1989 Imperial with AQ131275 starts and runs great then dies for 15 minutes

"Good day all, I have an AQ131

"Good day all, I have an AQ131/275 set up on my Imperial boat and it starts right up all the time, runs excellent for about 1/2 hour all gauges fine temp around 185, then it just stalls out and will not start. I have spark (Tested by hooking up my timing light and cranking the motor) and fuel ( I can physically see the fuel being pumped into the carberator when I open the throttle)I put a set of Bosch platinum 4 plugs in but I am at a loss as to why it will not start. I wait approximately 15 minutes and it fires up instantly and runs great agian for another 1/2 hour then the ritual repeats itself. Any Takers???? Does anyone know if it is possible for my timing light to indicate spark present but the spark never actually crossing to the diode on the spark plug???? Is it possible to lose compression when hot and then have it return when it cools?? I am at my wits end on this one if anyone can help I will appreciate it.

Fun.....nofun.....fun.....nofun...fun....nofun"

"This kind of behavior is ofte

"This kind of behavior is often caused by a thermo-electric problem. Some 'common' component gets heated up and fails. In this case I would suspect the condenser first and then the coil. That you have 'spark indication' in the timing light it may not mean that you have voltage enough to create the spark itself, just that there is a voltage pulse high enough to make the pick up on the light react."

"If you still have points and

"If you still have points and condenser in your distributor, I strongly suggest that you get rid of them immediately and install a Pertronix electronic ignition kit. The Pertronix ignitor kit number for your Bosch distributor is 2842. It is fairly inexpensive and it is installed in 30 minutes. Upgrading to Pertronix will end a countless number of ignition-related problems.

Check this link for more information.

http://www.pertronix.com/ignition_products/ignitor.htm"

"El Pescador:
ometimes I wond

"El Pescador:
ometimes I wonder about Your connection to Petronix. It seems that they are the only soilution to ignition problems. They are not - they only replace the points and condencer! Even price vice I do not find them compareble to the point/condencer ignition on the 4-cyl engines as they seem to have quite a life time. On the v 8 it might be a solution, specially on the old Volvo V8.
However the use of 'dubious' replacement parts in the ignition system never pays off, go for the originals! They may look the same, may have the same 'specifications', but I have never found any of equal life time and quality!"

"Morten, you seem to speak fro

"Morten, you seem to speak from your experience, and I am speaking from mine.

As the owner of more than one boat with Volvo Penta power plant I have learned the hard way what works and what doesn't (at least, for me). I used to have a 4-cylinder B-21 (AQ140) that would not idle properly, would stall by no apparent reason, you name it. When I followed the advice from someone who had been in my situation and I installed a Pertronix kit, my ignition problems disappear. Are you suggesting that I should not offer advice about something that has worked for me? Have you noticed that new engines do not have anymore ignition equipment with condenser and points? So what do you find wrong with a retrofit that works on your present distributor and has proven reliability? Have you ever tried one, by any chance? Somehow, I suspect you have not.

I thought the particiaption in a forum was about trying to help others. This is all what I am trying to do. And for the record, I do not have shares in Pertronix, and I do not represent them, or profit from them in any way shape or form, and I don't know of any friend or relative who does."

"El Pescador, not surprised ab

"El Pescador, not surprised about Your reaction.
This forum is free for anyone to post both questions and answers. If we concentrate on the answering participants You may perhaps have noticed that some are present or 'retired' professionals who base their answers on not one experience but close to a life time of experiences. The other main group are the 'sofa mechanichs', that may have some personal experience, but probably no or limmited professional experience.
If I have experience with electronic add-ons in ignition systems? I have probably removed more than I have installed!
The Pertronix page even recommend to change to a 40Kv coil, but they do not mention that this may call for a change of plug cables as well unless You want sparks and misfireing all over the engine room! Mercruisers are famous for that problem.
In the newer fully electronic systems all parts including cables and pluggs are designed and balanced to eachother. Change one 'unit' and you blow the system. Ref Evinrude/Johnson and NGK 'R' plugs! Some manufacturers have come up with electronic replacement/modification kits like OMC, I have installed some, but as I mentioned not for economic reason, just that the owners was to far away from a service shop and wantet a maintanance 'free' system. However for the price included new shift modules etc they might as well paid me every year for 5 years to take aday travelling and replacing points and condencers. As for thr Volvo 4 cylinders they have the most stable distributor system on the marked providing You use the correct parts! The Volvo V8's is a different story, they seem to eat points and condencers. The OMC/Mercruisers are far better in that aspect, but again it mainly comes down to part quality!
If You had problem with our Volvo AQ140 that You only managed to solve with a Pertronix, good for You. However I think there are still some 100 thousands running that still manage quite well with points and condencers but they probably have a different mechanic."

"Morten, one interesting thing

"Morten, one interesting thing of posting on an Internet forum is that you cannot see who you are dealing with. Therefore, you are free to keep guessing about a poster's qualifications and experience...and also to keep erring in your process of shooting in the dark.

Back to Pertronix, I don't believe you have ever seen me posting about their 40000V coils, or ignition wires, etc. I have only recommended their electronic ignition switch, because it is a direct replacement to points and condensers and I know it works. This is not only my own experience, but other boaters' as well - just google the words "pertronix", "boat" and "forum" and you will have a hard time trying to find any negative reviews.
And its price (around $80) is not much higher than taking the boat to your friendly neighbourhood marine mechanic and paying him to replace your distributor's points and condensers.

Your comment about removing more add-on electronic ignition systems than you have installed makes me believe you have never seen a Pertronix kit before. Again, please check with Google if you want to find out how well those kits work, you dont have to believe the word of one of those who you seem to view as "sofa mechanics". Finally, one thing about which most "professional" marine mechanics seem to agree is that points and condensers are very, very good...for their job security."

"As for 'anonymus' pos

"As for 'anonymus' posting, some of us do it openly with name and contact possibilities, some does it semi anonymus as 'visitor'!
One of the many reasons quite some licenced and experienced marine mechanics do stay with original design and equipment is that there are too many lawyers around that would be more than happy to rip some money off them for installing 'non factory approved' components if something happends to the engine or boat. We do not need, or I did not need, points and condencers to survive, in fact quite a lot of the workload was from similar 'customers' You find at this place that have been given wrongly or uncompleete advice.
But let us leave this discussion and concentrate on getting Toby back on the water."

change your coil

change your coil

"Thanks all, I think I will pu

"Thanks all, I think I will purchase a new coil. I have already replaced the points and condenser and I am somewhat tempted to convert them to electronic components, but the coil does appear to be the original so I will bear tye expense of a new one and if the problem persists then I will go for the conversion.

Thanks to all who have offered their knowledge to my problem.

Toby"

"Morten, I am appalled by your

"Morten, I am appalled by your arrogance.

I do not see any requirements to register in order to post in this forum. In fact, the main reason why I do not register is because providing an e-mail address (visible to everybody) is required, and I am sick and tired of getting spam.

I do not see any requirements to be a licensed marine mechanic to try to help others in this forum. In fact, I have worked in the past as a marine mechanic, but this is besides the point. I suggest that most of the people who post here are just boaters trying to help others, and you can consider me one of them. It is also up to the original poster to either follow or ignore the advice given here.

I would appreciate if you limit yourself to give advice when asked, and stop making misleading, belittling, unfounded comments about what others (me in this case) have to say. Thank you."

"El Pescador, a breakerless di

"El Pescador, a breakerless distributor can be a fine upgrade but it is not a panacea for all performance problems. Morten seems to be presenting a fair and balanced evaluation. He does not appear to have a strong bias toward either style and is merely sharing experience and knowledge.
Everyone is aware of breakerless conversion kits but many skilled mechanics don't see an immediate need to convert every point distributor on earth and they aren't getting rich off of a points and condenser conspirancy."

"Eddie, I agree that getting r

"Eddie, I agree that getting rid of points and condensers does not solve all performance problems. I also agree that, if you are not experiencing any ignition problems, there is no immediate reason for upgrading to Pertronix or another electronic ignition kit. However, you probably agree with me that upgrading eliminates one of the most likely areas of trouble in the ignition system. In other words, upgrading means no more frying the points if you forget to turn off the ignition key; no more being unable to start because of moisture inside the distributor; no more unable to start (or misfiring) due to defective points/condenser; no more adjusting points gap; etc. And most important, it makes troubleshooting ignition problems much easier.

I am not aware of any new power plants being installed from factory with distributors carrying points and condensers, so there must be a good reason for that. Also, I know of quite a few people who have switched from points to breakerless, but I haven't heard of anyone (so far) that has gone the other way around (although it is possible that some may have)."