totally confused

[penguinsfan]

hey guys i'm totally new at this boat motor thing, i've had my boat for about a year now but i'm having some problems. i had a cracked manifold got that fixed and now i have a problem with my ignition. i went to canadian tire and bought a universal ignition switch in the auto parts with the 3 screws on it like my other one but my old one had posts. i hooked the 3 wires red, yellow and purple but there is 2 purples, left one off. now when i start the boat it starts ok but when i put it gear forward or reverse it stops, then if i put it in neutral fast it will start again. should i buy a boat ignition or is it something i'm missing ? and what should i do with the other purple wire.
thanks

 

[Don S]

Re: totally confused

i hooked the 3 wires red, yellow and purple but there is 2 purples, left one off.

Put the purple (Ignition) wire back on and try it. You can't just leave ignition wires off and expect things to work.

What are we working on? Things like engine, year, type of drive etc.

 

[penguinsfan]

Re: totally confused

Put the purple (Ignition) wire back on and try it. You can't just leave ignition wires off and expect things to work.

What are we working on? Things like engine, year, type of drive etc.

its a mid 90's 4.3 mercruiser.
the problem with the purple is there is 2 wires how do i connect them both on ? join them together and put them both on ?

 

[penguinsfan]

Re: totally confused

bump

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: totally confused

If both purple wires went to the same terminal before, then yes they both need to go to the same terminal again. If you have screws on the switch can you put a ring terminal on each or both in one ring terminal and attach to the screw?

 

[penguinsfan]

Re: totally confused

now when I was screwing around with it i did have both purple wires touching each other, kind of wrapped it around so i assume it was connected. i just got a universal switch for it should i get a boat one or it shouldn't matter.
thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: totally confused

its a mid 90's 4.3 mercruiser.
the problem with the purple is there is 2 wires how do i connect them both on ? join them together and put them both on ?

Ayuh,... Put 'em on the same screw....

 

[penguinsfan]

Re: totally confused

ah ok when it stops raining i'll give that a shot. so I can just twist them both together and join em with ring terminal
thanks guys

 

[penguinsfan]

Re: totally confused

ok
now when I put it in gear it doesn't die but it sounds like you're trying to start it when its started, kinda like when you do it in a car then I have to turn it off with the key. I can't believe all of this just from changing an ignition again. it is a universal ignition I got at Canadian tire. should it be for a boat ?
I tried both ways of hooking it up 3 screws one to the battery and the other two switching back and forth still starts the boat both ways

 

[penguinsfan]

Re: totally confused

touched red and yellow wires together and boat turned on.
any ideas guys do you see something obvious please help.
thanks

 

[Don S]

Re: totally confused

any ideas guys do you see something obvious.

Yeah, stop messing with it. You have no clue what you are doing and you have the wiring all screwed up.

Post a clear picture of your ignition switch that shows where the wires are.

 

[penguinsfan]

Re: totally confused

Yeah, stop messing with it. You have no clue what you are doing and you have the wiring all screwed up.

Post a clear picture of your ignition switch that shows where the wires are.

ya I know don but I figured 3 wires how hard could it be right lol I guess I was wrong. do you think I should get a boat switch or the universal should work.
thanks
i'll try and take the picture tomorrow.

 

[Don S]

Re: totally confused

The universal may work, hard to say which one you actually have. Do you have a link that shows the exact switch you have?

 

[penguinsfan]

Re: totally confused

no sorry I know its from Canadian tire i'm going to get a boat switch we have a dealer 20 minutes away and go from there. my brother in law is good with this stuff so i'll get him to do it with me.
thanks for looking don sorry for bein an idiot.