Just wanted to know if anybody has encountered a problem like this:

We have a Mercury 225 EFI engine that will "decide" on its own when to
start... or not start. This problem has been going on for 4 years and the
engine has seen several certified repair techs in the Fort Myers Florida
area. We have been towed back twice in the past year because the engine
would not start no matter what; then it would start immediately the next
morning. Everybody has an opinion but even after many "repair" bills, the
problem only gets worse. The engine won't start at all at this point and
still nobody can find the problem.

"David" wrote in
om:

Just wanted to know if anybody has encountered a problem like
this:

We have a Mercury 225 EFI engine that will "decide" on its own
when to
start... or not start. This problem has been going on for 4
years and
the engine has seen several certified repair techs in the Fort
Myers
Florida area. We have been towed back twice in the past year
because
the engine would not start no matter what; then it would start
immediately the next morning. Everybody has an opinion but even
after
many "repair" bills, the problem only gets worse. The engine
won't
start at all at this point and still nobody can find the
problem.




It only really has 2 components......

A) gas (mixed with a little lube oil, please)

B) spark (on the end of the little spark plugs would be nice at
the appropriate time so it stops waking up the neighbors
backfiring)

In an EFI, many sensors must be happy before there's gas. You
can bypass this potential problem to see if there is spark by
simply spraying gas into its air intake while cranking it.

If it starts while you're spraying gas into it....we have spark!
If there's no indication of an internal fire...we don't have
spark.

We've split the problem in the middle and have determined spark
or no spark. Spark is caused by all those spark coils and the
electronic box that fires them. If the box has been swapped and
there's no spark, your problem is probably the amazingly-
expensive little ring of chinzy coils inside the flywheel called
the "stator". The stator is also a great place to look for
problems of no gas in an EFI. Stators include the alternator
coils that power the computers that power the squirters that
inject the gas, too.

As this engine is old and in SALT water environments, stator is
my first guess! I ate my Merc stator in only 2 years in a 175hp
Sport Jet.

To make sure stators, a dealer profit center to be sure, fail,
Mercury engineers leave its CORE exposed to the sea air all
around the edges of it, right near the spinning flywheel. This
ROTS the soft iron in no time, shorting out the magnetic fields
causing any magnetic power to the various timing, power and
charging coils to never cut the turns. To really thwart this
planned obsolescense, I coated all the exposed core with very
heavy GREASE, just smear it onto the exposed core. I never
needed a stator again.

The shop manual on the engine gives you the resistance readings
across what pins and to ground to measure. Now that it's dead, I
bet you'll find one of those many coils OPEN at room temperature.
The manual also gives you what voltage you should expect on what
pins when the engine is turning, even on the starter. BE VERY
CAREFUL! THERE'S 400 VOLTS, ENOUGH TO KILL YOU, ON THOSE PINS
that drive the Thunderbolt Ignition coils.....if it's working
right, of course. Also please be careful at the spark plug wires
of those coils, too! They call it "Thunderbolt" for a reason
other than marketing. If you get hit by it while holding onto
the engine housing, you won't soon forget being thrown about!

My stator's soft iron core had simply been EATEN....and this was
INSIDE the DRY Jetboat's inboard engine compartment!

The aftermarket coils work great so save yourself from OEM-
syndrome paying dealer prices.

Larry
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