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I have a 1989 Montauk 17 with an Evinrude Ficht 90 that’s need a lot of TLC. Bought her last December and just finished refurbishing and had some motor repairs. I took her out fishing last weekend, motor ran fine and had no problems, with about 2.5 hours on the engine. Put her in the slip and had shut down to connect the water hose for flush and went to restart and got nothing. No click, just silence, none of the dash gauges, warning lights or warning chirps came on. I check the cable to battery and it has a good connection and charge. Shows 12 volts and I recharged it overnight and went back the next day with the same results. Went to raise the motor and power switch was dead. Checked the new power junction box, fuzzes all good, pulled relay for start and power tilt, replaced with a good one to trouble shoot and still no joy. I confirmed there are 12 volts coming to the motor on the other end. I checked the Montauk wiring diagram and it shows the two fuses on the console to the light and aux which are fine. Also shows a main fuse but I have not found anything else suggesting a primary fuse. Just those on the motor. Could the ignition switch have gone bad and if so why would the motor continue to run earlier? Any ideas would be appreciated.

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I would think a breaker or fuse, possibly a relay but without access to a wiring diagram I wouldn't know where to start. Ignition switch failures are rare but easy to troubleshoot. Just use a jumper wire to connect across the switch and try that.

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I just saw and read your other post on wiring problem. It's usually better to have one post.

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In this case, I think separate posts make sense, because his other recent post seems to be about accessory wiring on his Montauk, probably unrelated to motor starting problems.

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I've included the Evinrude Ficht wiring diagram.

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Yes, there are two separate wiring harnesses on a boat generally.

1. One engine harness
2. One wiring system from the battery to the console. (Accessories)

Check the red wire has power at the key switch.
Also see this article on both types of wiring harnesses, Old and New for Evinrude.
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=72

Both the above harnesses show a red wire to the key switch.
Also see this:
http://www.whalercentral.com/images/a...Colors.jpg

Red wire is always hot if the battery switch is turned on if equipped with one.
(unless the motors main fuse is blown)

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Have you checked the obvious such as gear shifter not in neutral or safety lanyard switch not hooked up or possibly broken? Sometimes the devil is in the details.

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Yes, I first checked to ensure throttle was in neutral, checked the battery connections and put it on a charger. Following day checked power output. Both connects were solid, have been using nut with star washers to ensure a great connection with no slip. Pulled all the fuses on the power unit and checked the relay for the starter and power trim. Both were good. Checked power from the battery to the starter solenoid and had 12volts. Checked the two smaller leads on the solenoid and they were bad. Jumped power from the input lead to the output lead and the motor turned over. So at this point it appears the starter solenoid is bad. I’ll update the post after I get the new one installed.

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Found the primary problem hidden between two relays and not part of the primary fuse box! Yes, you guessed it, a blown fuse. Could not see from our angle inside the boat but was visible after pulling all 4 relays and testing them. Did confirm the solenoid was failing and also ended up replacing the ignition switch. It failed two of eight tests. So in total spent less than $90 dollars, good inspection of all the electrical components at the cost of about 3-4 hours of personal labor. I hope this helps someone else. Confirm you've check ALL the fuses, one might be hidden. Thanks to everyone for the advice.

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When you say "....not part of the primary fuse box...." are you referring to the accessory fuse box. If so, quite correct. The motor is on a different circuit altogether. Was the blown fuse you found underneath the motor shroud???
Garris

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Yes, it was within the Power Distribution Block between four relays and not part of the fuse board at the top of the PDB. It appears to be fused to protect the key switch, and several other items. Hopefully there is not some other hidden problem.

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Nothing hidden about it......have spare fuses on the water with you. If I recall my old 1980 235hp Johnson had an oddball short fuse in an inline waterproof jacket. I would recommend fellows on the site to locate the motor fuses. They do go out. The transmission handle in neutral is just a completion for the negative wire for the starting circuit. Sometimes jiggling does work for short term.
Garris

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Nothing hidden about it......have spare fuses on the water with you. If I recall my old 1980 235hp Johnson had an oddball short fuse in an inline waterproof jacket. I would recommend fellows on the site to locate the motor fuses. They do go out. The transmission handle in neutral is just a completion for the negative wire for the starting circuit. Sometimes jiggling does work for short term.
Garris