Repowered my SwampLizard with a pair of low hour Merc 496 bone stock.

Everything has been working well last 2 months and then going to marina for gas...turn motors off...fill up and the STBD key turn give me nothing! No click, no whirr, no fuel pump, no dash...nada,

Battery is showing 12.6v ....wiggle wires and try stuff but no-joy so go home on one without power steering.

Tested the following and all seem fine:
Big Breaker/fuse on motor fine
20amp fuse on key switch fine
12.6v to ignition switch fine
Test Ignition Switch and get No continuity from Battery Post to either the Start or the Aux - buy same switch

Install and noJoy.
Continuity between Battery Post and Aux on half turn, also to Start
Compare this to what I have on PORT side - switch acts the same
Put PORT Switch on STBD engine wires - nojoy

Seems like when I push to Aux when connected to STBD motor wiring it is grounding out somewhere....12V goes away on both Aux and Start post. If I touch power 12V to starter wire the starter fires off but no fuel pump so wont run. If I touch power to Aux wire - nothing happens - Not sure how to trace this down.

I am sure this is super simple for someone but I am stumped at the moment. Anyone got a troubleshooting tip or two for me?

As always, Thanks!

Swampy

Bad kill switch?

thinking the same or bad neutral switch

Start with the basic and check all your battery connections including at starter they loose up sometimes

Bad ground or power to engine key switch? Neutral safety switch? My kill switch, (lanyard) only shuts off the ignition. Motor's still crank, just don't fire.

Thanks Guys for the questions!

There is no Neutral safety switch (or I should say it has never been hooked up)
There is no lanyard or that sort or ignition kill switch.

UPDATE: Still working it!
1) I had invertedly purchased the wrong Ignition Switch which was adding confusion. Got the right one and it works one one engine but not the other....so wiring issue somewhere down stream.
2) The 12.5v "hot" ignition wire is solid/works. The ignition "20Amp Fuse" is testing good as well on both ignitions. The wire to the Starters when I put 12V do starter things. The 3rd wire, a 14 gauge grey wire on the Ignition one that does not work is suspect. I need to trace it to engine room and wiring harness. It seems to ground out and I think it is the wire that goes to the Accessories and Dash cluster for one motor. Going to be fun to riffle through that spaghetti mess!


Keep suggestions coming I am working on it tonight.

Swampy

So the deal is as follows and I am now thinking I might need to call "the guy".

Grounding seems fine everywhere I've tested. Comes down to one 14-gauge wire that I have traced from switch to punchdown block in console to punchdown block in engine room and all the way to the Round plug mounted on motor. It ohms out fine from end to end. Not sure where the power goes from there.....

Just to be proactive I replaced both ignition switches (and yes I tested them and even switch them - same results).

Any ideas would be helpful as finding a "guy" near the Holidays is going to be a challenge.

Thanks!

[QUOTE=Swamplizard;4886267]Thanks Guys for the questions!

There is no Neutral safety switch (or I should say it has never been hooked up)
There is no lanyard or that sort or ignition kill switch.

You really should fix this issue, a working kill switch is mandatory for safety reasons.

yeah I know - not super helpful in this situation but sure

Got it working - was a combo of bad switch, corroded connector, and dirt ground wire to STBD motor. Thanks All!