I have an 1980 model 70 HP 3cyl. Mercury. The stator was new when I bought it 1 yr. ago. It has ran great all summer and it just stopped dead last week. I did discover that my regulator was bad and shorted to gnd. I replaced it and have found that my Plugs fire when out of the engine, but nothing when in. I tested this with a timing light. My voltages are a little strange from the stator, but my question is: If the stator was bad, would it fire at all? Has anyone ever seen Plugs fire out of the engine but not when installed. I have checked all grounging. Could my bad regulator have destroyed my stator since the "firing" side and "charging side are different outputs of the stator?
