Electronic ignition for Mercruiser 170 (1985)?

[twhrider2]

Scook, Sorry to hear about your troubles.. but a couple of things come to mind.
What type of coil do you have..if new then it is probably internally resisted so do away with purple resistor wire as per pertronix instructions.
My engine was starting and running great then suddenly would not fire. Checked, tested, pulled jumpers made phone calls..nothing. Turned out to be my "rebuilt" starter. Even though it was spinning and sounded good it was dragging enough to pull voltage down and the pertronix 2 was shutting down on low voltage. New starter and bingo!!!! (Thanks for the tip Spare).
These engines really put a load on starters and the pertronix will protect itself with high or low voltage shut down. Also might try pulling a jumper from battery+ to coil + and see what happens. Not a mech. by any means just some areas I have already delt with.
Good luck and I'm sure Spare and Ferm will be along shortly with more ideas.