Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

[dann outboard]

Hey every body need some help got my 16ft Tracker boat, I'm 15 Years old looking to be on the water this summer with my new Jon in SOUTH FL catching some WOPPER Largemouth with my bois with the other people looking at me like how does he own that type of boat, ahaha... Any whoo my outboard has a new stator but has no spark on all cylinders. I need a way to test to see if coils are bad, Also I need a way to test the Power pack on it. I have a meter to do the reading please any help is very well appreciated.
Figured there be somebody on here who knows alot about these old mercs from all th posts I've seen.THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR THE HELP!!!!

Here's a pic of my boat mainly just the outboard, I'm not sure what year the motor is 1982-1989.

 

[huntxtrm]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

I have a page with the ohms limit for that motor. is it a 4 cylinder? I'll send you the ranges. Trigger test should fall with 7-10 ohms between, brown and white/black leads. and same between white and violet leads. It says use the 100 ohms scale. Stator test is 5.7-8.0 between blue and blue/white stator leads ohms scale 1000. 56-76 between red and red/white leads ohms scale 1. blue stator lead to ground, no continuity, and red stator lead to gound, no continuity. It says all wire must be disconnected from the switch box. for this test. can't find anything on checking the charging circuit in the stator. maybe someone else can lend some knowledge on that. hope this helps.

 

[huntxtrm]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

That test is for 1986 and up 45 hp merc 4 cylinder. I think yours might be. Check you serial numbers on iboats to find out the year model.

 

[huntxtrm]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

i'll see if i can dig up the info on the switch box test. You do have to have a dva meter for that. It reads peak voltage. I learned that on here, thanks fellas.

 

[dann outboard]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

i'll see if i can dig up the info on the switch box test. You do have to have a dva meter for that. It reads peak voltage. I learned that on here, thanks fellas.

Hey huntxtrm thanks for the help I have a digital test meter. It has these settings to choose from:

V
200mA
10A
-COM
It has AC/DC

The model of the meter is a Blue Point MT145

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

Here is how to ohm check diodes on switchbox.......

 

[huntxtrm]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

You need ohms scale on your meter to check stat and trigger by the ohms values. They say it is best to use a dva meter and check voltages. So to use your meter, you will probably need a dva adapter, and go the voltage rout. Or get a meter with ohms. The ohms symbol looks like a horseshoe. you sure you don't have that on your meter?

 

[CDI Tech Support]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

Any whoo my outboard has a new stator but has no spark on all cylinders. I need a way to test to see if coils are bad, Also I need a way to test the Power pack on it. I have a meter to do the reading please any help is very well appreciated.

This is our troubleshooting guide for a 4-cylinder Mercury:

CDI Troubleshooting Guide

Shortcut:

Mercury 4 Cylinder

If it's not a 4-cylinder Mercury, then it's a 3-cylinder:

Mercury 3 Cylinder

Resistance is a highly unreliable measurement. DVA is a highly accurate measurement.

One must have a DVA Adapter plugged into a digital meter to accurately read DVA (peak AC voltage) on an outboard. No digital meter on the market has built-in DVA.

DVA Explained

Keep in mind there is no 100% check for ANY power pack/switch box. The best check is measuring the switch box's DVA output at each ignition coil to ground. See respective troubleshooting guide for proper DVA specs.

If purchasing DVA equipment is impractical, we suggest printing off the troubleshooting pages & taking them & your engine to a qualified marine mechanic.

 

[CDI Tech Support]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

Here is how to ohm check diodes on switchbox.......

Unfortunately, diode checks are only a small part of verifying a good switch box.

The good news (or rather bad news) is if you verify an open or shorted diode, you've found the culprit.

 

[dann outboard]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

You need ohms scale on your meter to check stat and trigger by the ohms values. They say it is best to use a dva meter and check voltages. So to use your meter, you will probably need a dva adapter, and go the voltage rout. Or get a meter with ohms. The ohms symbol looks like a horseshoe. you sure you don't have that on your meter?

Yes I have the horse-shoe symbol on my meter... Also just to tell you my motor already has a new stator and I'm thinking not every coil is bad because the motor is nice and CLEAN. I'm sure it's trigger or Powerpack. Its a 4 cylinder too.


Heres some info on my meter Huntxtrm:

3 1/2 digit LCD readout. Ranges 0-1000volts dc...0-600volts ac...0-10a ac & dc..
0-10 meg ohms...Has hi & lo power ohms. Auto ranging.

Do you think I can some how test trigger or power pack with this setup?

 

[CDI Tech Support]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

One thing we've learned in 28+ years of research, never assume any new part isn't faulty or because it looks good/clean...it can bite you if you overlook it. Always measure DVA when applicable, even if it's straight out of the box. A shipping carrier could have dropped the component's box at some point, etc.

The chances of a trigger being the culprit on a complete No Spark issue is next to zero. And those chances reach closer to zero as you increase in # of cylinders. The reason why is a trigger typically has more than one trigger coil internally. This Mercury trigger has two trigger coils.

A complete No Spark issue is typically a stator or power pack. But first, always disconnect the pack's kill wire & the regulator/rectifier from the stator, one step at a time prior to any measurements.

 

[dann outboard]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

One thing we've learned in 28+ years of research, never assume any new part isn't faulty or because it looks good/clean...it can bite you if you overlook it. Always measure DVA when applicable, even if it's straight out of the box. A shipping carrier could have dropped the component's box at some point, etc.

The chances of a trigger being the culprit on a complete No Spark issue is next to zero. And those chances reach closer to zero as you increase in # of cylinders. The reason why is a trigger typically has more than one trigger coil internally. This Mercury trigger has two trigger coils.

A complete No Spark issue is typically a stator or power pack. But first, always disconnect the pack's kill wire & the regulator/rectifier from the stator, one step at a time prior to any measurements.

Thanks so much I will update back later I'm going to mess with my boat in a hr to do some tinkering. It's probably a power pack then because I have a brand new stator installed if you say it's not a trigger.

 

[CDI Tech Support]

Re: Testing 45hp Mercury COILS/POWERPACK with Meter

The odds are certainly a switch box (power pack) since the stator is new, but purchasing one without doing the proper troubleshooting steps is basically rolling the dice with your money.

At least do the first two steps in our troubleshooting guide before purchasing one. Then if possible, measure stator DVA both connected & disconnected from the switch box.