Just bought a Mariner 45, need some help with getting it going please!

[quantum]

Hi guys,

Just bought a Mariner 45hp pretty cheap, which appears to be in good shape. I plan on doing a compression test of course, but wanted to find out as much about the motor as I could first. It doesn't seem to be a very popular motor, anyone know the history on these?

Serial # is A917106, which based on what I saw is a 1985. Could someone verify that for me? Also, what OEM manual would I need, since Mariners seem to list serial numbers on manuals, I thought perhaps someone here would have one and point me in the right direction. It seems like a cutoff is 1986 on some manuals???

Are any mercury parts a direct swap for this motor?

Lastly, it didn't come with a harness or controls. Could someone please tell me how to just jump it without all the harness wires? I tried positive directly to the starter and grounded it to the engine case bolt using jumper cables. It didn't even blink, click, nothing, and it is a fully charged 12v marine battery.

Did I miss a step? Is there a neutral safety switch or something I need to bypass? Perhaps it was in gear? I just would like to know how to go from battery to motor just to hear it crank. if it fires up, even better! I will get the proper harness, but want to make sure it is in good enough shape before I start buying parts for it.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: Just bought a Mariner 45, need some help with getting it going please!

If you put +12vdc direct to the starter and neg to engine ground it should spin regardless of any other switches. Check where you put the ground. If not that something wrong with the starter motor.

 

[quantum]

Re: Just bought a Mariner 45, need some help with getting it going please!

Hi George,

Thanks for the info, that is what I figured too. Jumper cables from the battery to motor should be OK, right?

Question, where does the ground cable go? I am searching for the proper OEM service manual, but until I find and receive it (and figure out exactly what YEAR this thing is), I just want to see if this motor turns over. It spins by hand, so it's not locked up.

Thanks!

 

[quantum]

Re: Just bought a Mariner 45, need some help with getting it going please!

So...let the fun begin. I LOVE outboards LOL.

Looks like the starter is toast. 2 of the 4 nuts were only hand tight, which means they were removed, starter found to be dead, put back and left there until I opened the cowl. I am guessing at that chain of events here, but I'm probably pretty close.

So, I just found a brand new starter for $80.00 shipped on e-bay. It should be here by Friday. Some places wanted almost $300 bucks! YIKES!

Turns out the year is a 1986, some sites say 1985, but so far 3 Merc guys I spoke to on the phone say 1986.

 

[shrimpman123]

Re: Just bought a Mariner 45, need some help with getting it going please!

Hello guys....workin on that exact motor right now,(fuel leaks carbs etc).one durable motor,in my opinion.Built well.if its been taken care of it will be just fine.