I was told that the ignition on this motor would cost $500 if it goes bad, and that they do like to go bad. Was this guy blowing smoke or is it the truth?
you have a phase maker system with points, thunderbolt ignition. i just worked on my engine with this same ignition system i jst had a bad coil, these are decent ignition systems they can operate over long periods of time without tune up or repair as the manual claims, i feel personally its a strong system, as long as the points are in strong condition, and your stator is functioning fine your in business, these systems dont just "go bad" and i dont know where hes getting the figure 500 dollars from, each part costs its own amount if it goes bad, i e a stator for this motor is about 270 dollars but thats the most expensive part of the ignition system, coils are roughly 70 dollars a piece and a point set each is 100 dollars but you get the arm and everything, so unless all these parts go bad you wont (or shouldnt) be paying over 500 dollars just the price for parts and the shop labor
Thank you for your reply. He knew I had a 18hp Johnson and I think he was partial to those outboards. The Johnson is a good motor, but I think the Mercury's are a superior motor overall. He just said I would be sorry in the long run once the thunderbolt ignition goes out, and I spend $500 to replace it. He said he sees a lot of them go bad, just a matter of time. I feel much better now after you set me straight. Thank you
yeah, thunderbolt isnt a specific module or part, its just the name mercury gave it, so it would be their own, these are very good systems and for anybody to just bash them like that because they dont like mercury and telling you its gonna cost 500 dollars to fix (some random number) is just plain ignorant, and does not know what they are talking about, thunderbolt has higher primary voltages (on the phase maker system) and an extremely high secondary voltage for a hotter spark for better trolling and all round running. you wanna talk about bad ignition systems? tell your buddy or mechanic about the cheap ****ty coils they used on the old johnson evinrude magneto systems... they would crack and fail and nobody would know what the problem was... mercury was and always has been the superior motor omc's are reliable and can run for years, but they dont have anywhere near the engineering or advancements as mercury and anybody who actually knows about outboard motors will tell you the same.
Agree with above, this is the only year 20 with this style ignition.
This is the same ignition on the 72-73 9.8 and 7.5. Check ebay for parts too and make sure all of your wires are good, not deteriorated and frayed. If original, wires tend to rot as they are aluminum. Also check make sure grounds are good and the plastic insulators next to the points are not cracked. I would get a Mercury parts list so you know the high and low speed coil numbers, red stator number and capacitor number.
these guys are great, i order from them for all my needs, i have a 1970 merc 9.8 h.p and have the same ignition system as you, they also have parts for this, i ordered online and it was at my house the next week, no complaints there
1972 Mercury 200 20 HP Ignition question
Linear Mode
