Small amount of water entered engine Compartment and now engine wont start

"Hello folks,
I am a newbie b

"Hello folks,
I am a newbie boater and have recently purchased a 1985 Chris Craft 169 with a 2.5l OMC I/O motor. Everything has be running just fine until we were tubing and stopped the boat. Some wake water washed up over the back of the boat and then it entered the engine compartment. One of our friends noted that they smelled something burning but couldn't verify from what component it was coming from. From that moment on we were unable to start the boat. I found the ignition fuse at the dash panel was blown and replaced it with another fuse. But that one eventually blew as well. Before the fuse blew, I could get the engine to roll over but it still would not start. Then eventually the fuse blew again.

We waited a few hours and tried to start the engine again (after the water has evaporated) but this didn't help our situation either.

I have taken a volt ohm meter and have checked all areas and have verified that all tilt and trim relays are working as they should and the engine can still be turned over with the starter. I have disconnected the Module at the rear of the engine compartment and that didn't seem to make a difference. I have checked the points to see if they were shorting to ground (which they are not). I have disconnected the alternator and there seems to be no short there either.

I have found that when I remove the coil, I don't blow the panel
fuse. Does anyone have any thoughts regarding this problem?

My gut feeling is I might have a bad ignition coil. So I have purchased a new coil and will try to see if the coil is at fault.

Thanks for your time."

Follow up:

I forgot to ment

Follow up:

I forgot to mention that I didn't check to see if the points are indeed shorting to ground (as they should when in motion). I have only verified that there is no short that would cause a premature fuse blowing at the instrument panel. BTW both 50 amp main fuses are working.

"Take the coil wire from the d

"Take the coil wire from the distributor and hold it near the block to see if there is any spark from the coil, other than that verify that you actually have 12v at the coil while cranking, if no spark but there is 12v then I would try another coil."

"Hello Bob,

Unfortunately,

"Hello Bob,

Unfortunately, here is where my problem lies... I am unable to start the engine because of the coil. With the coil in circuit, it keeps blowing the panel fuse which keeps power to the coil. Maybe I have put the wrong amperage of fuse in the circuit. Would a 20 amp be sufficient to keep the coil running. How many amps (20? 25? 30?) would a typical coil need to keep operational? I am unable to determine the proper amperage as there is no indication of that on the panel near the fuse.

Thanks for the speedy reply"

I'm pretty sure the standa

I'm pretty sure the standard fuse size for the ignition is 20 amps normally up under the dash (this is after the 50 amp fuse back on the engine). It's also possible that the solenoid is drawing too much current causing the fuse to blow. Does it blow instantly like a short or does it blow after a while more like an overload?

"Hello again Bob,

It seems

"Hello again Bob,

It seems to blow pretty quick. I was able to extend its life for a few minutes (just once) then the fuse blew again. I may have put a larger amperage fuse inline by mistake. I was panicking a little stealing from the other fuses in the panel at the time.

But currently I have replaced the fuse with a 20 amp and I keep blowing them pretty quick.

Thanks again for your time."

"I don't have a 1985 wirin

"I don't have a 1985 wiring diagram but in 86 the yellow/red wire comes from the ignition switch, energizes the assist solenoid which then energizes the starter solenoid and supplies the coil with 12v. Any one of those 3 things could be causing your fuse to blow. Power is also fed from the ignition switch to your gauges, this is all powered through that 20 amp fuse. You will have to go through a process of elimination to narrow it down. Maybe start with the coil since you already took that out of the circuit once and the then the fuse didn't blow. This diagram is for 1986 but it may help you if you don't have one.


"

Thanks Bob for your help... We

Thanks Bob for your help... We will be gone for a few weeks to the cottage and I will try a few things to see if we can get the boat started.. So I will be out of touch for a while as we don't have internet or phone service there.
Wish me luck..

"Hello Bob,

I forgot to fol

"Hello Bob,

I forgot to follow up on this situation for you and the other folks on this forum.. So here is the results.

I purchased a new coil (under the assumption that the coil was the problem) and sure enough it was the coil that shorted. The engine started immediately and I have had no problems since.

Thanks again Bob for all your help. Have a great season."