[salvagefirst]

the cd boxes are on the starboard side, they are stacked together one on top of the other, lots of wires going to them . some merc dealers say they have a tester to check them but most just replace both boxes then test the motor in the water.This is usually the first thing they do because they are 90% of the electrical problems on a merc. also look at the stator, it is located under the flywheel, you can see the bottem of it between the flywheel and the block , look for any spots that have got hot , the paint burnt off, or black tar hanging down. the stator is your charging circuit, low and high speed windings. most of the wiring along with the crank trigger wiring and other block sensers goes to the cd boxes wich control the firing of the coils. Remember if you replace a cd box you need to replace both as a set because a new one will usually burn out the older one. There is also the chance of a damaged flywheel or crank trigger that might of gotten damaged during impact. Les