I bought a bass tracker today with a 40 HP motor on it. There is a toggle switch on the throttle that says run and off. While the motor was running i switched the toggle to off and it killed the motor. The problem is i think i killed it completly.  It will not crank back up. Can someone shed some light on this for me? thanks

It's the motor kill switch.  There should be a little clip that fits over the switch with a lanyard that you connect to your lifejacket.  So then if you fall overboard, the motor dies.  Just flip it back up and it should crank right back up.

Thats what i figured too...but when i flip the switch to the run position the motor still will not crank. It came with no lanyard on it. Is there supposed to be one that puts pressure or squeezes on something on the switch like on most boats?

If you post a pic of the switch, we might be able to help out a little more.

Here's a pic of the switch on my '02 Tracker. The lanyard has a little hard plastic loop that fits over the red switch. Once it's fully inserted in place, then you can flip the red switch up to the RUN position. I think the loop presses another switch down inside the assembly when its in place, or somehow otherwise completes a part of the circuit. So it the loop is not in place, you can't start the engine, even if the switch is in RUN.

The lanyard has to be in place (properly) or it's not suppose to let the switch go fully into the run position.   If you have to lanyard insterted properly and you still can't get the motor to start, the switch might be bad.  That switch kills the ignition voltage to the motor so it's not going to fire.

I hate that term "crank".  It's ambiguous.  To some, it means the motor won't start.  To others, it means the starter doesn't turn it.

The term "crank" harkens back to the days when cars did not have battery powered starters, and you had to "crank" them by hand.

Whether or not they started was another matter.  Cranking them meant trying to start them by spinning the motor manually.

On my boat, the motor will turn, but will not start when the safety switch is in th off position.  If the starter doesn't spin the motor, it's possibly one of two things.  Either the master power switch is off, or the motor is not in neutral.

If the motor turns but does not start, remove the lanyard, jiggle the safety switch a few times, put in the run position and try it again.  It could be, as suggested, a poor contact/faulty switch.

There should be no way you damaged the motor by moving the switch to the stop position while it's running.  It kills the ignition by breaking the circuit just like it does when the ignition key is turned off.

any body know of where i can buy one of those lanyards at...my boat did not come with one

Walmart should have the attwood ones.

I hate that term "crank". It's ambiguous. To some, it means the motor won't start. To others, it means the starter doesn't turn it.

The term "crank" harkens back to the days when cars did not have battery powered starters, and you had to "crank" them by hand.

Whether or not they started was another matter. Cranking them meant trying to start them by spinning the motor manually.

On my boat, the motor will turn, but will not start when the safety switch is in th off position. If the starter doesn't spin the motor, it's possibly one of two things. Either the master power switch is off, or the motor is not in neutral.

If the motor turns but does not start, remove the lanyard, jiggle the safety switch a few times, put in the run position and try it again. It could be, as suggested, a poor contact/faulty switch.

There should be no way you damaged the motor by moving the switch to the stop position while it's running. It kills the ignition by breaking the circuit just like it does when the ignition key is turned off.

Hey you Old Crank, what's wrong with a little crank?   ;D ;D ;D

I hate that term "crank". It's ambiguous. To some, it means the motor won't start. To others, it means the starter doesn't turn it.

The term "crank" harkens back to the days when cars did not have battery powered starters, and you had to "crank" them by hand.

Whether or not they started was another matter. Cranking them meant trying to start them by spinning the motor manually.

On my boat, the motor will turn, but will not start when the safety switch is in th off position. If the starter doesn't spin the motor, it's possibly one of two things. Either the master power switch is off, or the motor is not in neutral.

If the motor turns but does not start, remove the lanyard, jiggle the safety switch a few times, put in the run position and try it again. It could be, as suggested, a poor contact/faulty switch.

There should be no way you damaged the motor by moving the switch to the stop position while it's running. It kills the ignition by breaking the circuit just like it does when the ignition key is turned off.

Hey you Old Crank, what's wrong with a little crank? ;D ;D ;D

We all know there's only one "Old Cranky" on this forum.  Anything else is a cheap imitation.

"Old Crank" Are ya'll talking about me?

If it will not spin over, it won't crank.

If it spins over, it won't start

If it starts but cuts back off, it won't run.