Mercathode Gone Bad - Real Bad

ok, thanks. It just looked like there was two wires on the wire and I don't see it on my where it looks like it is feed from below. JG
 
Well this weekend I had my Mercathode experience!! And I hope not to have another soon!!!

I ordered two replacement electrodes on eBay. Went to the boat Saturday to begin the install. Needless to say it was all downhill from there. I had plenty of wire from the controller, but when SeaRay installed it, they wrapped the brown and orange wires completely in electrical tape. And as mentioned, there is a clip on the transom behind the side of the engine holding the wires. I could get my hand down to it, but that was about all. Had now way to cut, break, or unscrew it. And with the wires being taped, I couldn't pull any slack through.

To make a long, frustrating story short, I ended up cutting off the old electrodes and pulling the nubs of wires back into the boat. I used a fish tape and had good success on the port engine with getting the tape to go into the boat and come out under the engine. I then pulled a looped wire back through, cut it to make two wires, and soldered to new electrode wires on and pulled them back into the boat. When I went to try this on the starboard side, the fish tape would go in about a foot and get stuck. When I pulled it out, it was bent in an arch sideways. I tried for 45 minutes using a wide variety of expletives but could not get the fish tape into the boat. On the way home I convinced myself that one Mercathode working was at least better than no Mercathode working. Once home, I remembered that I had a picture of the bilge from when one of the engines was removed. Looking at it, I saw that SeaRay runs the trim hoses through a plastic loom and that it curves to one side. So I figured that the fish tape was going into the loom which explains the curve to the right.

Today I went down to the boat and tried again. I had a friend pull on the loom near the trim pump while I tried the fish tape. It finally went right into the boat after the third try. Success finally!!! So it seems the tape will only go through if it can go around the loom over the hoses.

I have to run the wires around the side of the engines and connect them to the wires from the controller, but the hard part is done. It was obvious from the wires and the condition of what was left of the Mercathode electrodes that they had never been replaced in 12 years! It will be interesting to see how the drives and anodes look in the fall when the boat is pulled.
 
Way to go Walz, the OEM's install them as if they will last the life of the boat. It does help to have a buddy to cuss right along with you doesn't it?
 
Actually a normal size buddy who can get into smaller places that someone 6'3" and 275!
 
Thanks to this thread I now have two working Mercathodes, both were totally shot. This fact would explain why my zincs were burnt off so badly last season! Walz et al, thanks for the heads up on the wire ties, the same guy must have been building boats when mine was made as there were wire ties on both engines at the bottom of the y-pipes. There was no humanly possible way to get to them. I used my inspection camera to look down there and they are beyond reach. I worked for over an hour and after cutting myself with a razor blade trying to nick the tie, I got pissed enough to not care what happened. I figured if I broke something, I'd replace the Mercathodes with zincs. So in an Incredable Hulk moment I yanked the wire harness and broke the wire tie. After that, it was relatively easy. Pull down the old unit a foot, cut, fish new unit, attach wires, repeat on the other engine, except the part with the razor blade. Its amazing how much strength you have when you are angry! The starboard tie broke with greater difficulty and when it let go I rammed my right elbow into a deck support and that is still sore, but at least I have them changed now.

BTW what do the two small relays above the Mercathode controller do? I always assumed they were part of the Mercathode system but I see they are not. Are these engine start realys or something?
 
SCORPIO said:
Thanks to this thread I now have two working Mercathodes, both were totally shot. This fact would explain why my zincs were burnt off so badly last season! Walz et al, thanks for the heads up on the wire ties, the same guy must have been building boats when mine was made as there were wire ties on both engines at the bottom of the y-pipes. There was no humanly possible way to get to them. I used my inspection camera to look down there and they are beyond reach. I worked for over an hour and after cutting myself with a razor blade trying to nick the tie, I got pissed enough to not care what happened. I figured if I broke something, I'd replace the Mercathodes with zincs. So in an Incredable Hulk moment I yanked the wire harness and broke the wire tie. After that, it was relatively easy. Pull down the old unit a foot, cut, fish new unit, attach wires, repeat on the other engine, except the part with the razor blade. Its amazing how much strength you have when you are angry! The starboard tie broke with greater difficulty and when it let go I rammed my right elbow into a deck support and that is still sore, but at least I have them changed now.

BTW what do the two small relays above the Mercathode controller do? I always assumed they were part of the Mercathode system but I see they are not. Are these engine start realys or something?
Click to expand...

And people ask me why I like boating!!!!:smt021
 
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