Mercury Thunderbolt no spark

[RecdonMarine]

I just acquired a late 70?s(I believe) Saf-t-mate(bought out by 4 winds in 1974) boat with a 50 HP Mercury Thunderbolt ignition.
I hasn?t been started for a few years, so I cleaned out the tanks and put new plugs in it. I cannot seem to get a fire out of the engine. I even put starting fluid in the cylinders and still got nothing.
Does anyone know if there is some kind of a tether switch or kill switch on it somewhere? It seems, with the starting fluid I would at least get it to fire but nothing. My e mail is kevin.king35@aol.com if you can help me.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Mercury Thunderbolt no spark

A tether kill switch would be a boat accessory, not a motor feature. Look on the boat dashboard for it.

It would be helpful to identify the year of the motor. Look for a serial number on the transom clamp. Most of those motors had 4 coil ADI ignition. Some may have had a distributor. In both cases, there should be a troubleshooting test for the ignition on the CDIElectronics web site.