Tracing and Repairing Starter-Motor Circuits is a series of individual wires wrapped in electrical tape or plastic tie-wraps, you should be able to trace the harness and find the break. Repair or replace the wire as required. If you get a resistance reading near zero, showing continuity, the problem is within the remote-control unit and must be fixed by your dealer. Figure 8-8 shows the extension harness being tested with a multimeter. Testing for neutral-safety switch maladjustment is quite simple. Hold the shift-control lever with one hand and the ignition key with the other. Hold the key in the start position and gently work the shift lever to its extremes in the neutral position. (Never try to shift into gear without the engine running; you could damage to your shift mechanism.) If you hear the starter motor try to engage, then the switch is out of adjustment or the remote-control mechanism is badly worn and will need to be serviced by your dealer. Don’t be surprised if the control mechanism needs to be replaced due to excessive wear of the internal parts. This is not uncommon on older units.
Engine Ignition Switch Like the neutral-safety switch, most ignition switches are located inside the remote-control unit described above. This makes testing difficult, but some of the same procedures you used to test the neutral-safety switch also apply to the ignition switch. Essentially, you’re testing for battery voltage at the switch and for continuity to the solenoid. This can be done outside the remote-control unit up to the main plug assembly on the control unit. If the wiring harness connecting the engine to the remote-control unit is in good condition, which can be checked visually by tracing it from the engine up under the coaming of the boat to the control unit, problems are probably within the remote-control unit. All manufacturers provide good, functional descriptions of each terminal in the wiring-harness plug, and all provide a test sequence to verify continuity between the terminals on this plug with the ignition switch in different positions. However, a good quick check of these terminals can also be made using your multimeter.
Fig. 8-8. Checking the wiring harness for continuity between the remote control and the engine. In this picture I’ve disconnected the plug at the back of the ignition switch and at the engine, and am using my ohmmeter to check for breaks in the wiring harness.
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