1989 Mercury Black Max 175

New to the forum and looking for help. My 89 175 normally runs fine. After going to several fishing spots, I sat down and attempted to start her up. I had to lift the fast idle lever to get it to start and when it started up it sounded strange. Every time I would lower the idle lever it would die. I was once able to sort of quickly lower the lever and get it in gear only to have it die immediately. Needles to say, I had to troll my way home. After I got her home, I did the usual thing and bought new plugs since it had been three years since I had changed them. This did not help. One thing I did notice is that on one side all three plugs were "wet" with fuel/oil and the other side was dry. What are some things I can check before loading it up and taking it to a mechanic?

The engine has two switchboxes, one for each cylinder bank so it may be a good place to start.

Do these need to be replaced in pairs?

No, go to CDI electronics website for troubleshooting tips and replacement parts.

Sounds like you lost the low speed side of stator on a bank of cylinders,

I want to give a HUGE thank you to you guys. You saved me tons on money. After downloading the CDI repair section I did my electrical checks on my motor. Found it was the switches. Ordered two new ones from Amazon for $73.00 for the pair. Installed them and she runs like new!! Again, thank you very much.