Donzi Wiring gurus... I need help

[VetteLT193]

I'm looking for the wire that goes from the ignition switch to the ignition.

I have the main hot wire, and the wire to the solenoid all worked out (yeah, because they are the easy ones). It turns over fine, but I'm not hot on the electric fuel pump or ignition.

In case you don't know, it's a 1988 Donzi Minx.

Thanks!

[Mr X]

SHOULD be Yellow with a red tracer, but MIGHT be purple with a white tracer. Either way it will go thru the kill switch that you
attach your saftey lanyard to .......before it gets back to the engine.

[VetteLT193]

SHOULD be Yellow with a red tracer, but MIGHT be purple with a white tracer. Either way it will go thru the kill switch that you
attach your saftey lanyard to .......before it gets back to the engine.

As I was under there I vaguely remembered the kill switch daisy chain. Now the question is, there are 4 prongs on the kill switch. two are filled, two are open. Are either of the other two ok to use, and even if they are not will I do any damage by testing each of the two?

Here's where I'm at, still a mess but made huge progress today...

[BUIZILLA]

purple/white tracer is for trim - trailer switch

IGN kill is black/yellow

solid purple is power feed from switch

yellow/ red tracer is starter switch to starter solenoid or neutral safety in shifter...

this is from latest BIA chart

[gcarter]

As I was under there I vaguely remembered the kill switch daisy chain. Now the question is, there are 4 prongs on the kill switch. two are filled, two are open. Are either of the other two ok to use, and even if they are not will I do any damage by testing each of the two?

Here's where I'm at, still a mess but made huge progress today...
The kill switch has two contacts for normally open and two for normally closed when the plunger is all the way out (check it out, you'll see).
So you have two choice scenarios.....
1) Normally open, the two contacts are tied to the ignition wire and it will get power to the coil when the plunger is in.
2) Normally closed, the switch is wired into a ground at the engine and will ground out the ignition when the plunger is out.

It's your choice.
I went for the "normally open" scenario.
Actually, I ran two ignition lines....one to the coil through the kill switch, and another directly to the electric fuel pump and the electric circ pump. Both originated at the ignition switch. I did this because the kill switch was only rated for 10 Amps.

[BlownCrewCab]

with the key on, everything purple should be on.

[VetteLT193]

my boat has been re-wired previously so not much matches. green goes from the ignition and into the kill switch. white goes to the solenoid. red, thank god, is to the battery.

I tried to bypass the kill switch by attaching the green wire to the ignition switch but that didn't work.

the kill switch has a line to ground and the green wire that goes all the way to the ignition.

In a nutshell, I'm lost. I was planning on running new wires anyway but I wanted to get things hot in the current configuration then run one wire at a time just to make things easy. That might not work:bonk:

[BUIZILLA]

WIRING COLOR CODES


Depending on the year of manufacture, some 70's and early 80's vintage boats had a different wiring color scheme than what has become standard today. Listed below is the comparison color code charts.
If considering re-wiring an older unit; it is best to update all the wiring colors and not to mix the two codes.

Direct Current (DC) Systems (under 50 volts)

Old Color New (BIA) Color Where Used

Black Black All Grounds
Black/Yellow Ignition kill circuit

Black Brown Alternator charge light
Pumps (bilge, live-well, etc.)
Reference Electrode - MerCathode
Brown/Orange Power feed to Auto-bilge switches

Black Orange Accessory common feed
Distribution Panel to Accessory switch
Anode Electrode - MerCathode
Red/White Orange Alternator Output to Ammeter

Blue Lt. Blue/White Trim -"Up" Switch

Brown Gray Tachometer Signal
Dark Gray Navigation Lights
Green Green/White Trim -"Down" Switch

Green Tan Water Temp. Sender to Gauge

Orange Lt. Blue Oil Pressure Sender (10 Gauge)

Pink Pink Fuel Gauge Sender to Gauge

Purple Brown/White Trim Sender to Trim Gauge

Purple Purple/White Trim -"Trailer" Switch

Red Red Unprotected Wires from Battery

Red Red/Purple Protected (Fused) Wires from Battery
Protected (+12V) to Trim Panel

Tan Purple/Yellow Ballast Bypass

White Purple (+12V) Ignition power feed from Switch
Instrument power feed

Yellow Yellow Bilge blowers
Alternator field to reg. field terminal
Starter Solenoid to Starter Motor
(MCM 470 and some Ford products)

Yellow Yellow/Red Starter Switch to Starter Solenoid
to Neutral Start switch
Tan/blue Warning system sense wire
(Audio warning)

Yellow/Black Neutral Safety switch
(transmission mounted)

White/Green Ignition module to Distributor
(Mercury Thunderbolt ignition)
White/Red Ignition module to Distributor
(Mercury Thunderbolt Ignition)
Dark Green Bonding Wires (earth ground)
Dark blue Cabin, courtesy, and instrument lights
With the addition of electronic fuel injection and other modern engine control systems, color codes and wiring systems are getting more complicated. Be very careful when testing wires for power and/or continuity. Use the chart above as reference only.

[gcarter]

Ebasicpower offers replacement harneses like this http://bpi.ebasicpower.com/pc/MAR6118-18/ALL6I/Harness%2C+18%B4+Mercruiser%2C+OMC+with+Alarm

Hard to beat the price I think.

I used one and cut the square plug off because I ran everything through a trerminal strip under the dash.

They also offer a generic Merc engine harness;
http://bpi.ebasicpower.com/pc/MAR6199-02-06/ALL6I/Engine+Wiring+Harness+For+Mercruiser%2C+Omc%2C%3Cb r%3EVolvo%2C+Crusader%2C+Pleasurecraft%2C+And+Othe rs.

Stuff like this can save you a bunch of time and effort.