5 Symptoms to Detect A Mercury Outboard Bad Stator

Are you noticing anything wrong related to the battery and engine? Then probably, it’s time to pay attention to the stator of your Mercury marine outboard. Therefore, you must detect the signs of a bad stator.

The most common signs of a bad stator in a Mercury outboard engine are problems with engine activation, lack of power, and misfiring. Plus, if the battery fails to charge continuously and corrosion build-up around the stator’s surface, rest assured that the stator will become faulty!

Getting panic attacks? Wave them off, as I’ve come up with a detailed guideline to walk you through the common causes of outboard stator failure. Thus, you can overcome them in the future. Besides, the maintenance tips will let you keep your stator in better condition.

How Do You Know If You Need a New Mercury Outboard Stator?

With the assistance of rotating components, the required energy passes through stators. So if anything is wrong, fix it or go for a new mercury outboard stator. 

But how can you tell when you need a new stator? Here, I’d like to share some common and noticeable symptoms to detect a faulty outboard stator. Let’s go on: 

Symptom 1: Battery Not Charging

In general, a stator is liable to generate sparks and AC currents. So if the component has any issues, it won’t be able to produce as much AC current as needed. 

And that’s when the battery fails to be charged properly.

In such a case, there are two things you can try out. Firstly, an expert mechanic checks out the battery separately to confirm whether it is defective.

If not, there might be something wrong with the outboard stator.

Low voltage is known to be another common sign of a bad stator, which is related to battery failure.

Symptom 2: Trouble During the Engine Activation

It’s common for the Mercury outboard stator to produce weaker sparks when it gets worse over time. And needless to say, a weaker spark indicates poor engine start-up, which you will face if the stator needs slight to moderate repair.

Symptom 3: Lack of Required Energy

Shortage of power doesn’t only indicate that the reed valve turns defective. Rather, it may hint that the stator has become worse than before!

An engine with a poor stator cannot generate adequate amounts of power. As a result, the Mercury boat decreases its speed gradually, resulting in poor performance. 

Symptom 4: Corrosion Build-up

The stator isn’t prone to corrosion or such annoying stuff. However, it is a sign of a bad stator if you notice that the area around the stator’s surface has unexpectedly become heavily corroded much earlier than usual. 

Consult an expert to determine the amount of corrosion on the stator’s surface. If it appears too high, a replacement can only relieve your Mercury boat. 

Symptom 5: Misfiring

The 5th sign of a bad stator can give you a tough time unless you’re a pro. Misfiring refers to constant sparks that look kind of unstoppable! And apart from the deceased voltage level, a bad stator can also be the reason behind misfiring.   

In other words, a weak stator tends to generate a poor spark, resulting in the outboard engine running or missing badly. And the symptoms get worse if you’re overlooking such a situation for a long time.

3 Possible Causes of Bad Stator on a Mercury Outboard

If you don’t know the exact causes of a bad outboard stator, it’s impossible to deal with them in the future. Even though the causes seem to be common, it’s better to keep each of them noted: 

1. Engine Overheating

Overheating issues can make the engine weaker day by day, and guess what? An overheated engine equally turns the stator hotter in a gradual way, which causes a mercury outboard stator failure. 

2. Overcharging the Battery

Bad connection, poor wiring, and inappropriate charging are liable to overcharging the battery, which eventually turns the stator bad. Because when you overcharge, the stator starts producing AC currents abnormally and ultimately suffers significant damage.

3. Aging

I guess it isn’t under your thumb! This is because, after constant use for a long period, it’s common for every outboard stator to get fragile being older. So here, you shouldn’t get too worried!

Replacement and Repair Costs of Mercury Outboard Bad Stator

Indeed, no specific price chart is available for the Mercury outboard stator replacement and repair. Due to multiple brands, models, and features, each variant will serve different costs and characteristics. 

For instance, some customers claimed they spent up to $520 for a 135 Mercury (1988) replacement. In addition to that, $300 might cost you the labor charge. Others can be slightly higher or lower, depending on the type, style, and model.

Tips for Maintaining the Mercury Outboard Stator to Prevent Future Failures

By getting familiar with the maintenance tips, there is a chance to keep your outboard stator safe and long-lasting. 

Thus, you can also avoid spending extra bucks on constant replacement. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned! So here are the following tips: 

• Always be aware of the correct voltage level. If not, the battery will act abnormally and cause outboard stator issues.
• Overheating and overcharging are just enough to kill the stator’s efficiency. So make sure there is nothing wrong with the wiring and overall connectivity.
• Continuous sparks aren’t something you can take normally! So never think twice about consulting a local mechanic if the outboard engine is causing a misfire. Or else, the stator will turn useless within a short period!

Frequently Asked Questions

Looking forward to learning more about Mercury outboard stators? Well, alongside the symptoms, causes, and tips, I’d like to share some random queries with the answers you desire for: