OMC 23L Backfire No Start 1990

"I was participating in a disc

"I was participating in a discussion that appears to have been deleted (OMC 2.3 Speciifcations).

Anyway, Bob, I have changed the points. So here's the situation.

Have changed cap, rotor, plugs, wires and points. Before changing points, I had no spark. Now, while trying to start the boat, all it does is back fire. After setting the inital point gap to 0.019, the dwell was at 40. I tried tightening the gap down to 0.016, same thing, but dwell went up to 44 and it still backfires. Then, I adjusted the points all of the way out and the dwell went down to 37. But, all the engine does is backfire. It is stubborn and will not start.

The only parts not changed are the coil and condensor.

I know the problem is going to be easy once it's in front of me, but I'm out of ideas.

Also check voltage and the safety kill switch. 12V at the coil and voltage drops out if I pull the cord off... It seems to be functioning OK.

Any other ideas?"

"Jason,

Two quick things co

"Jason,

Two quick things come to mind. Fist, confirm the distributor rotation, most Ford distributors rotate counterclockwise so confirm this and make sure the wires are on accordingly.

Secondly, there was a recall when these motors first became available as a marine application regarding the distributor gear drive pin. If this motor was effected and never changed it is possible the pin has broken and the gear has spun.

I would expect this would have showed it's head well before now, but you never know.

Good luck,
Rick"

"Rick,
Thank for the input.

"Rick,
Thank for the input. I've confirmed the rotor/distributor runs clockwise. I checked this with the owners manual and by turning the engine over by hand. Confirmed numerous times I didn't have a plug wire crossed. Firing order is 1-3-4-2

As for the recall, my dad bought the boat new in 1990 (Spectrum 1950). My family got the boat last summer. Knowing my dad, if there was a recall it would've been taken care of. However, while turning the engine over by hand, I tried to "stop" the rotor. I'd hope if there was a sheered pin in there I'd be able hold it in place. I've borrowed a timing light from a friend from work. Will confirm timing tomorrow after church.

As for other investigation on the engine... I've put the new condensor on it and pulled the plugs to check their condition after all this. Only #1 has any amount of discoloration. 2, 3 & 4 all look new.

Any other help or ideas would be appreciated. My 3 year old keeps asking when we're going fishing...

-Jason"

Tell him you're taking him

Tell him you're taking him tomorrow. You're going to make him a "fisher of men".

"Well, it turns out I do have

"Well, it turns out I do have spark at each of the plugs. I pulled one wire at a time and grounded out an extra plug I had to the lifter bracket on the engine. Each plug had spark, but it was weak. Best I got was an orange spark. Not sure if the coil's bad and not producing enough voltage, or if there's a draw somewhere else.

As for checking for voltage at the coil, I did not check for voltage while cranking the engine, only with the key 'on.' It did have 12V with the key 'on.' If voltage is not 12V while turning over, would that be the ignition solenoid?

Any other thoughts??

By the way Rick, my 3 year old is a girl. She'll even grab the worms out of the dirt if it means we're going fishing! Don't want to lose this opportunity since she's got so much interest in it right now!"

"I would go back and set those

"I would go back and set those points again, you shouldn't have had to adjust them all the way out like that (maybe the wrong points?) You could also try taking the 2 wires off the positive post and run a straight wire from the battery to ensure the coil is getting a full 12v while cranking. It normally comes from the energized start solenoid (couldbe a bad solenoid?)"

"Well, the boat still isn'

"Well, the boat still isn't running. . Man this is getting frustrating. My wife is suggesting that I take it in. I don't want to just yet.

Anyway here's the status:
1. Points set to 0.019
2. Checked voltage while turning the engine over. 9.7 Volts. I have 12V when the key is in the "on" position
3. Ran a wire directly from the battery to the coil (which is brand new), and exact same result.
4. Tried pouring a little gas down the carb to make sure it wasn't a "no fuel" problem. Still no start. By the way, this was a trick from my teenage cars when I had fuel pumps go bad.
5. Haven't been able to check timing. The timing light I borrowed wasn't working.

Questions:
1. Can the starter draw too much current (even if I run a wire straight from the battery to the coil) to keep it from starting?
2. Can the external resistor be bad? According to the manual it's only a 20 guage wire.
3. Timing? I've got orange spark at all 4 spark plugs. This tells me the distributor is turning.

Please keep the ideas coming..."

"If your timing light is bad,

"If your timing light is bad, at least you can turn motor over until timing mark aligns and make sure you are pointing at either 1 or 4 on the cap, then you know you haven't jumped time.
Also try and turn distributor by hand if the alignment is slightly off, possible the hold down came loose and spun your distributor.
If your motor is spinning over well and you still have weak spark, there are threads which suggest you pull the esa circuit out of the equation, for testing purposes only... Otherwise i would try a coil, good luck...

Was a mechanic for 20+ years, just bought my first boat, couldn't pass it up for the price.."

timing belt might have jumped

timing belt might have jumped a tooth..original post is confusing - was it running fine b4 these new tune up parts went on?