Hey all,
I have a mercury sport jet 175XR2 S/N 368XXX. It had been mothballed for years and as of this writing, has only 20 hours on it. I was using it all day on a Friday, and I went to start it up on saturday and it ran for about 20 seconds and died. I opened the hatch and found the following:
A bolt and washer in the bilge that had come loose and fallen out.
The bolt and washer went to the bracket holding the ignition plate on.
There was a ground wire that was held in place by this bolt.
The ground wire went to the switchbox assembly.
The insulation on the stator connecting plugs (Yellow wires) showed signs of overheating that I had not seen before, but I never really looked that closely before troubleshooting this issue.
Using a screwdriver inserted into a removed spark plug wire, I quickly discovered that I didn't have any spark.
While cranking the engine, I did see voltage from the stator, but I wasn't using the right type of meter apparently.
I bit the bullet and took it to the shop for a diagnostic test and all they could confirm was that the Stator was bad. They gave a price of $600 installed for the stator and said that once it was replaced, they could check the trigger, and voltage regulator, pcm, etc. They said that they had no way of testing the other items before they replaced the stator. That was the end of the conversation because I can buy a new stator myself for $200 (Their price was $75 more) and install it for Free (I just saved $400 on that alone). I'm planning on buying a new trigger plate and just install it while I have the flywheel off.
Am I on the right track? What's the best way to troubleshoot this stuff on a budget? I'm also going to get a shop manual for this model that may have some troubleshooting tips and tests.
Any help with this would be GREATLY appreciated. I can't wait to get back out on the water!
I have a mercury sport jet 175XR2 S/N 368XXX. It had been mothballed for years and as of this writing, has only 20 hours on it. I was using it all day on a Friday, and I went to start it up on saturday and it ran for about 20 seconds and died. I opened the hatch and found the following:
A bolt and washer in the bilge that had come loose and fallen out.
The bolt and washer went to the bracket holding the ignition plate on.
There was a ground wire that was held in place by this bolt.
The ground wire went to the switchbox assembly.
The insulation on the stator connecting plugs (Yellow wires) showed signs of overheating that I had not seen before, but I never really looked that closely before troubleshooting this issue.
Using a screwdriver inserted into a removed spark plug wire, I quickly discovered that I didn't have any spark.
While cranking the engine, I did see voltage from the stator, but I wasn't using the right type of meter apparently.
I bit the bullet and took it to the shop for a diagnostic test and all they could confirm was that the Stator was bad. They gave a price of $600 installed for the stator and said that once it was replaced, they could check the trigger, and voltage regulator, pcm, etc. They said that they had no way of testing the other items before they replaced the stator. That was the end of the conversation because I can buy a new stator myself for $200 (Their price was $75 more) and install it for Free (I just saved $400 on that alone). I'm planning on buying a new trigger plate and just install it while I have the flywheel off.
Am I on the right track? What's the best way to troubleshoot this stuff on a budget? I'm also going to get a shop manual for this model that may have some troubleshooting tips and tests.
Any help with this would be GREATLY appreciated. I can't wait to get back out on the water!
