I have a 1974 Mercury 1150 115Hp dirtect charge thunderbolt engine. It currently won't charge my battery. Could frayed wires cause this? Or could anything else besides a bad stator cause this? Thanks!
Normally the rectifier is what is bad. The stators are usually OK, if the wrting is OK.
Trace the yellow wires from under the flywheel, on the starboard side. They will go directly to the rectifier (original rectifiers had 3 posts). If the battery gets disconnected or a wire breaks, the rectifier will usually blow.
Thanks. I checked the wires, the wires going from the flywheel to the rectifier look fine, the wires going from the rectifier to the battery are corroded and almost broken in half. Would replacing the wires fix the problem or do I need a new rectifier? If so how much does a new rectifier cost?
The wiring to the battery is bad? If so, itlikely blew the rectifer. Merc Rectifiers are $50. Aftermarket equivalent are $25-30. Radio Shack has a 25A Full Wave (Bridge) rectifier which is superior to both, for $5 or so. To use it, you need to change the Merc ring terminals to spade terminals, and ground the -DC pole on the rectifer to the motor casing.
BTW - fix the wiring from the rectifier to the rest of the wiring harness.
The wiring to the battery is bad? If so, itlikely blew the rectifer. Merc Rectifiers are $50. Aftermarket equivalent are $25-30. Radio Shack has a 25A Full Wave (Bridge) rectifier which is superior to both, for $5 or so. To use it, you need to change the Merc ring terminals to spade terminals, and ground the -DC pole on the rectifer to the motor casing.
BTW - fix the wiring from the rectifier to the rest of the wiring harness.
