Ignition safety switch lanyard

[jonfo]

The driver is supposed to attach the ignition safety switch lanyard to the life vest he is supposed to be wearing so if he falls out of the boat while under way the engine stops. Basically when the clip is attached to the switch it closes the circuit for the fuel pump so if it is not attached the circuit is open and the fuel pump will not operate and the boat will not run. In WA ignition safety switch lanyards are only required on a PWC, other states laws may vary.

In my 220 I have never used it and it resides under the throttle getting in the way and scratches my arm with its sharp edges when I reach down to get something to the right of the seat. Ocasionally the clip falls off or gets bumped off and I spend 10 minutes wondering why the engine wont start until i figure it out and reattach it.

What is the opinion on the presence of this switch, annoyance or critical safety device?

[WakeSlayer]

Never used it. Most don't. They do create the exact problem you describe from time to time. At least you have the figgering part down to 10 minutes. I know a couple guys that got towed all the way across Lake Minnetonka last year before they thought of it.

However, after reading several news articles about the the "Circle of Death" you may think twice about it. In the event you actually get bucked out of your boat, you are likely rhymes with bucked.

[hondaprlud]

never use it. Don't anticipate I ever will. placement is poor, I feel it would be better if it was somewhere under the bow cushions or in the glove box at least. A few years back my son was storing a kneeboard between the seat and side rail and broke it off. We didn't have anything on board to wedge between the seat and the switch that would keep it pressed. End result was lost day on the water.

[igkya]

I don't use/wear mine either... saw this on another website. Seems better than connecting to swim vest, which I never wear while driving.

[2004196]

Switch

Not sure on the Nautique but when I had another boat, if you take the switch out, there are two other posts the wires can hook to on the back of the switch. If you unplug the wires from the existing clips and plug them on the other posts, the switch will operate in the oposite manner. Meaning when the lanyard clip is OFF, the boat will run, put the clip on and it will die. This way you can run the boat without the clip on and avoid accidently knocking it off, scratching things up etc. As previously stated, these things are there for a safety reason and really a good idea, just an inconvenience to get used to. If they are required in your state and you disable it, if you're stopped by the PoPo, have the clip readily available so it appears you are using it.

[Rick]

Haven't used it

I also don't use mine. I can't see where i would be operating the boat where i could fall out under power. I'm also almost never alone. In California if you are skiing you always have 3 people in the boat.

[WakeSlayer]

High speed, unpredictable boat rollers, and your steering cable pops. Unlikely, but stuff does happen.

Again, I don't use mine, but they are there for a good reason.

[kevfran99]

I have never paid the first bit of attention to mine. Doubt I will either.

[jonfo]

So, I unscrewed the switch and pushed it back into the empty space behind the wall. To do this I had to remove the 4 screws holding the 3 ballast guages in place so I could reach back there and reattach the clip on the switch. Now I run the Aux input to the stereo through the hole that the switch used to be used for. I had previously split the aux input over on the port side glove box and run a long aux line around through the bow under the seats back to the driver seat.