Its melting!

[N Wolf]

My stator is melting on my 74' 135. It doesnt seem to be missing or anything, but this cant be good. What problems can this cause. I dont think Im getting the power out of this thing that I should, and I know I need to replace it. What could be causing it? I dont want to spend $300 on a new one just to melt it too.

 

[F_R]

Re: Its melting!

Well, the 1973 models had a terrible problem with melting charge coils (the two big ones on the stator). It was a matter of poor design/materials. I can't say for sure if you have one of those on your '74 or not.

Moving forward, the replacements were green (or blue), and had all the coils potted (encapsulated) together in epoxy-like stuff. Those worked well.

Moving further forward, I see that now they have gone back to non-potted individual coils. Is this history repeating itself??? I don't know.

But I'll bet you don't have the blue/green potted coils, do you?

 

[N Wolf]

Re: Its melting!

Nope. Will melting charge coils hurt the performance? I have not had the flywheel off yet but I can see for sure that the big one in front is melting.

 

[F_R]

Re: Its melting!

Absolutely!! The two big coils are what charges the ignition system's power pack, that's why they are called charge coils. No charge to the power pack, no spark. No spark, no run. Usually, the first sign is hard starting, but might run if you can get it started.

 

[garryb]

Re: Its melting!

I have the same problem with a 1975 50 hp Evinrude. I just bought the boat, runs OK but with less power than expected. The previous owner had installed a new battery, new plugs, new ignition coils, new wires, new and fuel pump. I found the tachometer was disconnected, so I reconnected it and it worked fine.
When I got home, I noticed a puddle of stuff coming from under the flywheel. This assembly has the green potted coils with the exception of the forward and aft coils, which are black.
I ran it on the mufflers, and it runs a little rough both at idle and 3k rpm. After I shut it off, I touched the forward coil and it was hot and soft.
I bought a new assembly (you can't replace just the charge coils on a 1975), but am hesitating to install it until I figure out what would cause this. I don't want to put the new one on and have it do the same thing.
Any suggestions on what might cause this?

 

[F_R]

Re: Its melting!

Poor quality of the parts. Or poor choice of materials to insulate it with . Let's just say a screwup in the engineering department. Go ahead and replace it.

Make sure the alternator portion is working as it should. (Charging the battery)

 

[ezeke]

Re: Its melting!

Often, the rectifier wiring fused when the rectifiers overheated. This allowed the battery voltage to reach trhe stator and overheat the wiring, melting the potting, if any, or just burning out the wiring. Several service bulletins addressed the problem; a copy of one is in the thumbnail.