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[How can I get a replacement key for the ignition key switch on a 1985 Yamaha 40-HP remote control?]

Backstory: For some reason I took the key out of the ignition key switch on the remote control for a 1985 Yamaha 40-HP, which I usually don’t do. I didn’t use the boat for nine months, and now I don’t know where the key is.

[To get a replacement key for the ignition key switch on the remote control of a 1985 Yamaha 40-HP engine] go to a Yamaha dealership with the serial number of the outboard engine.

[Moderator's note: see below for an explanation of why this method is unlikely to be productive.]

I lost the keys for my Mercury. A dealer told me there are only seven different keys. With the serial number [of the engine] they will know which key is for you.

For many Yamaha key switches remove the retaining nut and located on the flat side of the switch key barrel should be a three digit key number. With the key number you can source a replacement.
Chuck

It might be cheaper to buy a new aftermarket switch and key.

biggiefl wrote:It might be cheaper to buy a new aftermarket switch and key.

Maybe. But it’s in the remote, so I’d have to disassemble. Then again if I don’t find this key I’ll have to disassemble anyway to find the three letter code.

-Peter

Could a locksmith help in this situation?

Nicolett wrote:Could a locksmith help in this situation?

You've revived a two-year-old thread.

It's possible a locksmith could be of assistance, but that's probably the last option I'd use.

Different outboard engine ignition key switches have different possibilities.

First off, the remote control and the outboard are not linked to an engine serial number. The outboard carries the serial number and the remote control is an accessory to the engine, which can be purchased with the engine or not, some even reuse old remote controls and all of these options do not link to the engine serial number. It can use any number of keys, based on which control is installed.

Older Evinrude controls has a small number molded into the plastic where the key inserts. You can read this number and then visit your local dealer and buy that number key--very simple.

Each manufacturer has their own way of identifying the required key, but I don't know each trick they use.

ON EDIT - Yamaha uses a similar 3 digit code inscribed on the face of the key switch. Read that number and visit your dealer for a new key. Simple and inexpensive.



D-

DT--thanks for pointing out that the serial number of a Yamaha outboard engine will not be useful in discovering what key will fit the engine ignition key switch on a remote control. I have edited the prior article that suggested that method to reflect its unlikely ability to provide a remedy.

The location of the identity code for a Yamaha ignition key switch was already mentioned earlier in this two-year-old discussion. Thanks for the image illustrating exactly where to look for the ignition key switch ID number on a Yamaha ignition key switch.

As for the hypothetical proposal that has revived this thread, proposing that using a locksmith would be a remedy to the problem of having no keys for the ignition key switch for an outboard engine, I anticipate that retaining a locksmith to come to your boat and discover the proper key to operate the ignition key switch would not be the most straightforward, fastest, or least expensive solution.

Keyed locks associated with electronic equipment are probably a specialty that the average locksmith may not be completely familiar with. Without an existing key to use as a template for making a replacement key, a locksmith would need to have an inventory of pre-cut keys on hand to fit a particular electronic switch. I expect, as just about everyone so far has remarked, that visiting a dealer who sells the engine brand for which the key is needed and having the identification number for the key, is much more likely to result in finding a pre-cut key in inventory or being able to have one easily ordered at reasonable cost,. The number on the actual ignition key switch that identifies the exact version of the key necessary to operate the lock is not particularly difficult to discover because the key switch assembly is almost always back-mounted into the hole on a panel, and removal of the retaining nut on the key switch should permit the switch to be pulled away from the panel and the the key switch ID number seen.

I should add here that for my end of the situation, I found my key. So for now, case closed.

-Peter