Merc 1150 '76 model stator leads crumbling away suspect dead short

Hi all, newbie here. Bought a runabout recently with a 115 inline Merc. The tacho is not working, I have tried hooking it up but nothing works. I also suspect its not charging. Motor runs fine apart from these issues. The stator leads (2 wire) coming from under the flywheel are absolutely decayed and are probably touching somewhere, would this cause the problems I have mentioned? Is it a shop job to get the flywheel off to get to the stator? Cause I'm pretty handy electrically and reckon I could fix it if I could get to it.
Any help would be great

Re: Merc 1150 '76 model stator leads crumbling away suspect dead short

Shorted stator windings can cause no charge and no tach reading. Stator is easy to remove. Remove the 8 5/16" bolts that ring the flywheel nut. Now the outer flywheel will come off and you will see the stator. It has 4 allen screws holding it. Put some shrink tube over the wires, and maybe you can save it.

When you go to reinstall the outer flywheel, set the motor to TDC and install the flywheel so the timing pointer shows TDC. Use some blue locktight on the flywheel bolts.

Re: Merc 1150 '76 model stator leads crumbling away suspect dead short

If I remember right, last summer my tach was not working and the charging voltage was way high. It was a bad rectifier. Easy enough to check and replace before pulling the flywheel.

My motor is a 78 Merc 115.

Re: Merc 1150 '76 model stator leads crumbling away suspect dead short

Thanks guys, great help, I'll be onto that tonight and let you know how it goes.

Re: Merc 1150 '76 model stator leads crumbling away suspect dead short

OK UPDATE: got the flywheel off (with the help of a 15" shifter on the end of a socket wrench for 2 of the bolts) and - damn, the stator is a sealed unit, I had hoped to get to the copper windings to attach new leads to the tails but no such luck. Anyway I cut the perished leads off to about 1", cleaned of the verdigris and oxidisation with a weak solution of hydrochloric acid and heatshrinked 'em as far back as i could get as per Chris' advice. I then soldered the ends and crimped on some bullet connectors and used some 2.5mm V95 pvc cable to go down to the terminal block. Everythings re-assembled now but it was to late to fire up the ole tower of power.
I'll do that tomorrow after work, I should be after 13.5 to 14.5v at the battery if the repair worked? If its still no go I'll try replacing the rectifier as per Quads thoughts. If I have to replace the stator are they available in the US at a reasonable price? I noticed a couple of other issues while I had it apart, the dizzy cap has a hairline crack in it and the drive belt for it seems a bit sloppy. Worth replacing just in case? Sorry for the long post & thanks again

Re: Merc 1150 '76 model stator leads crumbling away suspect dead short

If the charging system is working properly (Stator and rectifier) you will see an increase in voltage and you rev the engine. Put a meter on the battey and note reading at idle. Now increase RPM by a few hundred, and see voltage increase. Any increase and the system is fine.

The timing belt is avail anywhere, however, the Dist. Cap is pretty pricy, if you can find one. See if you can epoxy it or something. The plug wires unscrew from the cap. The rotor is non-removeable and cost $200+ to buy a replacement distributor rotor and shaft, if you break it.