, 0767968, 413-9915 aftermarket). I cannot confirm the same modification will work on the replacement P/N's.
I was also going to attempt to rebuild my original harness, but the wires were dry rotted all the way back to the plug. You'll see in the pics it was pretty crusty (understatement).
If anyone has any other questions about this modification and setup, or if I missed something in the explanation, please feel free to leave a post.
Otherwise I hope this info was useful and I hope it can help someone out there in boat land. Happy Boating!
