New Ignition Switch - Won't Start
 

Just purchased my Mariah this past saturday. All was well, boat ran great. However, the ignition switch was broken (turned 360 both ways) and the boat would start up and turn off just with turning the battery switch on and off.

I went to the local sail and sky and purchased a new 4 prong switch, same model as the one that was already on the boat. I made note of the wires coming off the old switch and made sure to install them the same way for the new one. These are the notes I took:

Yellow with red stripe - (S) (starter?)
2x Purple - (I) (ignition?)
Red with white stripe - (A) (alternator?)
Big Red - (B) (battery?)

I hooked them back up as written above. The only thing that I wonder about now is about the 2 purple wires. One of them is coming from the wiring harness and seems to go to the back of the boat. However, the other one is not connected to anything. There is a butt connector on it. One side is crimped to the wire the other side is not crimped which leads me to believe that it was never attached to anything. I do not remember seeing if this was attached to something when it was connected to the original switch.

Either way, what happens now is when I put the key in the ignition and turn the battery switch to on, there is a loud sustained beep. However the boat will not even try to crank. The starter doesn't turn over at all. The accessories all turn on (bilge, blower, radio, lights)

I've charged the battery overnight
I've tried jumping the battery with another boat
I've visually checked the fuses under the steering column
I've installed the original switch (still did the same thing)
I've taken off the intake cover on the top of the engine and looked at the red button that says "50" on it (I can't press it in or pull it out. I don't know how that works entirely)

The kill switch lanyard is in and functions properly.
The boat is in neutral. I've tried moving throttle back and forth to ensure it is in neutral.

This leads to me believe something is not correct with my wiring of the new ignition switch. Even though I thought I marked everything correctly and reinstalled correctly.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I would love to get out there and get to use my new boat soon!

Re: New Ignition Switch - Won't Start
 

Purple wire goes back to the coil. Is the key in the ignition when you turn on the battery? Just wondering because the sound is supose to go off when you turn the key over to start. Also make sure you did not trip your kill switch while you were working on it.

Re: New Ignition Switch - Won't Start
 

Matt - Thanks for the reply.

Let me see if I have this correct.

Turn key to left - Accessory (No beep)

Key left in middle (how it is when you just put the key in) - Nothing (No beep)

Turn key to right - On (Sustained Beep) - Twist key to attempt to start, beep changes pitch for split second when it should be starting up

There is a click that takes place when I turn the key to attempt to start back near the "50" red button above the engine. But that is the only thing that happens when I turn the key.

As far as the purple wires go, there are TWO that are connected to the original switch in the position marked "I". One I assume is the one you say goes to the coil in the back, the other I don't know, it isn't connected to anything. It is about 6" long and there is a butt connector on the end of it. The end of the butt connector that attaches to the wire is crimped to keep it connected to the wire, but the other end is not crimped which makes me believe it wasn't connected to anything. I can't imagine what it would be for then...

Thanks again

Re: New Ignition Switch - Won't Start
 

Sounds like its wire correctly. As for the other wire, it could be extra. When Mariah built my boat the must have put in a wireing harness that had every option available on it. I have wires run that are marked shower when there isn't one put in. I will have to think about this somemore.

Re: New Ignition Switch - Won't Start
 

Went by sail and ski and they told me to check the starter relay. The fact that the ignition would turn 360 meant that the ignition could have been trying to engage the starter relay continuously making it fail prematurely.

They said to test that the big red/yellow wire on the relay was showing 12v when the key is turned. They said if the smaller red/yellow shows 12v but the large one does not then there is a problem with the relay.

Re: New Ignition Switch - Won't Start
 

Went back to the boat yesterday. We tracked the power at startup and determined the switch was installed properly. The power made it to the starter however would not turn the starter on. We had to tap the starter a few times with a rubber mallet. Once we did that and turned the key we could here the starter spin but not engage any gears. Took the starter off and sure enough the gears are stripped. Good news is that the flywheel is fine.

Going to pick up a starter today and get her back on the water!

Re: New Ignition Switch - Won't Start
 

Just as a follow-up to the original question, the solution was a new ignition switch and starter.

Apparently, the bad switch caused the starter to engage continuously (kind of like starting your car when it's already started). This stripped the gears on the starter.

Once I installed a new ignition switch and the new starter, boat is good as new! Took it for a little late night cruise last night.

Thanks for everyone's help.