you can (if the control king plug does not extend out far enough) put in another connector out side the motor some where this will involve cutting the wires and buying a 5 to 10 dollar plug connector but its better than seeing those sparks!!!!!
Thanks for the advice. You're probably right, it's just "the lawyer says we put this on the directions for liability protection." I'll figure a way to take the strain off the bracket with straps...I'll just strap that sucker down so well it couldn't fall off if it wanted to.
The pigtail is not long enough to mount the connector externally. The connector is a 4 wire (fine) and can vibrate loose if not secured to to remove tension during operation. On my Merc 6 hp 4 cyc. I use small wire ties to hold the connector and wires secured inside the engine cover. This "fix" certainly doesn't lend itself to removing the kicker daily.
A careful splicing of an extension to a point outside of the engine cover would work---but "careful" is the operative word--the wire is fine, the connector is small.
The unit itself performs excellently. I do not trailer my boat with the kicker mounted---
TankDriver the 8" pig tail wire they send is very small and may break if plug and unpluged everytime you use it. Like yourself I will not ride with the kicker hanging off the back of the boat. I cut the wires where needed and used the regular trailer plugs one four and the other two progs. They come out by the corner of the pull cord to connect. This works good and you wont have to worry about breaking the wires. Make sure you secure everthing to the inside with wire ties and use caps where joining your wires. Good luck Roland
This is what I was thinking when I wrote my original email. I kinda figured somebody had already done this and all I had to do was ask.
On reflection I was still unhappy with the idea of leaving the kicker on the back (I used to do that with a different (steel) bracket and my old 3 hp, 2 cycle but it was MUCH lighter than this Merc.) & as a retired firefighter I saw too many "weird things happen" to actually be comfortable leaving my kicker "hanging in the breeze."
Hey, I can splice wires with the best of them & your placement of the wires, exiting the cowl at the corner of the pull cord rubber plug is a very good idea. I can do that. I take it the plugs hang just outside the cowl and you just plug them in there? Seems to me, if I leave some freeplay in the wires leading to the control, perhaps taping them together & forming a small "loop" that's free to move when the engine turns (just like there is on my 70 hp. wiring harness)it should work just fine.
Thanks everyone for the "wire tie it down securely inside the motor cowl" advice.
This is a "do-able" thing, for sure.