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What did I do to my ignition?

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PhilSch

Regular Contributor
1988 V4 110hp Crossflow. I was running it at home on muffs but the motor got hot fast so went to shut it off with the key but it kept running. I panicked and yanked the plug wires to kill the motor. Worried I had damaged the ignition by pulling the wires I got the spark tester out; to my relief all 4 cylinders jumped a 7/16" gap. I fixed the cooling issue (new diverter hoses in the block) and ignition interrupt circuit so I could shut it off properly and took it to the lake for it's initial test run after a full rebuild.

Motor sounded good but no power, couldn't even get the boat on plane. Back home I checked compression which was good on all four. Spark jumped the gap on cylinders 2-4 but the coil on cyl 1 was kaput. While diagnosing the bad coil (swapping coils) I noticed when using the spark tester the sparks started deteriorating on the 3 working coils. First the spark got weaker looking, then intermittent and then disappeared altogether. Now none of the 3 coils will jump a 7/16" gap on the tester but they do show a decent spark on a grounded spark plug. The number one coil shows nothing on a grounded plug.

I am kicking myself for pulling the wires to shut off the motor. Of course I need to replace the number one coil. Should I replace the powerpack or could it be something else? I don't want to just throw parts at it and I don't have the sophisticated tools needed for diagnosing the ignition components.
 
Phil. If you go to full screen and page around, you can find it....just hit "keep viewing"....they are just making it a little tougher these days. Use the bar on the bottom to "dial in" your area of interest in the manual.
 
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timguy said:
Phil. If you go to full screen and page around, you can find it....just hit "keep viewing"....they are just making it a little tougher these days. Use the bar on the bottom to "dial in" your area of interest in the manual.
Click to expand...

I tried your suggestions to no avail. I think CDI has changed it since you last looked. There are some other sources out there though. I am a do it yourselfer at heart but at the same time I am not going to be doing enough outboard work to justify spending hundreds of dollars on test equipment. I do own a nice Fluke multimeter. If I buy the DVA adapter from CDI (511-9773) ould I need anything else for diagnosing outboard ignition systems? I know where I can get one for $80.
 
In searching about damage to ignition systems from unground high tension leads everything points to frying coils and CD units. I have found nothing about that causing damage stator and or timing base. Does anyone know if you are likely to ruin the stator or timing base from ungrounded high tension leads?

I already have 4 new coils. If that leaves just the powerpack then buying one for $100 should solve the problem but again I don't want to do that and find out it was the stator or timing base.
 
See post #6-------Perhaps investigate cranking.------Pappy read post #1 here and he knows .-----Cost no money to investigate either.
 
Well I am embarrassed to say the problem lay not in the ignition but rather the spark testing procedure. What was happening was the way I was laying the tester on the engine it was leaking spark to the engine that was not readily visible to me, thus the spark was not able to jump the gap on the tester. Once I was careful how I located the tester it showed strong spark on all but one cylinder which had a bad coil. Replaced that so it should be good to go.

For those that suggested a cranking issue (which makes perfect sense) that was not a factor. Four fresh, high AH, well maintained batteries in the boat, two for cranking. It cranks at high rpm, especially with no plugs in.
 
Un-grounded HT leads CAN finish off coils that are already on their way out by arcing across bad or cracked insulation. But in that case, they are shot anyway.
 
The one coil that failed was the first one that I pulled the leads off so it was arcing the longest. Based on what you master mechanics have said it had to be on it's last legs anyway. Before I discovered the spark tester was grounding on the motor I was thinking of taking the boat in for a professional diagnosis and I talked to an Evinrude mechanic with 40 years experience in Sacramento (Sacramento Outboard). He also said he did not think pulling those leads should have damaged the ignition.
 
Boobie said:
Dumb question. Does this motor now run ????
Click to expand...

Actually a good question. Haven't tried yet but I'm confident it will start. Hopefully it runs correctly. I have no history with this motor, don't even know why it got hot causing the original damage. Unfortunately nearby Folsom lake has been reduced to 5mph because the level is so low. Since the motor is newly rebuilt I need to get the boat on plane for break in so I am going to start it on muffs this morning and then take it to the Sac river tomorrow.
 
Yea!!! Took it out to the river today and the boat ran great. Jumped right up on plane, lots of power. Very smooth under power but when idling in gear it seems like there is a slight miss. Maybe the slow jets needs to be changed to a different size? The motor is .040 over so I increase the MJ's one size. All the other jets are stock and the orfices are clean.
 
Could be another weak coil too. If it was my boat, I would replace them all.....if it's a customer.....I would let them choose, I might recommend them what to do....based on their financial situation.
 
Take the cowl off when idling in water...if it misses and spits at carb check sync and link and maybe richen up low speeds 1 size
 
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