Hey guys, dont know if anyone can point me in the right direction or not, I dont know boat motors very well but will give it a shot, i was out the other day and the motor has always started and ran great, i was starting it up, put it in reverse and it died, now it will not fire at all. There was no popping or noise at all just quit. I did look at the plugs and they were wet which tells me it has gas but i am assuming no spark, any thoughts on where to start looking? Thanks

No insult meant... I have done this before myself and could kick my own rear for it.

Did you put the shifter back in neutral before trying to start again?

no insult taken, yes it is in neutral, when it isnt it wont turn over at all. right now it turns over but never fires. I dont use the safety on the ignition either (never hooked up).

If plugs are wet first thing I would check for is spark. If no spark then you got some other avenues to narrow it down to what is wrong.

could the safety on the ignition that is not hooked up have grounded out?

I once was on Texoma with my Merc 150, was running great, shut it off and fished a bit. When I tried to restart it just spun and no fire. Screwed with it for 20 minutes before I realized that I had sat on the kill switch cord and disabled the ignition

i was thinking the kill switch cord as well, it has never been hooked up since i have had it (5yrs) i wonder if it grounded out , possibility i guess. need to pull the plugs and test for spark first I guess, go from there. thanks.

Seen this happen many times. Suddenly the kill switch starts working. Especially on these motors.

Can anyone tell me what this part is, I was messing with the kill switch wire on the ignition switch and unplugged it and put it on, messed with the linkage a little, etc. The boat started now. Problem is i dont know why. I did find the purple/white wire of this part went behind the linkage and the cover for the spade tip splice was pulled back so the metal of the spade tip was possibly touching the metal linkage, it is possible that this shorted out on the linkage, i recovered it and taped it, but not sure if this would of caused my issue, since it died when putting it in gear it makes me wonder if it is possible. looks like a coil so i am curious. thanks

Maybe a bad connection at the spade lug? They do that after a while.

That is you enrichment solenoid, choke.