Anybody good with merc's?
 

we just recently put our v20 in the water. it has an 1985 merk 200hp v6. at 1st it ran great but then it would slowly rpm down and die then it would be a bi*ch to start back up. when we got it out of the water i tested to see if all the cylinders had spark. oddly all the plugs on the port side sparked perfectly, all 3 on starboard had no spark at all. I'm thinking maybe control box? im really lost when it comes to boat engines so im hopeing someone can help me out! thanks

Ferm, Bigshrimpn, or Spare will be along shortly to have you fixed up.

I will give it a shot in their absence.....DO NOT LISTEN TO ME!!!!

Could be the power pack for that bank of cylinders or it could be the reverse cut out switch that someone else had trouble with recently.

Or something else that I don't know about.....wait for the experts to answer.

Sounds like a switch box gone bad to me. The easy way to diagnose would be to swap switchboxes from one side the the other and see if the problem moves with it. Ferm or Shrimp will be along shortly with a more detailed answer.

i would agree switch box you have two of them one for the left side plugs and one for the right side its easy to replace could also be the stator but sounds like switch box to me

Knock on wood, my MERC has been trouble free. If I had to guess I would say switch box though. Common problem for the MERCS to lose em. RAPAIR/CDI is regarded as being the better replacement for the switchboxes.

thanks guys for the quick response. i didn't know the switch boxes were interchangeable.. that will definitely be my saturday morning project, switching them around. i'll keep you guys posted. thanks again!

bad news guys i just switched both boxes around and i'm still getting no spark on the starboard. so now i eliminated the idea of a bad switch box what should be next on my trouble shooting?

if its not the switch box check the stator,im not sure how to do that but im sure someby will tell you

yep sounds like one side of the stator is out, you can ohm out the stator but i always thought that test sucked. best test to do is to DVA the stator but you need a special meter or an adaptor from cdi elec to do that. or you can ghetto dva the engine like you did just you dont get any cool numbers to look at. before you drop 300+ on a stator check the grounds and if they are good then thats most likely what it is.

is it hard to somehow remove the stator and take a look at it? i seen them on the internet for about 150$... if it isn't the stator or bad grounds what could it be.

Not having worked on mercs
 

randlemanboater

Could be the power pack for that bank of cylinders.

Does that thing have 2 regulators or powerpacks that are controlled by the stator?
If so and if the part numbers are identical, swap them around and see if the spark problem moves to the other side.

i hate to say this but if i was you the good thing is its not working so it would be easy to find the bad thing is i think you should take it to a marine shop and let them diagnose it for you unless you can diagnos the stator yourself i replaced mine 3 times or the marine shop did it you need special tools also it would be garranteed by them could be a bunch of things

I would reccomend you wait for Bigshrimpin to pop in. He sold me some MERC parts for one of mine a couple weeks ago. Plus he knows the MERCS. The bare minumum though you need a peak reading volt meter, or a DVA with a PRV adapter from CDI.

Sure sounds like a bad switchbox to me. No spark on one side is almost a dead give away. Make sure they are both grounded. If you 100% positive that your didn't make a mistake swapping them . . . then There is a test for the trigger and stator in the manual using a multimeter . . . You won't have to pull the flywheel to test them . . . just disconnect them from the switchboxes and check for continuity . . . specs are in the manual. If you need me to scan some pages . . . . I can do it. I have TONS of 9/16amp merc parts, so don't go buying anything new. I have 30+ switchboxes and several stators and triggers for that engine.

How's the wiring (harness to coils, trigger wires, stator wires)?

boxes sounds good, still sounds like the stator. it probably isnt the trigger because that usually would give you two dead cyl, one on each bank. and if you still want to be sure bring it to a shop and tell them you want them to put their meter on the yellow wires tell you what they find. they probably wont charge more than 50 dollars.

bigshrimp, im going to try this in that link you sent me

I'm a bit confused. does this mean i leave the whites and black/yellow stripe alone on both switchboxes. and switch the reds and blues between the 2 switchboxes?

If thats what there telling me to do it seems easy enough. i just want to make sure 1st. thanks again.

sounds right, what they want you to do is swap the leads comming from the stator around from one side to another.

i switched the leads from the stator on the switch boxes now the starboard has the spark and the port doesnt. following that website i disconnected the rectifier. taped off the wires going into it and rechecked everything. one bank of cylinders still isn't getting spark, so now i believe it has to be the stator. bigshrimp i'm interested in buying one off you depending on how hard it is to replace myself.

it isnt hard but you need the special flywheel removal tool.

I was reading around the internet and i read that it can be done with a harmonic balancer puller tool?If so i can rent one of those at autozone.

-does anybody have any insight on removing the stator? i'm probably going to try getting to it tomorrow evening.

A harmonic balancer puller will do it, but you may have to buy some bolts to do it. Most auto balancers use a course thread for the puller bolt holes, and IIRC the MERCS bolts are fine thread. Once the flywheel is off there isn't much left to do, 4 bolts and a few wires and it's off.

thanks for that very needed information lol i probably would have messed the threads up.

I have a flywheel removal tool. I'll be going through RI on Tuesday if you want to borrow it for a few hours :) I'll bring a couple of stators too. It's EZ to swap them out.

bigshrimpin your the man! i just sent you a PM

bigshrimpin you are the man

just to let every1 know that doesn't know on this site, Tim (bigshrimpin) really is the man. we met up and he helped me out tremendously today. and he wouldn't take anything for it! he's a really good guy and he knows his mercs.

Let the truth be told . . . I show'd up at Steve's place with a bad stator (not on purpose) and he got to work with the manual . . . .while I stripped a v20 bare in CT (that belongs in the dump) . . . When I made it back though RI . . . Steve was nearly bald from pulling out his hair.
Steve - when you get a new stator . . . This is what you can look forward too . . .
Holeshot . . .

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...309_Medium.jpg

Cruise . . .

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...023_Medium.jpg

Work before the fun began . . .

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...2/DSCN6619.jpg

i absolutely can't wait, hopefully that part comes in on friday. saturday and sunday are suppose to be in the 90's!

ok i got my stator in and i installed it. both sides are sparking like sons of bit ches but now im getting no fuel to the carbs!

i unscrewed the part at the end of the gas line that goes into the engine .it had alot of pressurized gas squirt and drain out as i loosened it the metal screen filter looked clean. so gas is getting to the engine atleast... what can be holding it back getting to the carbs??

I dont understand the boat would run on 3 cylinder's fine, gas wasn't a problem.

please help!

make sure the fuel connetor is tight on the motor or remove both mercury fuel connector ends and splice the hoses together with doubled ended brass nipple :) from ace hardware.

Tim should i tighten down the nut that holds the flywheel all they way down it can go? i hit it with the impact but didn't know if i should go all the way down. i'm having a problem now where the starter gear stays up on the flywheel gears and wont seat back down.

would my engine still spark if one of the safety switches is malfunctioning? i was thinking maybe my "run" switch on the controll box itself is messed up.

Just disconect the kill switch wires (black with yellow stripe). . . if you think that's your problem. I'll look up the torque spec on the flywheel, but I've never had a problem with mine when I hammer down the nut with an impact wrench.

I'm biting the bullet, im bringing it to a merc dealer wednesday =(