On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:22:53 -0400, "Billgran" wrote:



An ignition-protected marine-rated solenoid also has a sealed casing so that
sparks during contacting cannot ignite any gasoline vapors that reside
inside an outboard motor cover. Fiberglass motor covers disintegrate and
burn quickly when gas fumes ignite inside them and explode.

The reason most marine solenoids are wired with one terminal for B+ and the
other for ground circuit is for the safety start-in-gear protection. Usually
the there is a shift switch on the gear linkage that completes the circuit
when in neutral or completes the circuit if the throttle is advanced too
far. On other motors it just is wired to ground as the control box contains
the neutral safety switch on the B+ side.

Some outboard solenoids are like automotive style with a grounded mounting
plate and the ignition bypass terminal provides voltage to latch the main
power relay ON so the electronic control modules power up.

Bill Grannis
service manager



Thanks, Bill! Good info.