Problem Fitting Mercathode Electrodes

[settimo velo]

I'm having a problem fitting Mercathode electrodes on the underside of my gimbal housings. I made up a trace wire, as described in the service manual, to guide the electrode leads through the rubber grommet in the centre of the hydraulic connector block. However. I cannot get the trace wire any further than about one inch into the connector block, something seems to be obstructing it on the underside of the connector block.

The service manual I have is dated 2001 and doesn't say anything about an obstruction. My transom assemblies are both new so maybe something has changed? Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[settimo velo]

If you ever attempt this job, remove the seal from the centre of the plate that is under the anode. The Service Manual does not tell you to do this. Unfortunately, the seal has a hole in it so looks like a grommet, and I was trying to insert my trace wire in to this hole. I had to look at a parts drawing to figure things out and the only way I could extract the seal was by screwing a self tapper in to it so I could pull the seal out with pliers. So, the problem is solved, no thanks to Mercruiser's Service Manual!