Merc 125Hp 1250 outboard

[litefixer]

I have an older Mercury outboard 125hp 1250 and after sitting since last summer it has no spark to the plugs! I dropped the distributer cap and there was some corrosion which I cleaned up but still nothing! I suspected the coil so tried to check it for spark but nothing there either! I am told it doesn't emit spark like a car coil does??? Then there is the switch box assembly and i don't know if it is bad or not! There is a green terminal on the Switch Box Assembly where the coil wire is attached and when I put a meter on it it does not show any power going to the coil even when the key is on and the starter is going! For that reason I suspect that Switch Box Assembly...but it is an expensive item. Anyone have any ideas? Arnie

[boats.net]

Will need service manual to test that system, switch box is most common failure.