Hey y’all, first post on here but couldn’t find anything similar, so I thought I might make an account and ask. Sorry if it’s been asked before.
Anyways, I had an ‘89 Force 125hp with the CD ignition on the boat, but the lower unit was so seized up that soaking it in transmission fluid for weeks didn’t even free it up. I’ve been keeping an eye on marketplace but any lowers were either halfway across the country or $500, vs the full powerhead and gearcase assemblies that occasionally pop up for $500 or less. So I saw a 150hp force and figured “why not?” Dude took $300 for it so worst case, the parts alone are worth that much. I’d just have some wasted time between swapping the motors around if the 150 didn’t work.
Anyways, after much struggling, we got the motor on and I hooked up the wiring. This is where I’m concerned. On the labels where the harness attaches to the motor, it all basically matches up except for a couple. On the 125, the wires for “magneto” are the wires for “stop” on the 150, if that makes sense. Being that I’m no boat mechanic, I assume that they’re the same thing but a different label, i.e. “magneto” on the 125 = “stop” on the 150, as the magnetos shut off whenever the safety switch is tripped. Likewise, I’m almost 90% sure that the ignition system on the 150 is different. I forgot what the other style the book mentioned in later 150’s, maybe SD instead of CD? Regardless, is that an actual cause for concern assuming the wires all line up correctly to begin with?
I’m chasing some electrical problems right now in getting power to the harness, so if it’s a lost cause to begin with, would I be better off just cutting my losses and putting the 125 back on? As a side note, the red/purple wire has power all the way through (including both sides of the 20a fuse, wires included) except for where it connects to the red wire on the boat side. It’s very strange, unless there’s a random break somewhere in the wire itself. Was chasing it down till it started pouring today. I just wanted to make sure this motor worked before spending hours struggling with the steering linkage again.
These are probably stupid questions, but I’d rather ask now then find out myself later. The boat is a project, so it’s something for me to learn on just for fun.
Thank y’all!
Anyways, I had an ‘89 Force 125hp with the CD ignition on the boat, but the lower unit was so seized up that soaking it in transmission fluid for weeks didn’t even free it up. I’ve been keeping an eye on marketplace but any lowers were either halfway across the country or $500, vs the full powerhead and gearcase assemblies that occasionally pop up for $500 or less. So I saw a 150hp force and figured “why not?” Dude took $300 for it so worst case, the parts alone are worth that much. I’d just have some wasted time between swapping the motors around if the 150 didn’t work.
Anyways, after much struggling, we got the motor on and I hooked up the wiring. This is where I’m concerned. On the labels where the harness attaches to the motor, it all basically matches up except for a couple. On the 125, the wires for “magneto” are the wires for “stop” on the 150, if that makes sense. Being that I’m no boat mechanic, I assume that they’re the same thing but a different label, i.e. “magneto” on the 125 = “stop” on the 150, as the magnetos shut off whenever the safety switch is tripped. Likewise, I’m almost 90% sure that the ignition system on the 150 is different. I forgot what the other style the book mentioned in later 150’s, maybe SD instead of CD? Regardless, is that an actual cause for concern assuming the wires all line up correctly to begin with?
I’m chasing some electrical problems right now in getting power to the harness, so if it’s a lost cause to begin with, would I be better off just cutting my losses and putting the 125 back on? As a side note, the red/purple wire has power all the way through (including both sides of the 20a fuse, wires included) except for where it connects to the red wire on the boat side. It’s very strange, unless there’s a random break somewhere in the wire itself. Was chasing it down till it started pouring today. I just wanted to make sure this motor worked before spending hours struggling with the steering linkage again.
These are probably stupid questions, but I’d rather ask now then find out myself later. The boat is a project, so it’s something for me to learn on just for fun.
Thank y’all!
