Red plug harness - unused accesory power wire?

[Chaparralbob]

I am re-wiring an old pontoon boat and have a question on the red-plug harness. The engine is a 1990 Evinrude 70 HP. The console end is a rectangular connector organized as 2 x 4 pins, for a total of 8. The engine end is what appears to be the standard "Red Plug" connector.

Here is the question. The factory manual shows 8 wires at the console end, but only shows 7 at the engine end. The missing wire at the engine end seems to be the one for switched battery (accessory) power. I can see the wire (purple) at the console end, so I know it enters the harness. The factory manual only shows 7 wires at the "Red Plug" end. Where does this wire go in the harness?

Magneto style ignition systems are new to me, but is there any use for switched battery (accessory) power at the engine side?

I have been able to solve all the other wiring questions using the manual and posts on this forum. This one has eluded me. It makes no sense (to me) to have 8 wires in one end, and only 7 on the other end.

Thanks for any help with this.

Chaparralbob

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Red plug harness - unused accesory power wire?

Did you install the wiring harness or was it in the boat before? If so, was the motor that was taken off a 1996 or newer model?

An 8 pin connector on the dashboard end of the cable means that it was for a 1996 or newer SystemCheck tach or gauge that has 4 warning lights. You older motor does not have that capability unless someone does a bunch of rewiring from scratch or has the factory adapter kit made to fit.

Your red cannon plug back on the motor should have a solid purple wire in it which is for switched 12V. Don't mix it up with the purple with the white stripe that operates the choke or primer valve.

 

[Chaparralbob]

Re: Red plug harness - unused accesory power wire?

This is a 1990 Lowe 24' pontoon. As far as I know, the boat and engine (also a 1990) are original.

I got this boat as part of a deal when I bough a piece of property on Lake Gaston, NC. It had been sitting for some time - a couple of years at least. As is common on that lake, there was no trailer, so I had to buy one to get it home.

When I opened up the console, it looked like a storage area for extra wire. There were all kinds of loose wires, and the warning buzzer was disconnected. Apparently, the only factory gauge ever installed was for the tilt-trim, and it may have been added later (it uses a toggle switch on the console). This was supposedly serviced yearly by a local marina - they won't get any of my business!

After cleaning the carbs, fresh fuel, etc., the engine fired and seems to be in pretty good shape - I don't think the engine has all that many hours on it. I have yet to check the compression, but I'll get to that.

I put in a new ignition switch, and completely rewired the console. The warning buzzer is now connected! I used the factory manual as a guide for console end of the wiring based on the color codes. The boat uses a "concealed side mount" remote control, so it doesn't have the standard side mount remote control.

Hope this gives you enough background.

Thanks so much for your response!

Chaparralbob

 

[Chaparralbob]

Re: Red plug harness - unused accesory power wire?

More info --

I looked at the connectors at the engine end of the cable.

On the cable side, the connector does have 8 pins. The engine side of the connector only has seven. It appears that the missing pin on the engine side is for the switched power from the ignition switch.

This whole issue came about because I needed the 4th wire to convert to a 4-wire VRO pump. The instructions with the VRO pump kit said to find the purple wire - apparently there isn't one.

I'm guessing that the 4th VRO pump wire (purple) needs to be connected to a switched power source or it will drain the battery.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Red plug harness - unused accesory power wire?

The original VRO instructions showed to cut into the boat wiring end of the harness and pull out the purple wire and using bullet connectors, fasten a wire to the terminal board, then to the VRO pump.

 

[Chaparralbob]

Re: Red plug harness - unused accesory power wire?

I have those instructions - I guess I should re-read them.

I didn't get that out of the instructions (but I'm sure you must be right!).

Since there is no purple wire in the engine side of the connector - this is the only way to make things work. I guess I could also run a separate wire from the ignition switch, but what a pain!

This seems like a pretty delicate operation, but here goes....

Thanks!

 

[daselbee]

Re: Red plug harness - unused accesory power wire?

The red plug absolutely has the purple switched battery connection.
Look here: http://www.maxrules.com/graphics/omc_pics/REMCONTBOX.jpg
and look again at your red plug.

 

[Chaparralbob]

Re: Red plug harness - unused accesory power wire?

Yes, there is a purple wire. It just wasn't connected to the engine harness.

I went back and re-read the 4-wire VRO instructions, and I did need to cut into the harness on the boat side of the plug. I have done that.

Have some other things to do before I test the VRO.

Many, many thanks for the answers!

Chaparralbob