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  1. tpenfield

    Need help modifying a trailer to fit a boat.

    Looks like you have a boat with a cathedral hull. The trailer currently has roller bunks and keel rollers. I would make a set of bunks that can be spaced as per the picture below and get rid of the keel rollers except for 1 up where the bow may need support. The bunks probably should be...
  2. tpenfield

    Vinyl seat repair

    I do boat upholstery when I'm not working on other stuff. The best way (pretty much the only way) is to have it re-upholstered. For pontoons, it is sometimes easier (less expensive) to buy new seats.
  3. tpenfield

    90hp outboard died suddenly, wouldn't restart

    Do the spark testing before you give another thought to the gasoline.
  4. tpenfield

    LiFePO Batteries ???

    Quick Update . . . I've only used the boat a few times since making the latest set of changes to the off-grid electrical system, but getting rid of the 2 alt/3 battery isolator was a godsend. The alternators are happy and consistent 14.2-14.7 volts The BFC (capacitor) has remedied the...
  5. tpenfield

    Mercruiser 7.4 Suspected Vapor Lock (VL)

    The guy that I sold my Formula 330 to ( it had 1996 7.4 MPI engines with VST ) was getting vapor lock (Mississippi . . . so hot weather), whereas on Cape Cod (MA) I had no issues. IIRC, he did a couple of things . . . -> Cleaned out the VST system (I guess there is a filter in there and after...
  6. tpenfield

    90hp outboard died suddenly, wouldn't restart

    My first guess would be no spark rather than no fuel. A motor of that vintage (age) is likely to have some brittle/corroded wiring. . . BTDT. I would check for spark (a good healthy spark) and go from there. It also sounds like the motor/engine could use a heavy dose of fuel system cleaner ...
  7. tpenfield

    Boat Died on the Charles River (Massachusetts) - Had to Self Rescue!

    Oh, you were over by the Harvard University playing fields. Probably rowing shell club launch point. Good thing it was not during Head of The Charles :ROFLMAO: . . .but actually you might have gotten some help. Nice story though.
  8. tpenfield

    Drying out interior foam (got oily or wet under table pedestal?)

    It would be good to take a core sample of the foam. A thin wall pipe could be used for such. Without any pictures, we cannot see what you are seeing and descriptions only go so far. What folks here are saying is that if (if) the foam is saturated with water, then it is a good chance that the...
  9. tpenfield

    Converting Phase-Maker Ignition to Magneto (Phelon)

    The Backstory I had a 1969 Mercury 7.5 HP motor (S/N 263XXX) for quite some time and did some restoration and upgrades to it. Most significantly I changed the drive shaft to a stainless steel shaft from a 1980 motor. This upgrade gave good salt water running as the carbon steel shaft easily...
  10. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    OK - after beach beers and some dinner, I finished off the conversion of the phase maker to magneto ignition. Here are a few photos . . . . . The previous version mounting holes for the spark plug wires are still there, but unused. I was able to screw into the holes to secure the wires. . ...
  11. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    The Admiral wants to go to the beach (avec moi) for a few cocktails this afternoon. So, I spent a little bit of time digging into the phase-maker to Magneto ignition swap. At the speed of an Indy Pit Crew, I took off the Phasemaker stuff and put on the Magneto Ignition (from my 1969 motor)...
  12. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    @Scott Danforth Thank you for the link . . . I'm getting to the point of 'had enough fun' with this motor. Something is very intermittent, more 'off' than 'on'. I was able to get a decent spark on the plugs this morning, so I put the motor in the test tank and tried to start it . . . Not much...
  13. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    I know . . . exactly. I may try a capacitor, if I can find one with a high enough voltage rating; else it is back to the magneto ignition that I had on the 1969 model. I can see why Mercury had this ignition for only 2 years. . . :rolleyes:
  14. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    Yes, I'm thinking that the charge from the stator coils is dissipating too quickly, particularly when I tested it with no coils attached. That would point to an issue with either the capacitor or the electronics module. One issue is that the parts for the phase maker ignition are rare and...
  15. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    Well it is a no-go . . . after all the testing and tweaking, it still does not want to fire a plug. The plug tester lights up and I am getting 240 volts peak, but there just does not seem to be enough to fire the spark plug to a reasonable extent. I contrast that to the Evinrude that I picked...
  16. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    Quick Update . . . Rainy day, so I decided to do some more testing on the 1972 Mercury. I Took the spark coils off and pull-tested the stator alone to see if I would get good voltage. Looks like I am getting 280 volt peak. (each division on the screen is 40 volts (I was getting the trace to go...
  17. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    Thanks @nola mike The schematic looks something like this, The maker points ground the 'spark' coils, the 'generator' coils provide the voltage source. . . I suspect that something may be dragging down the voltage, or the low-speed coil is not creating enough voltage. If I have to replace...
  18. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    Although, looking at potential replacement parts, starting to feel like . . .
  19. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    My next step may be to check the ignition coils to see if they are shorted or something . . .
  20. tpenfield

    I Got Me a Mercury !!!

    I went back through all of the tests specified in the CDI literature. Here is my test results . . . See the values written in . . . . Everything looks good except the peak voltage from the stator (CDI calls it an alternator). I am only getting 110 - 140 volts . . . maybe some as high as 160...
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