My friend just bought a Bayliner with a 1986 Force 85HP. The initial runs were great but he took it out this weekend and lost power. I helped him troubleshoot on the water and we found the top cylinder (#1) was dead. The motor has 140PSI on all 3 cylinders and starts at the first turn of the key. When it did run it had good strong, smooth acceleration so I'm certain the motor is in overall good condition.
Last night we used a spark gap tester and found nothing on #1 but good strong spark (7/16" gap) on cylinders #2 & #3. We took the plugs out and grounded them and there wasn't any spark on #1 at all. I switched leads on the CDI between cylinder #1 & #2. With spark plugs removed I grounded the gap tester to the block to avoid firing out of order. The no spark condition traveled to #2 and #1 now had spark. I hadn't yet found the testing procedures on Outboard Ignition . com but will do more detailed testing now that I have that info.
Here's the weird thing: after putting the CDI leads back on the correct coils, cylinder #1 suddenly had spark It would only jump about 1/4" gap, but at least it had some fire to it. After reading more info on OBI . com and other sources it seems the wiring connectors on Force motors are very poor. I think a fractured wire in the connector might explain why I now had spark. I probably just jiggled things enough for it to make connection.
Would it make sense just to replace all of the original CDI-to-Coil connectors with marine grade insulated bullet or spade connectors? Surely that wouldn't be a problem if they are all snug fit and di-electric grease is used to keep out moisture.
Thanks and I appreciate any additional info.
KJ
Last night we used a spark gap tester and found nothing on #1 but good strong spark (7/16" gap) on cylinders #2 & #3. We took the plugs out and grounded them and there wasn't any spark on #1 at all. I switched leads on the CDI between cylinder #1 & #2. With spark plugs removed I grounded the gap tester to the block to avoid firing out of order. The no spark condition traveled to #2 and #1 now had spark. I hadn't yet found the testing procedures on Outboard Ignition . com but will do more detailed testing now that I have that info.
Here's the weird thing: after putting the CDI leads back on the correct coils, cylinder #1 suddenly had spark It would only jump about 1/4" gap, but at least it had some fire to it. After reading more info on OBI . com and other sources it seems the wiring connectors on Force motors are very poor. I think a fractured wire in the connector might explain why I now had spark. I probably just jiggled things enough for it to make connection.
Would it make sense just to replace all of the original CDI-to-Coil connectors with marine grade insulated bullet or spade connectors? Surely that wouldn't be a problem if they are all snug fit and di-electric grease is used to keep out moisture.
Thanks and I appreciate any additional info.
KJ