charged battery hitting 14 volts , fuse good , lights-fish finder-bilge pump work absolutely nothing with the starter or trim 80hp merc early 80's
thinking ignition switch/wires , your thoughts , thank you.

Check for inline fuse on motor coming off solenoid had that problem on a trip in Canada it was intermittent drove us crazy for two days I had checked that fuse two times fuse wasn’t blown but broken looked fine but came apart while I was rolling it in my fingers

burrow1: "Check for inline fuse on motor coming off solenoid had that problem on a trip in Canada it was intermittent drove us crazy for two days I had checked that fuse two times fuse wasn’t blown but broken looked fine but came apart while I was rolling it in my fingers "

, but trim not working too ?

Yes that fuse ran that as well that’s what drove us so crazy trim on console was not trim on motor was

shock: "charged battery hitting 14 volts , fuse good , lights-fish finder-bilge pump work absolutely nothing with the starter or trim 80hp merc early 80's
thinking ignition switch/wires , your thoughts , thank you. "

What is the problem you are having? If you have no power at the trim or the starter check your ground cable at the battery and at the block.

A little more info would help. Is it not firing, not turning over, or not staying running?
First thing to do is check for spark, pull the plugs, leave the wires hooked up, ground the base of the plug to the cylinder head and turn it over, is the plug sparking? you should have a bright white/blue spark at each plug.
the motor needs spark, fuel, and compression. if it wont start one of the three is missing. Start with spark...

Turn the key and absolutely nothing , no click noise nothing , leaning towards a ground wire ?

This should be a simple fix with a basic understanding of electricity and a 12 volt test light. The lights-fish finder-bilge pump are wired separate from the motor and trim pump. The starter and pump both have solenoid type relays. Make sure you have 12 volts at those solenoids. My guess is you are not getting 12 volts to the ignition switch. With the test light grounded check the for voltage at the ignition switch. You can also jump the starter and pump relays by running 12 volts to the small wire on each. There might be 2 small wires with one also being a ground. It is hard to give more adviss without knowing more and not having a wiring diagram. JIM P.

shock: "charged battery hitting 14 volts , fuse good , lights-fish finder-bilge pump work absolutely nothing with the starter or trim 80hp merc early 80's
thinking ignition switch/wires , your thoughts , thank you. "

Check your kill switch make sure it’s solidly in

Basspro69: "

shock: "charged battery hitting 14 volts , fuse good , lights-fish finder-bilge pump work absolutely nothing with the starter or trim 80hp merc early 80's
thinking ignition switch/wires , your thoughts , thank you. "

Check your kill switch make sure it’s solidly in"

I'd agree, also triple check its in N. I've seen shifters that weren't quite in the perfect spot. Maybe turn the key and slowly move the shifter to see if you can find the sweet spot. Not having trim either though sounds like a more widespread lack of power like others have said

FWIW I have spent hours trying to search for a single solution to what looked like it HAD to be two related problems, only to discover I should have been searching for two separate solutions to two problems that just by coincidence happened around the same time. I would start with the starter solenoid and ground wire to begin with and go from there. Good luck shock, hope this doesn’t spoil opener weekend for ya!

i just checked and got 14 volts at the motor and trim solenoid , going to take the switch apart next , kill switch looks fine in the right position.
GG i didnt really have anything planned for this weekend , maybe sunday evening on Waconia. but thanks everyone :)

just jumped the solenoid and the motor turned , so i'm thinking a bad switch ?

Pretty cool set of willing, helpful minds here. I'm enjoying the thread, and I don't even own a motor boat.

shock: "just jumped the solenoid and the motor turned , so i'm thinking a bad switch ?"

I doubt it is the switch. The switch shouldn't affect the trim. Are the trim buttons on the dash or part of the motor control unit? I don't think you are getting voltage up to the switch or trim buttons. Look for a bad connections in the back. I think there should be a big main harness plug on the motor. Have someone holding the switch to start while playing with the main plug on the motor. There also should be a fuse or a fusible link on the motor going into the harness then on to the control unit in the front of the boat. It so hard to say without seeing the set up. Also I am better at fixing things then trying to explain how they work. Good luck.

Jim , the trim control is on the throttle lever so yes it is part of the ignition wire switch ( i did get 14 volts at the trim solenoid) . picked up a(6 tab) switch today , i'll have a friend install it , i'll get back .

rtallent: "Pretty cool set of willing, helpful minds here. I'm enjoying the thread, and I don't even own a motor boat."

+1 ;)