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Electronic ignition/wires question

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Bebopalula

Member
Can Mercruiser noise suppression wires be used with a distributor that has been modified with an electronic ignition unit? I read somewhere that certain wires will not work.
 
I just downloaded this off a Magnacor site after a Google search:

[h=2]SOLID CORE CONDUCTOR WIRES[/h]Solid metal (copper, tin-plated copper and/or stainless steel) conductor wires are still used in racing on carbureted engines, but can cause all sorts of running problems if used on vehicles with electronic ignition, fuel injection and engine management systems, particularly if vehicle is driven on the street — and damage to some original equipment and modern aftermarket electronic ignition and engine management systems can occur. Solid metal conductor wires cannot be suppressed to overcome EMI or RFI without the addition of current-reducing resistors at both ends of wires.

Can anyone confirm if Mercruiser wires fall into this category? Let me explain why I'm asking about this. Before taking my boat in for repair by "certified, factory trained Mercruiser technicians" I had put in new ignition wires made specifically for electronic ignition systems which my engine, a merc 3L 140, has. I figured I'd save a couple of bucks as it was something I could do myself easy enough. After they finished the repairs (it took them almost two months) I took the boat out for the first time and within a half hour the engine died and I had to be towed back to the marina. When I checked the engine compartment I noticed that the wires I installed were replaced with Mercruiser noise suppression wires and the distributor cap was also not mine. The cap I had on there was grey and so were the wires I installed. Both were now black (and the wires didn't look or feel new). I was afraid to alienate them so I didn't let on that I knew since I already paid them for a seasonal slip ($1700) and have to live with these people for another two and half months.
So after a few hours the owner of the marina calls me and tells me that the electronic ignition spark sensor was bad and had to be replaced (I guess that's the module itself)....and it'll cost me $87 plus tax in addition to two hours for labor (@$140/hr.) for diagnosis.
All of this occuring after waiting two months to get my boat fixed (mainly having the Alpha One outdrive serviced and a transom re-build, plus other items needing replacement) at a cost of $4992, more than my '86 Four Winns 195 Horizon is worth.
 
The motor is a Merc 3L 140 short block repower in 2003 with less than ten hours when stored in '05. Points were replaced with electronic ignition module, rotor, cap and wires. I replaced the wires with a 84816761Q5 set that fit with the correct connectors to the cap and the marina took them both off and replaced them with a set of 8416761Q17 and replaced the cap too. Now they want me to pay them to fix the damage they caused. You can't use regular wires on an electronic ignition system as I understand now.
 
One thing I forgot to say is that when I checked the distributor when stuck out there trying to get the engine started I noticed that the two wires coming out of the module were taped together and draped over the edge of the distributor rim and the cap was installed right onto it with the two wires being compressed in between. Shouldn't they exit through a hole in the side of the distributor provided for that purpose? Or even a notch to avoid being pinched?
 
The cap they put on has two screws. I'm pretty sure they wired the module directly to the positive pole of the coil. I think the tach is connected there,too, because when the engine died the tach wouldn't register when I cranked the engine trying to start it. When I got back to the slip they initially said the coil was bad and replaced it. He started the engine, he shut it off and tried to start it again and nothing...the engine wouldn't start. That's when they told me they'd have to find out what the problem was. The next day they called and said the ignition sensor had to be replaced. This entire episode is getting me sick. I went to this marina without vetting it thoroughly and now I'm paying for it. It shouldn't be this way. In order to have a boat serviced by someone other than yourself you need to be rich enough to have a lawyer on retainer. Virtually everyone I speak to who has a boat on the South Shore of Long Island has a similar nightmare to tell.
 
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