The red plug was for 95 and older. The red plug was used at the engine end, and at the control box the wires normally hooked straight to the switch. Your older control box probably just had a short harness on it that was meant to be hooke directly to the engine's plug under the cowling. How does the harness hook up to the engine on your WELLCRAFT now? And the control is a standard style OMC control. The 96+ is known as the MWS style harness, or modular wiring system. It used deutsch connectors on all of the connections, no more screw type connections like the 95 and older. It looks like you cut the end off of your MWS harness for the ignition switch and butt connectored it to the red plug to hook up to the old style control, but retained the system check plug for the guage. You can use the MWWS harness you have and just wire it to an old style switch with ring terminals, and then string that red plug back to the 91 engine and hook it up direct. Follow me?

Whew! I'm trying to follow you Ferm :-)

Okay, in the pictures above, all the pics that show the red plug are pics of the way things are currently wired in the Wellcraft. When I got my 96 J/E it came with a harness that had a red plug at the engine end and I think it just had individual wires coming out of the harness at the control end, but I think it also had the tilt/trim wire connection and the system check connection alongside it.

It also came with the control that it's currently hooked up to. That control came with a red plug at the end of it (the control box harness is only a couple feet long). So, when it came time to hook things up I had individual wires from the engine harness that needed to be connected to the wires in the red plug from the control box. So, I looked around and I found a red plug on my old 85 Evinrude harness. I cut it off and spliced it to the individual wires (the colors matched up on both) and then presto! I had a red plug end to join to the red plug from the control. Oh yeah, the control also has the ignition with it whereas the ignition is separate on the Hydra. I hope that clarifies things a little...

So, let me see if I really have followed you Ferm. Are you saying that the harness I received with my 96 motor was an older harness since it had a red plug on one end?

Okay, I had to look up what Deutch connectors are and now I know :-)

http://www.msdignition.com/np2002/images/pn818481.jpg

Yes, I have a number of these connectors down by the engine side and also on the system check gauge.

The Hydra is hooked up the way you described. Red plug at motor end and wires connected directly to the switch at the control box.

http://www.msdignition.com/images/pn818481_big.jpg

Hi drj, yes, that does help. Thanks.

You're talking about the control in the pics right? The one currently on the Hydra and the pic from Ebay... (just making sure ;-)

Yes BGA I was talking about the first one that said Bombardier on it.

Now I think I know what happened... I think the guy who sold me the 96 Oceanrunner sent me an older harness with an adapter... That would explain why I have the red plug AND the modular connections for the motor on the V20.

So, I guess I can just keep both harnesses connected as they are and just use move the adapter to the Hydra... If I do that, I may have to just buy a system check harness, but I'll have to look again to see if it's separate from the main harness or incorporated into the main harness.

Thanks for the help guys, it's greatly appreciated.

yeah OMC made an adapter to go either way old to new or new to old. i have both here i use testing motors. just use the adapter harness.

If you currently have the adapter, then just transfer it over to the HYDRA and go like SKOOLS said. One less thing to change over.

That's what I figured, will do boys!

Sorry to derail but figured this was a good place to ask...

Current setup..
Old controls, old harness, red plug to duetch adapter, 2000 Johnson.
With this setup I have no tach or system check gauge working (the plug is not there).

I bought the new harness from the 2000 Johnson up to the controls but thats where I have issues. Do they make an adapter from old harness/controls to new harness or do I have to hard splice them? If I bought new controls all would be solved, and I would be all smiles... suggestions?

-Svence

pn 176345 would have gotten you straight from the get go. but if you have a new style wiring harness, you will then need a key switch pn 176408 it comes with the horn. then you need either a syscheck tach or a sys check guage.