The information contained in this page is for reference material only to help and assist the general boating public for their information. We do not and will not be held liable or responsible for its use, its applications or user intent and or out come due to events that we have no direct or indirect work involved. We do recommend all repair  work should always be assisted  by a certified technician and be carried out in a typical manner related to the safe operation of the vessel concerned. For the best boating  IS  " SAFE BOATING "    LP ( the boat doctor )

RADIO ANTENNA INSTALL HINTS (click)

Boat Wire Color Code Standards for the Marine Industry

WIRE COLOR              BOAT ITEM or CIRCUIT

Red solid.......................Battery pos.+

Black solid....................Battery neg. - ( ground)

Purple solid...................Ignition circuit

Yellow w/red stripe........Starter circuit

Green solid....................Choke circuit

Gray..............................Tachometer

Pink...............................Fuel sender

Blue................................Dash lights

Light Blue.......................Oil pressure sender

Orange............................Ammeter to Alternator or Generator Output and Accessory Fuses or Switches

Brown.............................Bilge pump / blower

Black w/white stripe........Bow light

White solid......................Stern light

Tan..................................Temperature sender

Light blue........................Trim up circuit / normally this will be in a multi cable and may have orange stripe

Green...............................Trim down circuit / normally this will be in a multi cable

Brown w/white stripe........Trim sender

*NOTE*  Wire should be marine grade, multi-strand and tinned. Tinning will reduce corrosion and tarnish. Do not use solid strand wire. The constant vibrations and movement will cause the strand to break.

Typical dual battery system with isolator

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GENERAL MARINE TACHOMETER WIRING FOR 4 CYCLE ENGINES

FOR MERCURY SERIAL NUMBER LOCATIONS !

How do I locate my engine serial number?

Engine/drive serial numbers that begin with a zero and a letter (example 0A123456) and above are able to be entered in this site. If your engine/drive serial number is 7-digits and not preceded by a letter (pre 1980), it will produce an error message. If you receive an error message, click on the Mercury logo (bottom left corner of every page) and search for a factory-authorized Mercury Marine dealer in the Dealer Locator.

Measure the boat for new steering cables 101( Teleflex and or Morse)

Getting the right steering cable is hard when it comes to the length you need. This job is best done if you remove the old cable first and lay it out on the ground. These cables do come with numbers near the end of the cable but time and wear can make it impossible to get the number. Do not include the flexible or worm end of the cable. First measure the coated length of the cable and add about 1.5ft to your number. This should get you close to what you need, always go up to the rounded off size for example if you come up with 9ft. 6 inches then order your new cable at 10ft.

For new jobs on boats that have never had a cable. Include the across the outboard steering tube and try to allow for easy bends and use a good tape measure that will lay out where the cable will be installed. At the helm station measure up to where the steering device will be. A good rule here is to measure up to where the center of the wheel will be located. Don't forget to allow for under the floor areas that might require large turns in the cable because this will eat up length and make the job harder. Again total up the length and round off UP to the next foot number.

Steering cables come in all sizes from 6,8,10, 12,13, and so on up, so don't worry if the number comes up to something like 19feet.

When laying out the new cable try to keep the bends or turns easy. The less tightness to the turn in the cable the better service life you will get from the cable and the boat will steer with less resistance.

HOPE THIS MAKES THE JOB A LITTLE LESS PAINFUL.................... IF THE GOING GETS TOUGH START REPEATING OUT LOUD " Boats are fun"

Control shift cables for the boat, measure it right !

 Due to questions about the length of cables for control throttle and or shift cables we are now posting this small note on getting the right cable for your boat. There are only a few mistakes out there from week to week I see around the marina's with changing these cables out. The length of the cable has NOTHING to do with the length of the boat when selecting the cable size. Just like in steering cables if you do not have a number then you will end up having to measure the length for the right size. The cables do come number printed in white normally you can find this near the shifter end of these cables to simply buy the same number.

The cable ends are pre set for different makes and models and even years can make a difference. We have posted on this page the basic cable models for most outboard applications...just scroll up to the blue color diagram to identify your cable needs. Also for those that have say changed out the engine and make name. You can buy adapter fittings to convert you shift cable to the newer engine. SO, you may save money and not have to deal with those nasty shift cables.

Shift cables to wear over time and even reach a point where there is too much " PLAY " or what we call in the industry sometime " STRETCH " in them and they have to be replaced. Normally a good sign to look for is if you find a boat that is say 5years old or older and the shifter can not get  FORWARD, NEUTRAL, REVERSE without adjustments and or even trouble you might take on those cables and get them changed out. The worst I have seen in the industry in the last few years is the owner making adjustments at the outboard end and only getting Drive, Neutral and or getting Reverse, Neutral to work for him and thinking something has gone wrong with the "foot " or lower unit. 9 times out of 10 I found the shift cables needed changing to correct the problem.

GOOD LUCK, and SAFE BOATING....

OMC MODEL NUMBERS FOR OUTBOARDS 1980 TO PRESENT

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