1996 Mercruiser 5.7 LX / Thunderbolt 5- no spark

crissew

Recruit
Joined
Jul 5, 2003
Messages
1
My boat suddenly wouldnt start last week when I was on the lake despite the fact that it ran perfect when I shut it off to fish for a while. My setup is a 1996 Mercruiser 5.7 LX with a Thunderbolt V ignition and a Bravo 3 outdrive.<br /><br />I have tested with a volt meter and there is no current even getting to the coil. I ran a wire strait from the ignition key to the coil and the engine started. Two problems arose from this:<br />1) The boat now would be in forward gear when you go forward, backward or even had the boat in "neutral" at the throttle control.<br /><br />2) After 2 days or so of riding with my rerouted wire, my battery died and now all the boat does is click when I turn the key (even when using a battery charger). <br /><br />Does anyone know what I can to to remedy this? I suspect a ground problem between the key and the throttle control but how in the world do I trace that down.<br /><br />By the way, I have replaced the rotor, cap, coil, plugs and the fuel is fine.
 

akriverrat

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
588
Re: 1996 Mercruiser 5.7 LX / Thunderbolt 5- no spark

after re-reading this it occurs to me that the shift cable is broken and the start in neutral switch is doing it's job.
 
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