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Hey everybody,
I have a 1990 Johnson 140 with what appears to be a bad kill switch. The engine turns over but no spark. I have been searching the net for a replacement but all I can find is 2 wire switches. Mine has a single black wire and 2 black with yellow striped wires. 1st question is can anybody point me in the right direction on the replacement part? 2nd question, does anybody know how to bypass this just for troubleshooting(I would never get underway while it's bypassed)? 3rd question, if I am only able to get a 2 wire switch, how do I hook it up, coming from 3 wires down to 2?

Thanks in advance,
Dan

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Unplug the red harness connector plug on the engine and pull the engine over with a cord with the plugs out and grounded to the block. She should have fire. This isolates the engine from the entire external electrical system. If you don't have fire then you have an ignition issue with the engine.

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Does one black/yellow connect to the key switch (M)
and then split to the kill switch?
So it's essentially the same wire?
Then the black/negative should be on the kill switch,
too a second M on the key switch.

m+m=shut off

Disconnect the kill switch wires and see if it starts.
Have them handy as touching them together will shut off.

Wow this reads more confusing than just doing it!

TP

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For parts try marineengine.com. I've used them for older OMC parts and they have a pretty good inventory. You can use your serial number or model and year to access the specific parts catalog for your outboard and then identify the part.

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You only need the 2 wire switch, the ground wire is redundant. To see if that is the problem just disconnect the 2 black w/ yellow wires and tape them off.

These 2 wires go to 2 contacts on your ignition switch, and by connecting them you ground the switchbox and shut the motor off, same as if you turned your key to off. You should also have another black w/ yellow wire under the coil to prevent starting with the engine tilted up. I mention that in case disconnecting these wires doesn't solve your problem. You would want to check and see if any of these wires are unintentionally grounded anywhere along their runs.

The other thing you want to check first in a no spark situation is the neutral safety switch.

As for using the boat without the kill switch functional, I rarely use mine.

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Thank you all for the a vice so far, going to try the troubleshooting this afternoon, I'll post what I find out.
Cheers,
Dan

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I meant to say under the cowl, or engine cover. I guess I got spell checked.

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Disconnected the black/yellow wires, reconnected, no change, disconnected the red wire harness and tried with cord...no spark, reconnected everything disconnected black/yellow wire from power pack got spark only on one cylinder...could it be my power pack?

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Disconnected the black/yellow wires, reconnected, no change.

I am confused by the reconnection. If you disconnect the black/yellow wires and leave them disconnected the kill switch is gone. If it was the problem your motor should fire.

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I reconnected the black/yellow wire after testing and having no change. So basically what I have is the ignition sending the signal to make spark, the stator making electricity, but only distributed to one cylinder, could this be the power pack?

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Sure, it could be a lot of things. I don't know what a red wire harness is but whatever you did got you some spark vs none. Without being able to see this engine or know any history of it the first thing I would do is a compression test to see if I want to bother with anything else.

Going forward I suspect every wire, cable and connection. I want to check every coil and make sure they are clean, grounded and putting out the proper voltage. Then I would check for spark with known good wires & a spark tester. I hope you didn't test for spark by grounding out the plugs, they are the first thing I throw out with a 2 stroke.

Your engine is 25 years old so things are likely to be a little wonky everywhere, and you should trouble shoot to this point before you replace the spark box. Even if you have a bad spark box it could just be a symptom of underlying issues, and you'll blow the next one.

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Ok replaced plugs, stator, power pack cleaned and tested coils, starts up like brand new! Now I have a new problem, she won't turn off with the key! I've replaced the kill switch and ignition switch. She will only turn off by pulling lanyard for kill switch. I had a 3 wire kill switch before 2 black with yellow stripe and a single black ground, and now can only find a 2 wire, 2 black with yellow stripes. My research told me 2 hook 1 black/yellow to the M on ignition switch and the other goes to the engine....won't shut off, so I found another diagram has black yellow from engine to M on ignition switch and from there to kill switch and the other kill switch wire to the ignition ground, same thing wont shut off with key. Can anyone shed some light on going from 3 wires to 2

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The OFF position on the key switch should ground and stop the motor.

See this diagram we have:
http://www.whalercentral.com/faq.php?...p?cat_id=8

Seems like you need to find a Black w/white stripe or a straight Black wire to connect to eh other "M" terminal opposite the Black w/yellow stripe.

Also see these for wire colors connected to the ignition switch:
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=72
http://www.whalercentral.com/faq.php?...p?cat_id=8

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Switched some wires around and she's good to go! Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Cheers!