tach connection to old Merc 115

[Ice Cold Peanuts]

This is the last thing to do after rewiring the boat. I've got an 86 or 87 Merc 115. My instructions are:

Open the engine compartment and locate the distributor at the rear center of the engine. It will have all of the spark plug wires connected to it. Find the tachometer terminal on the side of the plastic case. Find the green wire with the matching tachometer terminal on the end of it. Press the connector onto the terminal and run the wire back to the gauge. Terminate this end to the connection point marked "SEND."

I've got the cowling off and I'm staring at the motor with a wire from the SEND post from the back of the tach. Nothing resembles what I remember a distributor looking like. I followed the plug wires but I'm not seeing what Google Images show as a marine distributor. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[wired247]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

The older models had a distributor . Your's doesn't. Hook your tach wire up to one of the terminals on the rectifier that has a yellow wire coming from the stator attached to it.

 

[Ice Cold Peanuts]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

I'm headed for the garage now. Thank you

 

[Ice Cold Peanuts]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

OK. Not knowing a stator or rectifier from an arm pit I dug in my SELOC and see that the stator is under the fly wheel. There is a small box type thingy under and to the side of the fly wheel. It has a yellow wire and a brown wire connected to one post and a yellow wire connected to another post. The tach WAS hooked up before so I suspect the brown wire was the wire connected to the tach. Sound reasonable?

 

[wired247]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

The brown wire goes to the tach hookup in your control unit. Yes, that means you could just hook your tach up to your remote control unit. In any case that is where the signal that goes to the tach is generated and you do hook your wire up to where one of those yellow wires goes.

 

[Ice Cold Peanuts]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

The brown wire goes to the tach hookup in your control unit. Yes, that means you could just hook your tach up to your remote control unit. In any case that is where the signal that goes to the tach is generated and you do hook your wire up to where one of those yellow wires goes.

Wonderful. Thank you

 

[Chris1956]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

Well, something is wrong. On an '87 Merc the tach wire would be grey. On a 1980 or older Merc the tach wire would be brown, so something is wrong.

What color are the rest of your wires? An '87 would have purple, grey, black/yellow, yellow/black, black, yellow/red. Older motors would have white, brown, orange, grey, black, yellow, respectively.

 

[Ice Cold Peanuts]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

To be honest, I'm not sure the wire isn't grey. It's so dirty and several wires look faded. I also don't know who's been in the motor or how many times. I know of 2 previous owners but there could be more. It runs very well so I'm not too worried.

 

[wired247]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

Old motors lkie that you never know whats been done to the wiring. The tach just has to go to the rectifier terminals that have one of the yellow wires. The color of the old wire doesnt matter.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

I'm sure you have a remote control. Somewhere there are three wires that go to your dash gauges. purple, black and the tach signal wire which could be brown, tan, grey or replaced by someone with any color, but they were there when it was built. u probably don't need to do anything in the motor.

 

[Ice Cold Peanuts]

Re: tach connection to old Merc 115

You guys are the greatest. Thanks so much for the help.