wiring crumbling

[holeinthewallet]

my friend has an older mercury 850 not sure of the year yet but i took the cover off and the insulation is crumbling on the wires and the previous owner just wrapped tape around them, that ain't cool. is there a way to rewire the motor. it came with two extra lower ends but they don't turn and i haven't heard the motor run or even turn over.

 

[flyingscott]

You can try finding good insulation and splicing in but it could be a lost cause. Usually replacing all the wires is the way to go.That is VERY common problem on old mercs. The insulation breaks down and just starts crumbling away.

 

[holeinthewallet]

can i buy a wiring harness or do i have to make my own?

 

[Faztbullet]

You can get a harness from CDI but, before you spend a dime on that motor jump the starter and check compression. The jump switchbox and test for spark. Problem from either of these items make the hole in wallet bigger!!!

 

[holeinthewallet]

is the wire insulation crumbling from to much ozone?

 

[GA_Boater]

is the wire insulation crumbling from to much ozone?

It's crumbling from too much age. Some old Mercs don't crumble and some old Mercs do crumple. Unfortunately most fall in the latter category.

Look at the boat-side harness between the motor and remote control - It's probably just as bad.

 

[danalex]

I have an 80, wires are horrible. Someone told me Mercury used automotive wires and that is why they didn't last. Mine is a 71, ran till last year, had foot problems; would have fixed it but the electrical parts are insanely high. There is someone on ebay who will rebuild your distributor, trigger, stator etc. I bought a new wiring harness for 200 bucks a couple years ago but the parts I just mentioned are all missing massive amounts of insulation.

 

[danalex]

I had pretty good luck with heat shrink tubing, problem is there is nowhere to stop with it. The bad insulation runs all the way to whatever device it comes out of, and is difficult to fix right.

 

[GA_Boater]

The trouble with heat shrink tubing is it looks good, but the wire strands are crumbling too. The busted wires are covered with nice looking tubing.

 

[jimmbo]

Merc must have saved 10 cent per 1000ft of wire, and look what are the results in 40 - 50 yrs later. That said, I doubt the engineers were expecting these engines to be running 40 yrs later