Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - Engine running rough.... Here we go again !

MAXUM · 06-26-2010, 10:26 PM

I had a very similar problem with my boat, same power plant. At first I was convinced due to the symptoms that the problem was fuel related, however it turned out to be an ignition problem. The coil could be the issue, however usually when those go, they just crap out and that's it. My problem was intermittent and ended up being the ignition pickup inside the distributor. It sits down inside the distributor housing. When I pulled it out I noticed that there was a fully exposed circuit board on the underside and the soldered connection points had this green and white corrosion on them. When I took it down to my local merc dealer and showed it to one of the mechanics there I questioned it's condition and sure enough he said that was a pretty common problem and that Merc had redesigned them. When I looked at the new one that board was fully sealed in resin and clearly done to prevent this from happening. Anyways I only mention this as something worth checking out. They take little time to remove. Not a super expensive part either, I recall it being about 50 bucks or so for one made by quicksilver.

06-26-2010, 10:26 PM	#20
MAXUM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kuna ID Posts: 2,755 Thanks: 246 Thanked 1,942 Times in 802 Posts	I had a very similar problem with my boat, same power plant. At first I was convinced due to the symptoms that the problem was fuel related, however it turned out to be an ignition problem. The coil could be the issue, however usually when those go, they just crap out and that's it. My problem was intermittent and ended up being the ignition pickup inside the distributor. It sits down inside the distributor housing. When I pulled it out I noticed that there was a fully exposed circuit board on the underside and the soldered connection points had this green and white corrosion on them. When I took it down to my local merc dealer and showed it to one of the mechanics there I questioned it's condition and sure enough he said that was a pretty common problem and that Merc had redesigned them. When I looked at the new one that board was fully sealed in resin and clearly done to prevent this from happening. Anyways I only mention this as something worth checking out. They take little time to remove. Not a super expensive part either, I recall it being about 50 bucks or so for one made by quicksilver.