Last trip not as I wanted...

[Harrison]

This story reminds me of a “time long ago. . .”

I was 14 or 15. I was given this beat-up Yamaha 250 endure, with the phrase, “if you can fix it, you can have it.” Well the problem with the bike was the flywheel. It “used” to have a flywheel-to-crankshaft key. Someone in it’s past sheared it off and replaced it with a nail or something else, because the keyway on both the flywheel and the crankshaft were pretty chipped up. Well as a young boy with a new toy to play with. . . and lets also add quite ignorant and impatient, I found out that if I would pop the flywheel off and re align it just right, then tighten the snot out of the nut, it would run! And boy oh boy did it run! That is until the flywheel would slowly move and finally get out of sync with the magneto and stop. When this would happen, I’d get out my screwdrivers and socket set, and pop the thing off and put it back on and go back at it. I’d get 10-20 minutes or so each time I did this.

Well one time it did the usual. So I popped the flywheel off, realigned it, tightened it down, and kicked and kicked. Nothing. No start. I popped it off again, put it back on, and kicked and kicked. I did this procedure repeatedly for over 20 minutes, all the time seeing all my other friends on the dirt track go by over and over. Getting quite frustrated and looking for “any” other reason it wouldn’t start, I decided to look in the fuel tank. . . . . Bingo! Problem found.

---Harrison

[bscott]

Stop the engine using the red engine kill switch, push down and the button stays down--engine is now OFF. By placing the 0 ring under the button the 0 ring can be squeezed down to shut the engine down while you're pressing the button, but pops up again after the engine stops and you release the kill switch button. Kill button remains UP ready for a restart.

This is a trick we use while racing so as not to inadvertantly hit the kill switch, shut down the engine in a bad place and end up in the emergency room.

The engine stutter is a different system used to let the operator know that the lanyard end of the kill switch is removed--designed to prevent unauthorized use or run away boats, PWC, snowmobiles, etc. It also has your name and address in the engine's ignition computor so a thief must go to a dealer to get the engine to run properly. Wrong identification, instant jail time. Most BRC products have this feature.

[Terry]

It is comforting to know we are not alone in our personal ineptitude. It happenned to me at the slip before getting under way. I had invited my younger brother along a few times and by this time he was getting quite familar wth setup so he was way ahead of me getting things prepared, he even had the key in the ignition and was firing it up for me. Since all else was done we were set to go but it just would not crank over. We both realized it just had to be something little because it always fired first time before (when I had inserted the key) what was the deal this time??? So we both lay back open a beer and ponder the situation. After an hour or so in my laziness I slouch down horizontal on the cockpit bench and what comes into my line of vision? Why the dangling red coil of course! What a joke, over an hour of time lost to assuming, yes it does make an ass of you and me. I should not have assumed he knew everything so I showed him what the little thingy was for and we both laughed and headed on out.

[bastonjock]

ive done the same thing on my motorcycle,it was a lesson to knock my ego down as i had laughed at an "idiot" of a workmate who had done the same thing,boy did it ground me after i had flattened the battery trying to start my bike with the kill switch in the off position

doh!!!!!!!! as catigale says

[Retcoastie]

But, bscott, what happens if you're hitting that kill switch as you're falling or bailing off?

The other thing, I have kill switches, not kill buttons.

[bscott]

The original problem here was a lanyard that became disconnected unbeknown to the operator and the outboard would not start..

I only raise the suggestion that if you had a kill button on a cycle, ATV, snowmobile, etc., you could eliminate the "OFF" without knowledge by placing an 0 ring under the button. This also eliminates the inadvertent "OFF" if you hit the button while climbing a steep hill or jumping and hitting the kill button with my chest or other body parts--end result is a nasty crash.

Nothing you can do about a switch except to remember to turn it back ON after you turn it OFF.

Most of my get offs result in the machine coming to a stop all by itself 'cause I have a lanyard attaached to my body which becomes detached and goes to idle just about the time I am over the bars. I don't have switches on my toys. However, a switch is a good thing if you have to walk your dirt bike down a real steep rocky trail where you need to have both wheels brake--shut down the engine with the kill switch and use the clutch for the real wheel brake.

My apologies for hyjacking this sailinsg thread.

[NiceAft]

Well Matt, it seems that you are in very good company

Now, just how many of us actually use the darn thing the way it is designed to be used. Attach it you your person so if you fall overboard, the engine quits My guess is out of the 3705 members, 0 actually use it that way.

Ray

[Boblee]

I must have been caught on this one before over the years as it happened on the M during our trip recently and found it basically straight away and only days ago another bloke used my dinghy which miraculously wouldn't start (honda) and the first thing I checked was choke and then kill switch.
The good thing is by bringing things like this up here it gets stored and hopefully registers when the need arises, usually (unless panic sets in).
After 60+ years it's amazing how many of these things are just stored somewhere even though you can't remember when it was implanted.
It's probably a bit like swimming or riding a bike you don't forget, it just gets a bit dim but you soon pick it up again.
Now I bet some smartie is going to come up with a word or description of why this happens and that will be good too because next time I will know it too. (next time)

[Matt19020]

Well Boblee for now ....the term I am hearing alot is "Kill Switch Matty"
I can dish it out pretty heavy so I guess I need to take it a little also ....at the end of the day .....it was still better then a day at work!!!!

On a side note this was the best possible out come for the problem I dealt with....I had no desire going into next season second guessing the reliability of my new Suzuki after one season of flawless performance...but hopefully will be more prepared...

Beene as you noted I do like the checklist and you are correct ...we have to many things to check ...after all we are talking about two different boats and configurations I do not have a "checklist" however It is more of a flash card in which I just added another item too.........
These were the pics of the last day:

[pokerrick1]

Is everyone else's boat set up this way? If the kill lanyard is engaged and the engine is running, the engine will stop when the kill switch is pulled just like it should. However, the engine WILL start without the kill lanyard attached I don't use the kill lanyard when I am just tooling slowly about the marina - - - I only use it at high speed. I made NO changes to my setup. Came this way. Anyone else? (Actually, I kind of like it this way).

Rick