Who said it could not be done merc 500

[Tomtall]

Merc. aftermarket ignition

This little ignition package is made for the Merc. using "Huskavarna" coil packs. It runs on some Mod. set-ups. All thou not as potent as a CDI it gets the job done I am told.

[ram95]

Nice piece of work

Is that all there is to it?!! How do you time it or adjust the timing? And, of course.... who makes it and for how much?

There is no doubt in my military-mind that the extremely talented people on this site HAVE come up with (or CAN come up with) incredibly good ignition systems. However, given the abundance of 'mags' out there along with people who can still make them function reliably, it would be hard to produce anything that would compete. But..!!!

Like it or not, we are dead-stuck in the middle of the plug-n-play generation. And, some of the plug-in stuff is so cheap that fixing it makes no sense. In a sense, "the mag" (Fairbanks or Kiekhaefer) is a plug-n-play item. Yeah... you're all laughing now huh!?! Well, it seems there are still folks out there who will do a mag up for $75 bucks.... that will work! Sure a lot cheaper than a CDI box or stator. Still laughing?? I suppose you want to union-ize mag rebuilders right))))) just kidding.

Oh well, at least we still have a choice

[blueskyracer]

This little ignition package is made for the Merc. using "Huskavarna" coil packs. It runs on some Mod. set-ups. All thou not as potent as a CDI it gets the job done I am told.

We have a guy who uses Steves system and had no troubles after he loctited the coil screws..It come with timing instructions and I know the spelling is not coorect but it is Steve Radkowski I believe.. That is all there is to it.. You do need to take a extra wrap with the starter rope to spin the motor fast enough..I think a electric starter would be perfect for this system.. I believe it runs $600-$700

[Kwirth79]

I know this is a very old thread, but I'm hoping someone can chime in as to why the timing is set much lower (.250-.270) BTDC as compared to much higher settings with a Mag (.360-.385) BTDC.

[ram95]

The deer hunter shoots

Alex Can you still buy parts bran new for a mag. Or do you have to use old stuff some one
has laying around in a box in his garage?YOU CAN BUY EVERYTHING. Bran new today for a CDI Ign.I put to bran new ones together this year for guys.An three last year an not one of them has failed yet. Cant say that about a mag.

ARRRGHHHhhhhh... that was a 'heart-shot' Lonnie... I'm bleedin bad (I just sold my last set of NOS points) an yer bullet went clean thru an took out my condenser tester an ultra-sonic cleaner.

NEW PARTS

Somebody rescue me... for I have fallen and cannot reach my beer.

[mercguy]

ARRRGHHHhhhhh... that was a 'heart-shot' Lonnie... I'm bleedin bad (I just sold my last set of NOS points) an yer bullet went clean thru an took out my condenser tester an ultra-sonic cleaner.

NEW PARTS

Somebody rescue me... for I have fallen and cannot reach my beer.

"NEW PARTS".............what an ingenious idea!!!

[Tomtall]

"Huskavarna" coil ignition

Ram95 -

As stated by "Blueskyracer" this is a Steve Roskowski made ignition. Steve is the 2012 president of "Indiana Outboard Racing Association" (I.O.A.) and can be reached about this piece at the following link.

http://indianaoutboard.org/about/officers/

[David_L6]

Ram95 -

As stated by "Blueskyracer" this is a Steve Roskowski made ignition. Steve is the 2012 president of "Indiana Outboard Racing Association" (I.O.A.) and can be reached about this piece at the following link.

http://indianaoutboard.org/about/officers/

Steve is a member here on HydroRacer also. He's modhydro here. Very nice and also talented guy. In addition to the ignition system he has built boats, tower housings, and at one time was working on building a lower unit.

[Dave M]

Mod Anyone ?

CDI is the way to go. Battery technology has come a long way to power these in a lighter battery with more horsepower in it. I will let those in the know figure out what horsepower is in a battery.

At any rate, if someone is wanting to run Modified Outboard and run a 44CI engine, they should know, or at the very least learn about these systems. Modified is NOT stock. It is for those that like to tinker, and with those tinkerers comes a basic set of knowledge. If you plan to run modified you will learn how to time a CDI, how to adapt things. That is kind of the spirit, don't you think ?

And if someone is comfy running a Mag setup, I have nothing against them, they work great. But the chances of those breaking down during a heat of racing is a lot higher than with a CDI. But if a CDI is not in your budget, nothing wrong at all with a Mag. And a Mag will breakdown at certain RPM's a lot quicker than a CDI will.

You don't have to be a tech nerd to understand CDI or Mags. Just do a little studying and it is not so complicated. It is prolly as easy as the Yamto 102's with the points that always slip. I wonder why a stock Yamato went to CDI ignitions on the 302 ?

[jeff55v]

1. When did Mercury stop making new engines equipped with magnetos?

2. Why did they (Mercury) stop using them?

I would bet the main reason was the lack of reliability from the breaker points, not the magneto itself.

Ok since nobody touched my question, I'll answer it myself.
1. I think Mercury stopped using the breaker point magneto ignitions at around 1970. ( that's over 40 years ago!)
2. I can only speculate the reasons for Mercury's change from the breaker point magneto to the CDI. I would wager low maintenance was a factor, as well as the low RPM higher voltage advantage of the CDI.

[Yellowjacket]

Ok since nobody touched my question, I'll answer it myself.
1. I think Mercury stopped using the breaker point magneto ignitions at around 1970. ( that's over 40 years ago!)
2. I can only speculate the reasons for Mercury's change from the breaker point magneto to the CDI. I would wager low maintenance was a factor, as well as the low RPM higher voltage advantage of the CDI.

1975 was the last year for the magneto on the Merc 500 1976 had the CDI....

The CDI was a huge improvement for the average boater. Remember they don't change pulgs until they are fouled out. A two stroke gets a lot of plug deposits and the CDI would fire fouled plugs much more reliably, which meant better starting and better reliability when trolling. No question that for the typical user the CDI was a much better ignition system. It was also probably for Mercury, less expensive to produce, which sure didn't hurt.

[sam]

#2 is it ... idle forever without fouling and easier to start.

If you are going to idle your race motor for extended periods ... you better not use a mag

After enough of them were made, they are probably cheaper too.

[Morris85C]

From what i fund 1968 was the last year merc made a mag.An then they came out with the lightning energizer breaker less ignition in tell 1972.An then they came out with a Classic 500 which had a CDI under the flywheel ELECTRONIC ING.The Ing we use on are Dmod moters come off of the merc 800 850 an some 650 4 cycl merc moter But cdi sales all the parts for.I think the Maine reason why mags aren't that good I found is its hard to keep the dwell right.The fiber that runs on the shaft wheres out fast an changes the dwell.So about every third race or so you would have to pull the mag down an adjust the points agine.What a pain.

[blueskyracer]

So if someone wanted to put together a CDI system what would be the part numbers and best place to get them??

[Morris85C]

Which one do you want?The one under the flywheel or the dist type.

[ricochet112]

So if someone wanted to put together a CDI system what would be the part numbers and best place to get them??

The under the flywheel systems are true CDI ignitions-heavy flywheel need to hold magnets. The ones that use a distributor are more of an amplifier ignition-only a starter cup is needed.