Mercury 9.8 No spark after being in storage for the winter

[modopopcorn]

Hi guys! I sold a Mercury 9.8 outboard about a week ago, took it out of storage and the buyer who lives just a couple of streets away came and picked it up.

This weekend he came back with the outboard saying it wouldn't start. It ran perfectly fine last year, started right away and never hade any issues other than a bad waterpump.

I promised the guy who bought it I'd take a look at it and see if I could figure out what's wrong or buy the outboard back from him.

As mentioned in the topic, there's no spark, both plugs are dead but when put in another outboard they work so they aren't the issue. I took a multimeter and measuered the current in the two wires (brown and white) from the stator assembly and there is a pulse when the cord is pulled.

Is there a good way to measure if the CDI-box is working as it should? I couldn't get any reading of any current at the coils so I'm pretty certain that the problem is the CDI-box.

If the CDI-box is the problem I'm pretty screwed, I sold the outboard for $300 and a new CDI-box in Sweden cost about $320 plus shipping.

Also, I'm guessing if the CDI-box is broken there's no way to fix the issue other than just swapping it out for a another unit?

Best regards // Robbin

 

[Superchief]

I wish I paid 300 for my 9.8. Check for corroded grounds, and broken wires. especially the stop switch.

 

[modopopcorn]

Hi Superchief and thanks for your reply.

I've reseated all grounds and connections, I actually found a broken crimp-connection from the stator and I've replaced it. Still no luck getting the motor started though... I disconnected the stop switch entirely to make sure it didn't cause any problems.

I'm not having any luck learing how to measure if the switchbox is faulty either.

At this rate you can buy this Merc from me for $3 Chief...

 

[Superchief]

my patience ran out with my 2 9.8s they both blow to much oil and probably need seals throughout. I found a year old 25 4 stroke and bought it yesterday. I’m hoping to figure out how to rebuild after boating season.