I have been reading the Threads but have not found one directly related to my specific HP. I'm not sure if it makes a difference, because I'm new to outboard motors so please bare with me. I just bought a boat and was out on the water when I went to start it and the battery would not turn it over. I flagged someone down for a jump and after charging the battery for a minute through jumper cables it fired right up. I brought it home and started my research. Everything points to the rectifier or stator. I ordered a new rectifier and installed, but upon doing so, I tightened the ground to much and broke the ground lug. Out of frustration I went ahead and fired up the engine. To my surprise the motor was idling beautiful which it never did before. It actually stayed running for like 5 minutes without stalling. I have been nervous on the water because whenever I pull into the dock it always would stall when I'm going to put it in reverse to stop and tie off. I was told that because its a 2 stroke they don't really like to idle and being I was new to boating, like a dummy I believed them. Back to the issue though. Being I broke the rectifier ground I had someone hold the ground wire to the lug that broke off. I ran a couple of test but not sure if they're accurate. Anyway it still wasn't charging, but was idling great. I noticed the RPM gauge wasn't working anymore either. I ordered the new rectifier and a stator just in case. If I install the new rectifier (without breaking it) and it doesn't charge the battery, my next step is the stator. Correct? Also I can't find a tag that shows what exact engine I have. The only tag is a little white sticker that says 1201A90A. Can anyone help with this or point me to where it might be inscribed in the engine? All help will be greatly appreciated.
PNWBOAT, please let me know what you think. If you think I should replace the Stator or not.