TOPIC: mercontrol remote problem...

the mercontrol remote i installed doesn't work. only sound it makes is when i depress the black choke button on the remote. plug is in good and tight and remote ends that attach to the battery are clean as are the terminals. hooked the old remote
back up and the motor turns over but the battery died before i got it started. guess i should of tested it before i went thru all that trouble building the mount. also the positive battery terminal got real hot with the mercontrol, and sparked... but it didn't when i re-hooked up the original remote. any help greatly appreciated. ron

If you get the schematic (Maxrules?),I like theirs better than my FSM because they are color coded,there is enough info there to troubleshoot yours to determine where the trouble lies.The chart tells what pins are connected with respect to the key positions and the wires are color coded so that you may not even have to take the remote apart to find the problem.
I will send you the link to the correct schematic if you cannot find it.
I am rewiring the exact same control for my boat.Ron G

I just went thru the same problem ,I had problems with starting, then nothing , make sure the neutral safety switch inside is working,I put the ohm meter on the plug on the engine side there are small brass or copper prongs that get corroded, I cleaned them and checked them , I had to slice my plug open ,the main yellow and gray wire inside were missing, about 2 inches from corrosion ,I soldered and heat shrinked them.. I fixed the problem ..But know my engine won't shut off with the key ..back to the drawing board !

how do you test the neutral safety switch?

Ron G wrote:

If you get the schematic (Maxrules?),I like theirs better than my FSM because they are color coded,there is enough info there to troubleshoot yours to determine where the trouble lies.The chart tells what pins are connected with respect to the key positions and the wires are color coded so that you may not even have to take the remote apart to find the problem.
I will send you the link to the correct schematic if you cannot find it.
I am rewiring the exact same control for my boat.Ron G

how do you check the wires without dissasembling the remote.

My Remote was completely corroded, I ended up completely rewiring it... Works great now. Took 2 units to make one, one had a bad plug end shorting inside between terminals, and both boxes were toast inside, I took a long pigtail with a good plug and took all wires back to good solid wire then re-wired inside with a new ignition switch and the best parts form both boxes, Not hard, but a challenge to get everything back in there how it came out with wires laying properly. Good luck! Your box sure is nice looking though! mine needs paint.

I put an ohm meter across the switch,and pressed the tiny little button (the micro switch) It tested good,but I replaced it anyway to be safe .. After all the testing the problem was in the main plug at the engine,try cleaning the terminals,if not, do what I did and slice open the plug.you might have the 2 main wires corroded (the yellow and gray wire) I fixed the problem, but now my engine won't shut off with the key!! The boat is going to the show ,running or not !!

You have a points ign motor and not the thunderbolt ign.
What year is your control? I don't have my diagrams in front of me but you might want to check compatibility.
A hot battery terminal means resistance somewher, maybe the lug connection to the Battery is OK if it's clean but you might have a poor cable connection to the lug.
You can test your control with a voltmeter by touching the terminals in the plug, or different locations on the motor.
You know power is getting to the control because your choke works, you also know the choke wire is OK back to the motor. There should be switched voltage to the ignition system in both the run and start position, just turn the key to run and see if you get 12 volts at the input side of the resistors. Then do the same for the start position. In the start position you should get 12 volts to the relay to engage the starter, sounds like you are not, that maybe your only problem connection.
Also be aware that the ignition switch contacts don't last forever, and can get corroded too, they slide past each other and are simple spring pressure contacts. I disassemble, replace the ignition switch and relube everything before using an old control, it's a reliability thing that will ruin your whole day. The old Merc wiring generally does not survive time that well, insulation is frequently cracked and wires corroded. Even if a control "works" it may be a few small wire strands away from failure.
Iknow how frustrating all this can be, good luck,
Randy

well rectified one problem. the battery was only putting out 46 amps. should be 685. probably just enough to work the choke button. i hope. four of the 6 cells were bone dry. i thot it was a sealed battery and when i saw the guy pop the caps i knew right away they were going to be low...not dry. maybe because i had it charging for 3 days. so the battery is toast and i got a new one. going to hook up the original remote and see if it starts, and if it does i'll know something is wrong with the mercontrol remote. someone suggested that i strip the rubber insulation off the whole harness up to where it enters the remote and check for corrosion. if i do that how do i re-insulate it, with electrical tape? also how do i clean the contacts on the plug that connects to the motor?
but the low amp output is not the reason for the hot terminal ...so says the west marine guy.

if i do that how do i re-insulate it, with electrical tape? also how do i clean the contacts on the plug that connects to the motor?
but the low amp output is not the reason for the hot terminal ...so says the west marine guy.

Ron

it could be hot from cranking the motor with low battery,but it didnt crank over for you? the sparking is electricity trying to bridge a gap or crossed wires shorting out

the sparking could have been from a loose battery connection "electricity trying to bridge a gap" and maybe why you needed to hookup the battery charger? the bad connection could prevent the battery to be charged while the motor was running

on your other post I mentioned heat shrink tubing to sealing up the wires

to clean the plug connections I wrap 220 sand paper around a nail

DO NOT go slicing up your harness just yet Ron!!! We need to find out why it's arcing when you hook up the batter cable first, before you ever even hook up the new battery to that harness. Do you know what exact application the new controls came off of? I don't remember if/where you said you got them.

jg got them off his devilray or cutter i think. mercontrol were after 62 as my original one (62)was completely different. the plug into the outboard socket didn't match up. tim c put a harness on for me that fits. i'm still waiting to hear from him if he tested it.

the plug into the outboard socket didn't match up. tim c put a harness on for me that fits. i'm still waiting to hear from him if he tested it.

If you still get a sparking & hot wires etc when you check things

ron I just buttspliced longer battery cables a couple weeks ago and looked at the wiring chart I found some where and this was for different plug pins and found the positive & neg are OPPOSITE to the old style 7 pin that we use on the older mercs

see config on far right in the pic "red & black" thats opposite to what you need I believe and if cable have been swapped around

look into this the pos & neg maybe backwards

MadProps wrote:

if i do that how do i re-insulate it, with electrical tape? also how do i clean the contacts on the plug that connects to the motor?
but the low amp output is not the reason for the hot terminal ...so says the west marine guy.

Ron

it could be hot from cranking the motor with low battery,but it didnt crank over for you? the sparking is electricity trying to bridge a gap or crossed wires shorting out

the sparking could have been from a loose battery connection "electricity trying to bridge a gap" and maybe why you needed to hookup the battery charger? the bad connection could prevent the battery to be charged while the motor was running

on your other post I mentioned heat shrink tubing to sealing up the wires

to clean the plug connections I wrap 220 sand paper around a nail

the motor didn't turn over with the mercontrol,only the choke button on the remote worked and then only halfway. the butterflies didn't completely close.(low amps maybe) there was also a clunking noise when i turned the key to start.(starter trying to engage maybe and not enough juice to turn it over)when i hooked up the original remote it was turning slow then fast till the battery died i guess. will be hookin up the new battery in a few minutes. ron

MadProps wrote:

the plug into the outboard socket didn't match up. tim c put a harness on for me that fits. i'm still waiting to hear from him if he tested it.

ron I just buttspliced longer battery cables a couple weeks ago and looked at the wiring chart I found some where and this was for different plug pins and found the positive & neg are OPPOSITE to the old style 7 pin that we use on the older mercs

see config on far right in the pic "red & black" thats opposite to what you need I believe and if cable have been swapped around

look into this the pos & neg maybe backwards

geez i wonder if tim accidentally reversed them.

ok we're narrowing it down. just hooked up the old remote to the new battery. now the butterflies close completely and motor fired right up. going to try the mercontrol now. i hope this isn't somethin stupid on my part.

hooked up the mercontrol and WHOOP WHOOP...fired right up . didn't have to lube the switch or clean the plug contacts, but i did it after it started. i know the mistake i made. i didn't have the mercontrol in neutral only the outboard as the cables aren't hooked up yet. i thot neutral was straight up like my original control,it isn't. had to push it a 1/2" more forward. i found out by dumb luck as i was jiggling the remote handle as i turned the key. it scared the shXt out of me. the terminals are also cool to the touch and no sparkin. just have to have the cables hooked up now and adjusted. so the main problem was twofold...dead battery and mercontrol not in neutral. still strange why my original remote turned it over with the dead battery. can someone explain to me why my battery charger read fully charged?

glad to hear it was just easy oversights

you said you were almost out of acid in the battery , so it was charged to its current capacity, which obviously wasnt much

Excellent, glad to hear it's good to go Ron.

Bob