1965 - 1968 65 HP Mercury outboard motor Magneto distributor issue

[Tuckerboy1]

My brother has this what I believe is a 1968 mercury 65hp 4cyl outboard with a kiekhaefer distributor assembly And no spark. After doing some reading and looking on internet someone told him to put power to the wire on side of magneto. When he did it made a clicking sound so he tried to start it and now the magneto/distributor does nothing. My question is what damage did he do by putting 12v to the wire. See photo

 

[Faztbullet]

Burnt up coil, points and condenser....its a magneto and generates its own power, the connection is a ground to short mag to kill it.

 

[racerone]

I have said it many times.----Wiring and 12 volts are much misunderstood.----Drop the bottom part of the magneto.----Just those 4 bolts.-----No need to worry about timing.----Clean breaker points and set at 0,008 / 0.010".-----Spin magneto by hand and look for spark.----Serial # of this motor ?----Doubt that it is the 68 version.-----Picture of the decals / cowling will help.----- -Used parts are available if you know where to look.

 

[Tuckerboy1]

Burnt up coil, points and condenser....its a magneto and generates its own power, the connection is a ground to short mag to kill it.

Thank you and that’s That’s what I am reading now. That it is a ground. I think these parts cost more then the whole engine.

 

[racerone]

A sweet running motor if in good condition.----Do a complete evaluation of this motor before spending beer tokens on new parts.----Used parts are easy to find !!

 

[Tuckerboy1]

I have said it many times.----Wiring and 12 volts are much misunderstood.----Drop the bottom part of the magneto.----Just those 4 bolts.-----No need to worry about timing.----Clean breaker points and set at 0,008 / 0.010".-----Spin magneto by hand and look for spark.----Serial # of this motor ?----Doubt that it is the 68 version.-----Picture of the decals / cowling will help.----- -Used parts are available if you know where to look.

Ty for your time and I will get more information on engine when I go back up to his house .

 

[Faztbullet]

Find the guy who told him to apply 12V and send him the bill.....

 

[jimmbo]

Might very well be a 1968 model as the Magneto was phased out in 68

 

[racerone]

I thought 68 models had electronic ignition instead of the reliable magneto.-----Serial # needed.---I say it is a 67 or older.

 

[jimmbo]

Merc 650S before Serial # 2312311* Magneto
Merc 650S after Serial # 2312310* Lightning Energizer
Merc 650E before Serial # 2119749** Magneto
Merc 650E-SS before Serial # 2446775* Thunderbolt
Merc 650E-SS Serial # 2446775 - 2803561*** Lightning Energizer
Merc 650E-SS after Serial # 2803561**** Thunderbolt

* Middle of 1968 Production
** only 1966 Models
***Middle of 1968 through 1969
**** 1970

I think there is a Typo regarding the 4th and 5th entries as I thought Thunderbolt came along after Lightning Energizer

It is kind of neat, that during the 60s and early 70s Electronic Ignition, especially Breakerless was what everyone was pushing and what Customers wanted. I remember that the New Electronic Ignition were supposed to be able to fire any Plug, no matter how fouled it was, that It made for smoother Idle and Much Better Economy. While the Old Magneto and Battery Ignition systems didn't provide the Higher Voltages, they were easy enough to troubleshoot and get running even if they quit quite far from Shore, unlike the "Improved" System which was next to Impossible for the Owner to Troubleshoot, except to say it's dead.
Ahh the Good Ol Days
Better is often the Worst Enemy of Good

 

[Tuckerboy1]

Ok so this is what I have and I know to test the condenser you can just use a volt meter but can we test the coil some how. And like I said what happened was power was put to the ground post and burned out something in this. Hoping to buy only what I need not whole unit .

 

[racerone]

Simple steps to take.-----Clean the breaker points.------Set at 0.008 / 0.010" -----Spin the shaft and see if you get spark out of that coil.-----Post your test results.----Show a picture of your spark test tool / method.