2000 Mercury 125 Ignition/electrical Problem - Just Click - Starter will not engage

[ryahal]

Having a problem starting my Mercury 125. The ignition is a push to choke, when I turn it over the gauges come on and then turn to the start position and just get a click. Sprayed some electronics cleaner in the key hole as well as the back of ignition switch and wiggled it, which seamed to work and the motor fired up. The next day we load up the family and once again back to just a click. After spraying with the cleaner and trying multiple times I got it started. After running for a while I turned it off and was not able to get it started even with spraying it. Finally I jumped it at the motor with a wrench and was able to return back to the dock. With the ability to get the starter to engage by jumping it with the wrench I assumed my problem was with the ignition switch itself. Tonight I changed out the ignition switch, that seams like an exact fit, the only difference is the switch came with screws, where the old switch did not have screws rather the connectors that slide over top and onto the poles. I slid the connectors ,one pole at a time to match them up, and still have the exact same problem. Not sure where to go from here, but once again I am assuming it is an electrical problem. Any thoughts world be greatly appreciated!

 

[LSXG8GT]

Ditch the electronics cleaner. Useless. Just as a precaution, I would check the simple stuff first such as your battery connections and battery cable connections at the motor. Make sure everything is clean and tight. Like you said, if you're getting it to crank by jumping it, you could have a key switch issue. You could also have a solenoid issue too. This is where having a test light comes in handy.

 

[guyjg]

See if there is 12 vdc (use a test light) at the + small terminal on the solenoid w/the key in the start position. If it is there then the solenoid is cooked internally. Use the test light across the battery to see how bright it gets. You want to see the same brightness at the solenoid small terminal. If it gets dim then ther is a voltage loss in the wiring.