1981-82 Mercury 70 hp 3 cylinder Outboard.

This is going to be drawn out till spring.  Because it’s too late in the year to run the motor other than briefly.  And I’ll be working on the boat at the same time..  

I did get most of the cowling off..  Can’t figure out the front piece.  All I know is …it’s not seized. turns freely . No sign of anyone messing with it..  This is good… so far..  So I just wanted to see if the starter would work with the key.  Nope.  The key switch is broken. The wires are messy.

That got me removing the control from the side wall… which got me under the dash.. which got me ripping out all the wiring .  I’ve ordered a new key switch cause there’s no fixing this one..  So without the key switch I tried to get the starter to kick over.. Nope.. Even with direct power.. !  now got to think about this. I ordered a new starter… They are not expensive so why mess with the old one..

Plus there is a lot of stuff to remove just to get to the starter..  Don’t want to be doing that too often.  And then I can’t get the starter apart to clean it ..

It’s very seized up..  Sure hope I can remember how to put things back..