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b95 Force 70 HP Kill Switch Mystery

T

Tony Malburg

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"On a recent outing, my '9

"On a recent outing, my '95 Force 70 killed while out on the lake. The motor cranked just fine but it would not fire. I pulled the cowling to check for anything obvious (i.e. - loose wires, blown fuses, gas flow, etc.) but found nothing to be noticeably wrong. Tried to start the motor again an voila - took right off. Encountered the problem multiple times during that outing - time and tweaking did the trick to get the motor to fire.

Once at the dock, had a buddy assist w/troubleshooting. The symptom almost seemed like the kill switch was in the STOP position. So, while I cranked the motor, my buddy toggled the kill switch from STOP to RUN a couple of times and the motor fired. We thought we may have an intermittent problem with the kill switch so we attempted to bypass it to confirm. In the process we discovered that the switch operates in an OPEN state and that bypassing the swtich did not solve the problem.

The only thing that seems to work when I can't get the engine to fire is to toggle the kill switch a couple of times while turning the key.

Has anyone ever experienced this phenomenon? I don't have a wiring diagram and would like to know how the kill switch fits in to the engine starting process.

For now I seem to have a work around but would like to restore to normal operation. Any insight would be greatly appreciated."
 
"Possibly, but which switch?

"Possibly, but which switch? The kill switch or the ignition switch itself?

Remember, we completely bypassed the kill switch (as in cut the wires) and the problem remained. We were ONLY able to get the engine to fire by toggling the kill switch (or touching the exposed bare wires) while turning the engine over.

I'm still looking for someone who can explain the function of the kill switch in the context of the overall ignition system. Engaging the kill switch does NOT prevent the engine from turning over. It only prevents it from firing. The question I have is what does the kill switch itself control that prevents the firing? Without a wiring diagram to trace, I'm shooting in the dark to determine the answer to that question."
 
"Tony, the kill switch is a co

"Tony, the kill switch is a component of the ignition (not the starting circuit).

When you select "off" on the kill switch (circuit closed - or total continuity) it simply grounds out the ignition so that any power generated is grounded to the engine block instead of being upconverted by the coils to fire the plugs (the power from the switchbox simply takes the easiest path to ground)...

Your "off" on the keyswitch works under the same principal - in the off position it grounds out the ignition - nothing to do with the battery/starting system either...

Any of your "kill" switches (off, kill, neutral safety, mercury switches etc as applicable, are usually all fed by a single wire from the switchbox and may be even connected to a common feed, depending on model)..."
 
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