76 evinrude 85 horse won't do anything

so I just bought this outboard came with the boat I got, I got a battery in and the bilge pump kicks on but the key won't start the motor let's start simple I don't have a whole lot of experience with these outboardss but I am mechanically inclined. is there a way to bypass the Johnson control unit and just jump the starter so I can see if it turns would a power pack do this ? all the ignition parts look pretty old but the starter should still turn the engine correct?

found this it come from a black harness type this and it goes to a silver round thing almost looks like a relay the wire is red so I'm guessing it's important

In your pic. Looks like a starter relay with a heavy gage red wire going towards the starter. If that is what I see hook up your battery and take a heavy gage wire from positive post on battery and touch the post on the starter. If the starter is working it should take off cranking. You can use a set of jumper cables. If u see an arch when you touch the starter and nothing happens try tapping on the starter housing lightly while power is applied to the starter

There is an easier way.
Before we get into that....you have checked the fuse on the engine wiring harness haven't you?
Okay then.
First off, am assuming you have a control box and key switch controlling the engine.
Turn the key to the "Start" position and move the shift lever back and forth a little bit.
What this will do is allow the internal neutral safety switch to make contact if it is out of position.
Try that first. If that works it is an indication you need to adjust your shift cable. More on that later if you need to do that.
Second, if that does not work then you can take a small ga. wire jumper and go from the battery lead on the starter solenoid and touch the yellow/red terminal on the solenoid. That should engage the starter (if the solenoid is good).
Try to avoid tapping on the starter. There is a chance that the starter is not the original and if that is the case the replacement has permanent mold magnets which are only glued to the starter housing. Tapping will loosen them and or crack them very easily.
The only reason a starter reacts to tapping is the possibility of a dirty contact on the brush or brushes. To avoid tapping you can simply turn the starter several revolutions by hand and "clean" the contact points.

Good stuff pappy

the wire I mentioned that was broke was a red one going to the rectifier do that should not be an issue. the fuse is good and I did jigle and move the throttle handle while trying to start it so the nss isn't the cause I'm going to jump it tonight and see what it does. if it does turn over what should I start looking for as to why the key won't start it

The battery supplies power through the main red cable to the solenoid. From there the wiring harness has a main red wire on the same lug as the battery red cable that has to be intact that passes through the ten pin connector then to the control box and key switch.
When the key is turned to the on position the ground is taken away from the black/yellow lead, the purple lead becomes energized as well.
When the key switch is turned to the start position the yellow/red lead becomes energized and closes the contacts in the start solenoid. Current then passes from the main red battery lead directly across or through the solenoid to the starter.
Since the ground has been removed from the ignition system that system is now live and can supply the needed spark to start.
That is the basics of that circuit. I have purposely left out other circuits at this point.
This should give you everything you need to troubleshoot a starter issue. A simple test light and an ohmeter is all that is needed here to trace current and continuity.
If you find that the starter itself is the culprit there are brush kits available for it.

ok I think I'm following you I will try to jump the starter solenoid tonight and see what that does

Just a quick comment: It's always better to try to jump the starter by activating the solenoid. No large sparks or arcs that way. If you suspect a bad solenoid and want to go straight to the starter, make sure you hook up your jumper cable pos to the starter first, then touch the other end to the battery pos. This will keep any potential arcs from destroying the thread on the stud. One good arc and you may not be able to remove the battery lead later.

Good luck!

thanks guys I'll let you all know. one other things how hard should the motor be to turn by hand I can turn it and feel a little compression but you think with 4 cylinders it would be hard to turn right ?

ok so which ones do I touch I done wanna mess this up

According to pappy the yellow red on the soleniod is the switch wire. I've only work on a few evinrudes and not familiar with color codes in the harness. That should engage the soleniod

I see no colors in your pic. The small wire should energize the soleniod.

the left side of the picture is the top. the very large red one then the yellow one on the terminal to the right of that then a blank one then 2 red wires on the bottom

The wire on the small terminal. A solenoid is an electric switch. When energized it will connect the two large terminals. One side will have battery voltage. The other goes to the starter

interesting I must not be getting power there or the solenoid is bad

ok either I'm doing something wrong or the starter is shot. I touched a wire from positive post of the battery to the starter for and got nothing tried jumping the solenoid and got nothing the battery has juice in it because the bilge pump kicks on. do I need to do something with the negative wire or disconnect the big red plug on the engine

You need to trace power and ground to the motor. You can take a set of jumper cables put the pos. to the big wire at the starter and touch the housing of starter with the ground. This will test the starter. If you want you can remove the starter to check it the same way. Make sure you have a good hot battery good connections.

ok I'll try that. all without the big red connection plugged in correct

I would unplug it. Just for peace of mind