No power at the helm, remote trim not working, no power to Key switch

[artdf175]

I'll mention it again
Check the power lead from the battery to the helm
Check the splice from the battery switch to the main wire to helm
The lead out of the switch is fairly short so there should be an inline splice
I experience the same exact symptoms everyone has mentioned
On and off power to key - motor dies for no reason no trim from helm etched etc etc
The splice had a inline crimp type connector
The copper wire inside the ends just rotted
I did not find the problem until pulling on wiring to separate wiring - the joint fell apart
If you don't have power to the helm area, key switch check this area first
Art

[nbh00d]

I got the same problem & need help!!!

Hi guys after reading this post I can be pretty sure I shared the same problem as well. Basically power is on & off at the helm but trim at the motor works fine and this has been going on for a week. I am trying to locate the white wire in my 2009 DF80A but does not seem to be able to find it (btw I am not very mechanically minded maybe thats why). Can you guys have a look at the pics I attach and guide me where should I be checking the voltage on?

This is the two connectors at the helm

[gdubroc]

you need to install 36625-93J10

ECM Battery Lead .it connects to what you call your test white wire at engine.the other end goes to the common post on battery switch or postive post on battery.who ever installed your motor did it wrong this wire must be installed it came with all new engines!

I didn't look at the post until today. I heard there was a new harness that fixed the problem and now everything makes sense. I found a picture of Battery lead (36625-93J10) and it basically connects to the battery and to the "test lead" and I am guessing, you no longer have the white wire in the harness. The "test lead" was sealed in a sleeve on my engine. With this kit, you no longer have the splice under the floor. I now understand that you can connect the white wire at the engine to a battery source and the white wire at the helm to a battery source. Good info, thanks,

[bezerk]

you need to install 36625-93J10

ECM Battery Lead .it connects to what you call your test white wire at engine.the other end goes to the common post on battery switch or postive post on battery.who ever installed your motor did it wrong this wire must be installed it came with all new engines!

[gdubroc]

Just an update. I've got the DF300 & couldn't access the white wire at the engine. Using a voltmeter I wasn't getting a reading at the helm. Couldn't back-check the wire for a break due to accessibility.
Ended up connecting a fused hot wire (from the windlass) to the white wire at the helm control & all is fine.
Hope this helps.
George

DoubleG, that was also a work around I used. That white wire starts at the battery, then splits. One side goes to the helm the other side to the engine. The battery wire and the helm wire were on one side of the butt connector and the engine on the other. I even put a jumper in my boat just in case I lost power to the helm again. Someone correct me if I am wrong but I think the engine also pulls power from this white wire for something (it has been 6 months since my problem so I don't remember all the details). By connecting the helm white wire to power, you may have solved one problem but may still have lost power going to the engine. I don't know if that matters or the helm to engine connection could still be intact and you just lost the power side. You may be back feeding the engine and are fine.

Just something to think about.

[artdf175]

I would be interested if you checked the lead from the battery switch pig tail where it connects to the lead to the helm? I have made this note before here
The pigtail from the battery switch, in my case, is pretty short. I was experiencing similar problems and found the connection at that joint rotten the wires just corroded till there was nothing.

[savakntr]

Thanks for the useful posts

[DoubleG]

Just an update. I've got the DF300 & couldn't access the white wire at the engine. Using a voltmeter I wasn't getting a reading at the helm. Couldn't back-check the wire for a break due to accessibility.
Ended up connecting a fused hot wire (from the windlass) to the white wire at the helm control & all is fine.
Hope this helps.
George

[gdubroc]

I have 2008 glacier bay with suzuki 08 DF115s I had the same problem starboard engine lost power to ignition gauges and trim power came back on after about 30 minutes only happened that one time just curious what type of boat you have Thanks

I have the 2009 Blazer Bay with the Zuke 2008 DF225.

When I started having problems, I lost power, then had power the next day, then lost power again. I knew something was wrong so I worked on it until I found the problem.

[raystreet]

I have 2008 glacier bay with suzuki 08 DF115s I had the same problem starboard engine lost power to ignition gauges and trim power came back on after about 30 minutes only happened that one time just curious what type of boat you have Thanks

[gdubroc]

Update

I have an update on the white wire troubleshooting.

On my harness, the white wire is connected to the battery at the helm, then it is split. Half of it goes to the engine and the other half to the half of the harness that feeds the key switch and tilt at the helm.

With this in mind, depending which white wire you check at the helm, it could have voltage (if it is the one coming from the battery) but the connection could be broken going to the key switch, to the engine or both.

[gdubroc]

I have received over a dozen emails and comments from various sites after I had my loss of power problem and thought I would post a summary so you don't have to read the entire string in my other post. This post covers Suzuki outboards that have lost power from the remote at the helm to the engine.

Symptoms include:
Nothing happens when you turn on the key switch (or gauges function but engine won't crank)
Remote trim switch doesn't work but engine trim switch works
Other electrical devices seem to work fine
Trim or engine crank starts to function and everything goes dead.

Everything stated below is how my boat is set up; yours could be different. I have the 2008 DF225 but this problem and setup is used over various years and hp ranges. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

What is the white wire? The white wire(s) is the source of power for the circuit that energizes the binnacle, gauges and provides power back to the engine from the key switch and tilt switch.

The first picture is the main engine harness (circled). It is under the starter on the starboard side of the engine. If you look between the brown and pink wire, you can see the white wire. The wiring harness exits through the front of the engine as one harness (black and roughly 5/8" in diameter). It runs under the floor and surfaces under the helm. In my case, it surfaces as two harnesses, roughly 3/8" in diameter each. Basically the harness is split under the floor and some wires go to the binnacle while others go to the gauges.

All the wires in the harness are routed to either the gauges or the binnacle, except for the white wire. It is split and one goes to the binnacle and the other to the gauges (I think) or to a power source. It could go to the gauges, then a power source but after finding the issue I stopped tracing wires. This can be seen in picture two, also circled. You can see the two white wires between my fingers that go to the helm. The connector that you see is the white wire that comes from the engine, via the main wiring harness that we talked about above.

Of course, the problem was obvious once I pulled the harness into the helm. I had 8' of slack at the stern and pulled that into the helm, exposing the poorly connected white wires. You can see the oxidized copper in the picture. No attempt was made to seal this connection by whoever installed the harness and the location under the floor stays pretty wet.

In summary:

If your tilt does not work at the helm AND the engine will not turn over (Other electrical devices probably still work fine), try the tilt on the engine.

If the engine tilts with the switch at the engine, you have either blown a fuse on front of the engine or you have a bad white wire connection.

Check the fuses on front of the engine (there are 2), if they are good, investigate the white wire. Check for voltage at the engine and at the helm. If you look at picture three, you see a male barrel type terminal that is covered with clear plastic (circled). This is a test point for the white wire at the engine. I hooked my meter up to this connector when I was troubleshooting the circuit. You will probably see low or no voltage.

If it looks like your cable splits under the floor, pull the cable to the nearest end and check the white wire connections listed above.

If you find it is the connection, trim the wires back to good copper (this could be 6" or more) and reconnect the wires. Test the tilt from the helm. If it works, seal the connection. If you have enough slack to leave the connection under the helm instead of under the floor, leave it under the helm.

I hope this helps. It took me some time to find the problem but once found, the fix took just a few minutes.