Mercathode Lights?

[JamesT]

Hi all. My Cummins tech told me that the Mercathode system is hard wired directly to the batterys and is always on 24/7/365. Neither of my green lights on the Mercathode harness are lit, yet we just lowered my PODs last week and there appears to be no corrosion which tells me they're working. My pod trim tab zincs were about 50% eaten and my transom zinc was 90% eaten. I was in the water 9 consecutive months though from 3/16 to 12/1. It occurred to me that if the little green lights are supposed to be on 24/7/365 and my boat is now 10 years old, would it stand to reason the green lights are just burnt out? Well let me ask that question another way. Any of you out there with boats as old as mine, whose lights are also both out?

 

[Shaps]

what color is your mecathode box on the pod? Red or Black?

 

[Shaps]

lights on the Mercathode harness are lit, yet we just lowered my PODs last week and there appears to be no corrosion which tells me they're working. My pod trim tab zincs were about 50% eaten and my transom zinc was 90% eaten. I was in the water 9 consecutive months though from 3/16 to 12/1. It occurred to me that if the little green lights are supposed to be on 24/7/365 and my boat is now 10 years old, would it stand to reason the green lights are just burnt out? Well let me ask that question another wa

If you are out of the water, the LED will not be on.

 

[JamesT]

Hi Shaps, the harness is red per your earlier question. That's good info that no lights when out of water. How do you know that?

 

[Shaps]

Hi Shaps, the harness is red per your earlier question. That's good info that no lights when out of water. How do you know that?

 

[Shaps]

Hi Shaps, the harness is red per your earlier question. That's good info that no lights when out of water. How do you know that?

@JamesT
Just for giggles, make sure your mercathode breakers on the box in your Engine Room are on when you utlimately go to check.
They may have been moved to the off position as part of your winterization since they would be a drain on the battery if the breaker had not been thrown.

 

[JamesT]

@Shaps thanks I'll check the breakers and the in-line fuses. I was hoping for a launch this Friday but they are forecasting extremely high winds and rain, so I may have to push it backward.

 

[Dunigan]

The older mercathode boxes didn't have lights or the diagnostic pigtail. They had to be checked using Mercury's special probe. My understanding is if you don't have the pigtail attached to the mercathode controller, you don't have the light system either. I believe the older controller box is red and the one with the lights and pigtail are black. My 2013 has the older box and the new types were being installed in 2014 or late 2013. Just my understanding.

 

[DaleM]

Going off of memory here when I had outdrives, I thought the black unit was the standard output box and the red one was the high output controller.

 

[Dunigan]

You may be right but the color is not that critical. I have the red unit on my older Zeus pod and it doesn't have a pigtail or lights. I am replacing with a newer unit with pigtail and lights and it is black. I have seen the same unit online in red.

 

[Shaps]

You may be right but the color is not that critical. I have the red unit on my older Zeus pod and it doesn't have a pigtail or lights. I am replacing with a newer unit with pigtail and lights and it is black. I have seen the same unit online in red.

@Dunigan Is there a reason to change it out?

 

[JamesT]

Thanks @Dunigan.

 

[Dunigan]

@Dunigan Is there a reason to change it out?

Not really. In my case, my mercathode pucks seems to overworking. I want the newer style controller with lights and pigtail in order to better diagnose any issues. The old method of using the probe is a pain.

 

[Shaps]

Not really. In my case, my mercathode pucks seems to overworking. I want the newer style controller with lights and pigtail in order to better diagnose any issues. The old method of using the probe is a pain.

Thanks