Merc 200 Ignition

[Mumbles]

I finally got the flywheel off the ’69 200 and everything looks fine in there. Even the caps are reading .20 – .22 uF and should be OK. The points are polished now but I can’t find what they are supposed to be gapped at. Anyone?

After making a special socket, the gearcase came apart with help from a torch and 120 PSI air pressure. The forward gear is still stuck in the case but I don’t think it will really matter as salt water had been inside for a long time. If this thing starts today, I might be searching for a gearcase.

One more question, how do you shut this thing off? I see two wires from the points running to a plastic piece on the rear of the motor but they dead end there. Should there be a kill switch hooked up here? Also, it says Lightning on the front cover but Thunderbolt is cast onto the plug boots?

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[dan-in-tn]

Standard Mercury fare. Should clean up nice with your skills. Probably gonna need all new bearings? That salt water does a number on things doesn’t it? Good looking impeller. Might want to turn that one over?

Of course you know I’m kidding. OMC wouldn’t look any better with salt water inside. Shafts might survive, but you would still be looking for a gearcase. Might be easier to find one for an OMC?

Dan in TN

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

.018 gap I believe…

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[jpatti75]

Mumbles,

Definitely not the Thunderbolt ignition. There should be wires that run from that wiring terminal to a kill switch to ground out the ignition to kill it. Looks like you only have the wires that run to the points? I can get pictures from my 200 if you need them.

Points should be gapped at .018. (It’s a Phelons ignition system).

Hope you are able to salvage that lower unit. If yours shifts up for forward and down for reverse, your limited to 1966-early 1969 for replacements. Late ‘69 forward shift like and OMC and will not work, and the 200s from 1964 and ‘65 ar a little different (no zinc anode, different water pick up). I had to replace mine … it was a drawn out process.

JP

[Mumbles]

After cleaning the dust off my specs and looking a bit closer, it was right in front of me, stamped on the points cover! .020". Duhh.

Hey Dan, that’s the core of the impeller sitting right above the drive key for it. I had to get aggressive and break it off. It’s toast!

And Jason, I’m not sure how this thing shifted. Nothing moved as everything was tight. I’m going to try and start it later after hooking up a kill switch and garden hose. If it runs or seems promising, I’ll start thinking about a gearcase for it.

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[jpatti75]

Well, I’ll be darned on the points. Even the Merc manual said .018, but the good people at Repco have to be right about the gap.

Since the detent is in the belly pan, your shift lever should indicate whether you have the early or late type of shifting lower unit. Mine is the early type, and neutral is in the 3 o’clock position. On the later style, neutral is at 12 o’clock like an OMC.

Here is how the kill switch wiring runs:

The black and red wire run to the kill switch. The green wiring runs to the points. There is a ground wire that comes off the switch that I grounded to something in the belly pan.

[Mumbles]

The kill switch is easy enough but now I’ve found another issue. The plate on the port side holding the throttle linkage is broken at the top bolt and the bottom threads must be stripped as the bolt spins around. It’s gotta come out for repairs but it doesn’t seem that straightforward getting it out. The tiller is off and I can pull the throttle shaft with the gear on it out about 3/4′ but that’s it and I don’t see any pins or anything holding it. Is it supposed to slide all the way out? If it doesn’t, I’m stumped as how this plate is supposed to be removed without removing the powerhead.

And now a little prayer. Oh Mercury, ancient Roman god of tricksters and others, what steps must be taken to unlock yours and your cohort Elmer Kiekhaefer’s secrets? 😈

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[20mercman]

For the bolt on the bottom, there is a nut in that relief cast into the bracket that is most likely spinning. Also look for a screw behind the gear on the tiller handle. As for the throttle bracket, I may have a bracket, I will have to look. The kill switch, (what is left of it), is right next to the choke lever.

Steve

[John Schubert]

Being a Phelon ignition I would still set them at .018

[chinewalker]

I have installed a later lower unit on an early Merc 200. Makes a couple things a little wonky – the lock down releases for reverse, but otherwise it worked okay. I removed the shift lever and rotated it so that it was vertical, rather than horizontal for neutral, then it became a "normal" shift pattern of fore for forward and aft for reverse.

[Author]

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