’79 Evinrude 35 wiring questions

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  • August 16, 2016 at 1:28 am #4992
    wetwillie
    Participant

      Evidently OMC wire insulation is adversely affected by mouse urine. My assumption is based upon what I found under the cowling of my ’79 35 motor. A LOT of the wires have insulation that has become so brittle that it is literally flaking off from the wire which, itself, is badly corroded.
      I have decided to attempt to replace the wires because of the difficulty I’m having finding an OEM wiring harness for, what I consider, a reasonable price (ie. <$100). With that goal in mind I would like a link to a wiring schematic so I can replace the wires with the proper color coding. I would also like advice on where to purchase water tight connectors other than on eBay from China. Finally, any advice on the aforementioned items and task would be greatly appreciated.

      August 16, 2016 at 1:54 am #42156
      fleetwin
      Participant

        US Member

        Well, this engine is a tough one because it has a specific type of main connector that is more or less unique to just a few years of engines, so the harness can be tough to find. You will notice that your engine has a black main engine connector. The common version of this style of wiring uses a red main connector.
        I don’t recommend trying to make a new harness, because how would you duplicate the black main connector? Do you have the boat wiring harness, is it in good condition? If so, you have only a few choices: look for a used engine harness or perhaps buy a new one from CDI.
        Another choice would be to just eliminate the black engine connector and hard wire the boat wiring harness to the engine, but first make sure there is enough extra harness in the boat so it can be pulled farther into the engine. Simply cut the black connector off the engine harness, peel back a few feet of the outer insulation, and hard wire the various leads to the engine.
        One other alternative would be to find the much more common red plug boat harness, and an engine harness from just about any OMC engine that uses the red plug. Now simply cut (or extend) the various leads to a length that will fit the terminals/connections on the engine. This will update the engine wiring to a more common version while allowing the engine to be removed/installed without disconnecting all the various leads.
        I don’t have a 79 manual, but I’m sure someone will post a wiring diagram with color codes.

        August 16, 2016 at 12:11 pm #42176
        wetwillie
        Participant

          Thanks for the helpful advice, Fleetwin. There is enough extra harness in the boat to replace the bad wires but I don’t see myself hardwiring to the engine. Instead, I’m giving serious thought to buying some waterproof connectors and replacing the large black one. That’ll allow me to remove the engine w/o too much hassle.
          Now if someone would post a wiring diagram with color codes. 🙂 Please.

          August 16, 2016 at 4:13 pm #42183
          retiredoz
          Participant

            Seloc says that wiring diagram applies to 20-40 hp engines ’79-’85. The diagram I have in the official service manual is too big for my scanner. If you want the manual, send me a PM (available cheaply).

            August 16, 2016 at 4:39 pm #42184
            frankr
            Participant

              US MEMBER PAY BY CHECK

              "Borrowed" from Garry

              photo uploading

              August 16, 2016 at 5:40 pm #42188
              wetwillie
              Participant

                THANKS FRANK!!!!
                Exactly what I was hoping for.Now to start finding some matching wires off an old harness I had laying around and start replacing the bad ones.

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