TOPIC: Novice Help - '65 Merc 1000 6Cyl Just Quit @ WOT

On the way back from a full day of boating (a mix of idling and running on plane) we were going at WOT when the motor just quit. It was as if someone just turned off the key.

We limped back to the dock with the trolling motor, as it just would not start again. In the driveway I find it cranks just fine but I have no spark on any cylinders. So, as a real novice where should I start?

Both coils read 0.0 Ohms resistance on the small posts and 9.7 & 10.5 on the center to small post. Are those normal readings? Any ideas as to what else I can check?

I hate to just hand it off to a shop and pay 100% mark up on parts I could replace myself, if I knew what to be testing and how....

I had this same thing happen to me, it turned out my dist brg went out and ruined the dist. ck your pwr and grounds, a test light at the coil will tell you if you have a pulse from the points,

check your belt

Hopefully Dave's right and it's just the timing belt Gary. If not, you may find this thread helpful, lots of good info given by the Merc guru's trying to help me with my '63. (Currently on the back burner, soon to be revisited.)
www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/17-mercury-outpost/28297-63-merc-1000-distignition-problem.html#28927

BTW, don't get mad, but we didn't run out of gas did we? (You didn't mention it, so I had to ask, sorry.)

if it is the belt it could be a warning that your top crank bearing is on its way out. that happened on my old Mark 30 1/2 across a lake.
No spark tells me check the distributor and coils. Have you bought a manual yet?

Here's a few more things to look at:

-First, one really really silly problem but something to check, a failed "mercury switch" will kill the ign. Disconnect the switch at the same terminal block where the distributor wires are connected. If that's it, you're done!

Check for power at the ballast resistors. The white wire coming from the main internal harness provides switched +12VDC for the ignition. Turn the ign to "ON" and check power to ground. If you get nothing, disconnect the white wire and check directly from the wire to ground. If you get power, your problem is elsewhere, if you don't, it could be a break in the motor's harness, external harness, or the ign switch.

If you do have power there, check for spark directly out of the coils. Unplug the both coil wires at the coils. If you have an extra hunk of HV ign wire, it's pretty handy to plug that into the coil and position the free end 3/8"-1/2" from the block, away from the carbs of course! Or, after unplugging a coil wire, unscrew from the distributor and use that for your test wire.

If you do find spark when the distributor is bypassed, the rotor has failed and is passing spark to ground.

If no spark, it would probably do to disconnect the ballast resistors and check resistance to make sure they're OK. Only necessary to disconnect wires off one side of each resistor to isolate it prior to checking.

Disconnect the brown and white distributor wires at the terminal block. With a meter placed on RX1 or a test light, check one of the wires for continuity to ground while you are turning the flywheel thru several revolutions. You should see the meter swing from infinite resistance, or test lite OFF (points OPEN) to Zero or close to it, test lite ON (points CLOSED), and repeat that cycle as you turn the flywheel.

If you don't get indication of the points opening/closing, you'll need to pull the distributor and service.

Here's a link to a wiring diagram for your motor, that should help as well:

www.maxrules.com/oldmercs/Wiring/0_1965a/9.pdf

HTH & let us know what you find..........ed

Just in case you guys don't know ed_mc,...He is my Number 1 Mercury Guru.
When I speak of needing the climb the mountain of Mercury Knowledge to get an answer,...He is the guy I go to.
Thom


and,...If you do find that the drive belt broke - be sure and check the distributor's bearings as they are the number 1 cause of this failure.

I lost spark on my 700 FGS too a while back the Rotor Blew. What a nasty mess!

Well Dave, you were right. Turns out it was the timing belt. And, the guy I had working on it tells me the top bearing is really making noise. He advises that the fix is WAY more money than the motor is worth, so he says "drive to fail".

I'd be interested to get other opinions on that notion as well as a potential "fix" for the noisy bearing.

Thanks as usual for the expertise!

Please don't "drive to fail". There is tons of help here to help you fix the old girl.
Neil

stop using it. over the winter pull the power head and have a look inside. If you have not blown the bearing yet you may get away with replacing it ($80-ish for the bearing retail but you can shop around plus the seal at $14 or so retail). Now is a good time anyway to open that motor up and give a good inspection, freshen the gaskets, reseal the crank, and replace the crank seals in each end cap anyway.
To have a regular outboard shop do this is allot of money. So is buying a new 100 HP. Add to that go buy another used vintage outboard on the cheap and run into the same problem if not another problem (now you are wasting $$) or a newer used motor that will fail at some point on you or not (the risk for your $$).
If you can not do any of the above work your self and you feel this is the right motor for your boat and you then is spending money on parts and labor with it for the devil you know verses the one you do not? If you are lucky and the bearing has not spit any debris you could end up OK for some reasonable money.

my 2 cents.
Good luck with it.
Jim

If the mechanic was referring to the top bearing in the distributor drive - which would be the cause of the belt failure - it is no big deal to swap out that bearing. Best to do it and the lower distributor drive bearing, and the snap-ring all at the same time.
If he was referring to the top crankshaft bearing - that is a piece of cake too on a '65 1000, because it is pressed into the top end cap - not pressed onto the crankshaft - like the 1000ss and other later model inline Mercs.
We can walk you through either of these repairs if you have a basic tool kit and a desire to dive in.
If you just want to drop the distributor out of the Merc and send it off to one of us to repair it for you - there are several here that would probably offer up the assistance, including good ole me.

Thom

I had an old Merc 1000 that was making a horrible noise from the top end, was just starting to tear it down for bearing replacement when I noticed a lot of creaking from the flywheel as it was wiggled.

Turned out the flex plate was cracked all around the center and after replacement the motor was good as new!

So wiggle your flywheel around and if you hear Ol' Creaky then maybe you need to take a very close look at the flex plate for cracks. You can inspect the underside as well when you've got the flywheel removed for belt replacement.

Be sure to check out those distributor bearings to avoid another broken belt. Tends to ruin the boating day!!!

HTH & G'luck with the repairs........ed