Evinrude electrical question

"My 85 (model 85ETLR77S, S

"My 85 (model 85ETLR77S, SER#J4763288) has no spark, it ran fine when I put it up for the winter. It had new power pack two years ago. Now for a problem I caused, I took the command center apart and took out the switch, I made a diagrame of the color wires, but did not put down the letters(BMAMSC)that went with wires. I got a new switch, but it has some different letters and they are not laid out the same... my original switch checked out ok, but I must have made a mistake on the diagrame. I have Purple, Purple w/tracer, red with tracer,white,black w/ short wire to case, black w/yellow tracer. can anyone tell me what wire goes where and if it makes a difference between the two M posts? My new switch has M,B,M,C,I,S. MY ORIGINAL SWITCH HAS B,M,A, ON ONE SIDE AND M,S,C ON THE OTHER. I do have a shop man. but it does not tell me where the wires go... also my (know it all neighbor) shorted the black/yellow wire to the red wire, I guess this was not a good idea, but not sure if it will do any damage. Any help will be good, the fish are starting to bite and I'm stuck on the trailer. thats so much"

"both purples,go to I--
Blk-y

"both purples,go to I--
Blk-yell==Raised M
Blk going to case& fr eng==M
wht==s
red== B
the neighbor thing,prob killed the pack......try and see.."

"B = Battery 12v Voltage - Red

"B = Battery 12v Voltage - Red w/tracer

M - Magneto - (W/raised terminal) Kill Circuit - Black/Yellow

M - Magneto - (Reg Terminal) Ground - Black

C - Choke - Purple w/tracer

I - This is actually "A" on your reg switch (Accessories) - Purple

S - Starter solenoid - White

Your friend connecting connecting the RED (battery voltage) wire to the Black/Yellow (powerpack kill circuit) wire may have destroyed the powerpack.

After wiring the ignition switch, if you still have no spark, disconnect the black/yellow wire from the powerpack, remove the spark plugs, then retest for spark. Let us know what you find."

tried to delete and re-post af

tried to delete and re-post after i realized i had a cpl of errors there.......

"OK; But both of my M terminal

"OK; But both of my M terminals are the same, no raised of lower one? I also reviewed some old posts and found one that suggested to unhook the red plug and turn over engine without plugs to check for spark, I had none, but I also had no spark before the switch mess. If i'm understanding correctly, the switch simply activates the starter and choke, but nothing else? I get the black/yellow wire killing the power, I guess it shorts to ground? thanks so much for your help. Is there anything else that would cause the total loss of spark, form just sitting. I did find the key in the "on" position when I uncovered the boat and of course the battery was dead. I charged the battery and it seems fine, shows good on the tester and cells check out in the upper range of good. I hate electrical problems.."

"Hello: I rewired as per your

"Hello: I rewired as per your suggestions and the starter, nutural switch and choke work, so I'm back to sq. one (still not sure about post to put black/yellow wire), but if the test is with the wire unhooked at the pwr pac, mabey it won't make difference? I put charger on overnite to get a good test in the morning. The engine seems to turn over fast enough, but I guess RPM is important for this test. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again."

"On that model, have the spark

"On that model, have the spark plugs removed when you do the spark test to obtain the highest rpms p[ossible. The engine must crank over at least 300 rpms in order to energize the ignition.

Rig a spark tester where you can set a gap of 7/16". The spark should jump that gap with a strong blue lightning like flame.... a real SNAP! Using a gap any smaller is a waste of time."

"Hello: Jim

OK, I removed

"Hello: Jim

OK, I removed plugs and have no spark, I removed black/yellow wire, still no spark. Motor turns over very fast. I rechecked the switch with your suggested secquence and it seems to be correct. I reviewed the manufactures labels and one of the M posts has a ground symble, so I hooked that side up the case/black wire ground? Is there any other tests I can do, the shop manuel I have is very confusing (to me) I have meters with DC volts to 200, ohms, DC/AC amps. I can pull flywheel with no problem, etc. I can generally figure out what the problems is, but without some quidence I'm stuck. Thanks again Larry"

"disc the red plug at engine..

"disc the red plug at engine..(large -main harness)
now......using jumper leads,get eng to crank,while observing spark tester.. have spark--prob is in your wiring or sw---still no spark...prob is w/eng-ign elect."

"Hello: I did that test and ha

"Hello: I did that test and have no spark. Will the rectifier cause this problem? In my shop manuel it says I need a Neon tester for several tests, and of course: I have no Neon tester. It just seems like it may be something simple because it killed all spark. When I had to replace the pwr pac, the engine would run, but erratic. Thanks Larry"

"i have'nt used a neon tes

"i have'nt used a neon tester in 25 yrs.... i would say u have a bad pwr pack...... if u want to ck furthur,get a factory service manual and chk the timer base electrics.and stator..
a rect will NOT cause your ign problem."

"Since both "M" termin

"Since both "M" terminals are identical, it doesn't matter which "M" terminal you attach the black/yellow wire to.

The "Neon Tester" is ancient history. It's easier to test the ignition circuit simply by a matter of elimination..... remove black/yellow wire to eliminate kill circuit, etc etc.

On that 1977 85hp Johnson, run a ohm test on the stator and also on the sensors.

Stator: Meter set to high ohms. Ohm Meter black to a Yellow lead. Red meter lead to other Yellow lead. Reading should be 1.0 ohm +/- .2 ohms. There should be no readinbg between either Yellow lead and ground.

Meter set to high ohms. One meter lead connected to stator Brown lead, other meter lead connected to Brown/Yellow lead. Reading should be 630 ohms +/- 75 ohms.

Timer Base Sensors (White/Black stripe Black/White stripe). Ohm meter set to low ohms. One meter lead connected to White/Black lead, other meter lead connected to the Black/White stripe lead. Reading should be 8.5 ohms +/- 2.0 ohms. Repeat test on 2nd set of timer base sensor leads.

On high ohms, between any of the above wires and ground...... any reading indicates a short.

If all of the above reading are as they should be, I'd suspect the powerpack.

Keep in mind that the spark plugs must be removed when testing for spark, and the gap setting must be 7/16"

When time permits, visit my store at: http://stores.ebay.com/Evinrude-Johnson-Outboard-Parts-etc?refid=store"

"joe,..what years was it we ha

"joe,..what years was it we had the tool to adjust the senors...?...i think the tool came from cdi (rapair)"

"JWB.... Sorry, I never used t

"JWB.... Sorry, I never used that tool. Any problem I encountered with what appeared to be weak sensors turned out to be a low rpm cranking speed thing.

Larry.... A copy of my email reply follows. Better to keep the discussion on the board here.

Larry... Leaving the ignition switch ON has nothing to do with the ignition system as the ignition system is self contained and does not rely on battery voltage for power. Another possibility that could exist that will damage that type of powerpack is as follows.

Battery voltage, even a milivolt being applied to the black/yellow wire of the powerpack will damage the pack. To check for stray voltage that might be applied to that black/yellow wire, remove that wire from the powerpack. Now, with a voltmeter set to its lowest DC setting, attach the RED meter wire to that black/yellow wire and the black meter lead to a powerhead ground.

Any voltage reading at all, with the ignition key ON or OFF, even it make the meter needle barely move, indicates that voltage is present which must be eliminated.

To check the ignition switch, leave the volt meter attached then simply remove the black/yellow wire from the switch. If the voltage indication ceases to be, the switch is faulty. If on the other hasnd the voltage reading remains, a problem exists in either the engine or instrument wiring harness.

Sorry, I have no powerpacks left in my remaining stock but I strongly susppect that Andrew on this site will be able to supply you with one."

"HI Guys: I checked out as per

"HI Guys: I checked out as per Joe's suggestions and found all OK. I put new switch in and tried one last time, Now I have a very weak spark with the plugs out, and none with the plugs in. It seems like the motor is turning over fast enough, but before I put a new power pack in, I think I will try a new battery (Jeep needs one anyway) however; it has always started in the past, old or new battery, didn't seem to make any differenc. Boy if that is all thats wrong, I'm going to feel stupid...nothing new accoring to my Wife. thanks again Larry"