I have the exact year and engine merc service manual and will be looking thru it.

then you should be in good shape.

Found the module at mercruiserparts.com, about $100. #9, I heard it was less?

http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show_...ION+COMPONENTS

Agree that the factory manuals are better. One more connector to check ; the one to the pick-up coil inside the distributor. Good luck

So I have followed the merc flow diagnostic charts which are good and think its the ignition module. Tough to get to under the distributor. Anyone have any suggestions how to get it out most easily? Thanks. Pull the cap?

If I recall it correctly it is sitting inside the distributor, screwd to the bottom plate. Pull the cap, disconnect all the connectors and remove it. You may have to unscrew the ignition module before you can disconnect the wire to the pick up coil. The module uses the bottom plate as heat sink. You need some heat conductiong paste when you put the new one in.

If you're getting voltage down to but not out, it's the coil. Without a destroyed cap/rotor or fried condenser, sparks should fly if volts are making to & thru the coil. I don't think the coil would get voltage if the kill switch was not met???....Start with diagnosing the coil. You can get that info out of the generic maint. manual or even an automotive book if one is handy using a multimeter.

Thought summary:
Check for loose wires on the back of the tachometer; coil condition (likely candidate); coil wire to cap (might try reversing the wire to check polarity); distributor parts; alternator; kill switch.

All that fails, get the MEFI checked by a scantool to determine it's condition and to view any fault codes.

So it turns out to be the pickup coil in the distributor.......Now how the -blank- to change that! Coil is fine, module, which i changed, was fine. Cap and rotor was mildly beat so I changed those too. Last thing is to change the pickup coil. I have the new one, hooked it up, waved a magnet over it and spark appeared beautifully, so now i just have to install it.....

Changed the pick-up coil in dist, now running good again. Had to remove plenum to get dist out but no big deal. Thanks for the help.