TOPIC: Uhh ohh...the Mighty Merc has fallen...

Havent had the Challenger out since May and getting ready to go to the lake later this week, i rolled it out of the garage for a test fire and a bath.

Threw a fresh battery in it, primed it, crank crank crank crank...nothin. Choke on, choke off...nothin. Weird...this motor has NEVER had a hard time starting...

So i pulled a plug and checked for spark...nothin. Realized too late that i had a "bonehead moment" and hooked the battery up backwards....hence the "uhh ohh".

Searching through my Seloc manual(not all that helpful i may say...) it looks like i have a Type II Thunderbolt Ignition(this is a 1970 135HP). Went through the troubleshoot section and it says if there is no spark that its most likely the switchbox or distributor. So i went to the switchbox testing section where it says to pull it out and take it to a marine shop so that they can test it with an "ignition analyzer".

Ive heard they fail quite regularly...and i didnt see anything out of place or out of whack in the distributor which leads me to think its a problem with the switch box...especially since there are no fuses on this motor and with it being hooked up in reverse, who knows what its done. Is this something i can test myself with a meter??

Safe to assume the rectifier is toast also?? Or could that be the cause of the no spark issue also?

BONEHEAD BONEHEAD BONEHEAD!!!

hookup the battery backwards and most likely you will blow the switch box.

dave bernard wrote:

hookup the battery backwards and most likely you will blow the switch box.

Is there a way to test it?

MERCURY BATTERY-POWERED CDI TEST FOR DISTRIBUTOR MODELS

This test is for the 332-2986 switchbox used from 1967-1978 on all the inlines.

This test assumes your coil is good (most all are).

DISCONNECT BATTERY

1. Turn off ignion
2. Disconnect all 3 wires on the distributor side of the switchbox.
3. Remove the HV lead from the coil to the center cap (remember it unscrews from cap)
4. Reconnect that HV center lead to the COIL side only.
5. Position that HV lead about about 3/8" from ground (block, shrouds etc)and find a way to hold it there.
6. Jumper the brown and white terminals on the dist. side of the switchbox together.

RECONNECT BATTERY

7. Check that you have +12 V at red terminal.
8. Turn on ignition and verify +12V at white terminal (on red terminal side)
9. Touch the black terminal to ground - unit should cause spark each time you touch ground.

If that passes and it won't fire at all, suspect the trigger.

Glastron_GT160 wrote:

If that passes and it won't fire at all, suspect the trigger.

What do they mean by "trigger"?

Trigger is integral with the distributer housing on yor motor. Unlikely the cause of your problem, but that test will confirm (assuming your coil is good).

Anyone have a good switchbox they would be willing to part with??

I may let me check.....give me a day

Thanks Jim...ill await your response.

Is there a way to test the rectifier?? Might need one of those too...

Where are you located Jerry? I may have a 4cyl switchbox, and I think it will work with the 6 cyl models. May also have a rectifier.

Glastron_GT160 wrote:

Where are you located Jerry? I may have a 4cyl switchbox, and I think it will work with the 6 cyl models. May also have a rectifier.

So Cal

I have a 1350 here I can peel off what you need. Send me an e-mail through the site here.
Jim

Hey, Jer- Its been a while. Has the Mighty Merc risen yet?

Kerry wrote:

Hey, Jer- Its been a while. Has the Mighty Merc risen yet?

Yup!! A BIG thank you to G3Jim for the parts i needed and all the help and advice he gave me to get the beast back to a running state! Goin to the lake tomorrow for a test run and to try the new trim tabs!

Love that Merc rumble!

Glad to hear you got her going again Jerrfy, sounds like you're back in business! Be sure to let us know how the test run comes out, and will be interesting to hear about the SmartTabs too.

mercs are way cool. glad the parts worked! enjoy!!

the only sound that is better is THE SWEET SOUND OF SUCCES.

hey is that santana I hear just before the merc starts?

g3jim wrote:

hey is that santana I hear just before the merc starts?

Pink Floyd...bonus points if you can name the song...