i have a 1985 forester with a 3.0 mercruiser I/O ,, and i cant seem to get any spark ?? i put a new coil on ... what else should i try to determine the problem
Assuming it has a points distributor, do a full tuneup if it hasn't had one in a year. You probably have bad points.
But before you think that is the cure all, make sure you have power on the + terminal on the coil with the ignition switch in the run position.
BTW, you do have the safty kill switch key in don't you?