1975 Merc 1150 NO FIRE OR SPARK

[Pjohnston]

I recently bought a 15 Foot Bassboat with a 1975 Mercury 1150 under conditions that it did not fire. I am really confused as outboard engines are just not my cup of tea but with that said, there is no spark. I can put an inline tester up to it and it shows nothing. Before you ask, the battery is brand new and fully charged. The motor turns over fine and the compression for each cylinder is 110 psi with the throttle in neutral.

So I found a video on youtube that says if you take the 3 distributor wires off and alligator clip the bottom two together and then alligator the top and touch it to a ground, the coil to distributor wire should create a spark each time you touch the top wire to a ground. it did! First time I was able to get a spark!! But once I put the distributor wires back together and turned it over via key, nothing happened, no spark... So, I heard something about a trigger or stator, so off went the flywheel and the stator... only to find that the wires on the stator were completely seared off. (pics below), so what is my problem, why can't I get a spark to the plugs when I turn it over via key?

 

[Faztbullet]

Stator only charges battery on that model. The test you did was for switchbox. Check the belt to make sure its turning rotor in distributer, if so and carbon ok in distributer cap the triggers bad.

https://www.amazon.com/CDI-Electronics-134-3736-Distributer-Housing-4/dp/B005GEE5TC

You can see if Iboats will price match.....

 

[Pjohnston]

Stator only charges battery on that model. The test you did was for switchbox. Check the belt to make sure its turning rotor in distributer, if so and carbon ok in distributer cap the triggers bad.

https://www.amazon.com/CDI-Electronics-134-3736-Distributer-Housing-4/dp/B005GEE5TC

You can see if Iboats will price match.....

I will Check inside the cap tomorrow evening but the belt is turning the distributor. Is there anything I should look out for when replacing the trigger such as anything that would throw off timing or hurt the motor? or is it pretty much just unbolt and bolt back up?

 

[Chris1956]

I would suggest a Mercury service manual before you replace the trigger. You might check the distributor bearings and the engine wiring harness. At this time in it's life the wiring is usually shot, and the Distributor bearings can be going bad.

Disassembly of the distributor is not straightforward.

After repair, perform the link and synch procedure to assure timing is right and synched with carbs.

 

[Pjohnston]

Upon inspection I found the problem. The plate between the trigger that spins through and allows contact with the trigger is just sitting there. It turns every now and again but once it catches it fires like a charm and let me tell you, it's a strong spark as my arm is still feeling it! But the plate is just loosely laying there, how do secure the plate? I'll post picture . Basically the little thingy with slots in it are just sitting there. It's not secured to the button. It moves every now and again.

 

[Pjohnston]

I would suggest a Mercury service manual before you replace the trigger. You might check the distributor bearings and the engine wiring harness. At this time in it's life the wiring is usually shot, and the Distributor bearings can be going bad.

Disassembly of the distributor is not straightforward.

After repair, perform the link and synch procedure to assure timing is right and synched with carbs.

Read my last post please