Random shut off

I was going along slowly in a no wake zone like I had been all day, then the motor randomly shut off. No noise, no "arguing" from the motor, no nothing. It was as if I turned the key to off.

Now I cannot get it to start again. In fact there is no turning of the stator and no spark at all. It makes a starter noise (An electrical humming, I guess) but that is all. But every once in a while the stator will turn for a split second and I must get spark as I can see a bit of smoke come from the exhaust. But that is very rare, and I cant really think of anything I did to cause that.

I assume the key is working as it turns the starter, and the primer solonoid will activate from the key. The fuel is good, able to prime the bulb, checked for water in the gas (none). I checked all the connections they appear to be in place. Fuses are all good.

Is there a kill switch that may have gone off?

Thank you for any help. This forum has been a life saver.

Does it have a lanyard kill switch (the kind that shuts the motor off if you fall overboard)?

It does not. I am pretty sure the key does not have a kill switch at all.

Is there a kill on the engine somewhere? I noticed a kill type part that is located at the end of the throttle lever but I am not sure. It has a button on it that is facing down but not making contact. The wires from it go up and ground to the engine on the top. Clear as mud?

We don't even know what motor you have. But I think you are looking at a neutral start switch. Good guess???

fdrgator said:

We don't even know what motor you have. But I think you are looking at a neutral start switch. Good guess???

Click to expand...

Oh yea. Knowing the actual motor is important for sure. Haha. Sorry I left that out. It’s a Evinrude OceanPro 150 1995.

The neutral start switch that would make sense. Also makes sense that I can start it while in gear as that switch is only grounded and all other wires are cut and not connected to anything.

So I am pretty sure that it is my starter. I was able to get the motor started after whacking the starter a few times with the rubber handle of my screwdriver. ran it for about 15 minutes, cut the engine, tried to restart and it did not start. So I whacked the starter a few more times and it started up no problem.

Might just need new brushes and a good cleaning.------Easy to do.------You should not be hitting that starter as it is easy to crack the permanent magnets.

Thank you racerone. I will stop hitting the starter now. I purchased a new one with the hopes of peace-of-mind.