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1965 Evinrude Lark VII wiring/starting probs...

S

Soggy

New member
I just aquired a 1965 Evinrude Lark VII 40 hp.
The guy I got it from was, I think, "at the end of his rope with
trying to start this engine. I'm fairly mechanically inclined when it comes to
most engines...and have done automotive engine rebuilds...so I figured I'd take the good deal
and at the very least, gain a nice 14 foot Doral runabout, that I may need to find a motor for.
having done a fairly thorough inspection on both the power head and lower, it seems that there are a lot of new parts, in fact, the lower unit is near mint with new oil, still very good deals, and a brand new impeller. Even all the cover screws have been replaced with new stainless ones. The plugs I've replaced myself, old ones and cylinders/piston heads look pretty clean as well. I removed the carb to inspect and do a kit on it...found a couple of things missing (needle valve spring, low speed idle screw etc) so I replaced the entire carb for an identical one from a recently running parts engine, then I found some wiring issues...there is no wiring 'plugs' so to speak, everything makes sense for the most part (from what I've been able to glean from forum diagrams etc)) except there's questions about how the wires from the safety switch (do both terminals on this switch go to ground?) and the wiring of the cutout switch/two black wires? (How can I determine which terminals on the ignition key switch are the right two to hook up those black wire / cutout switch terminals to using a test light?)
hard to make out those connections in the diagrams, starter seems ok, motor spins and puns water...can smell that it's getting gas...just won't fire up. I suspect it's a coil and points prob or a simple wiring issue. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.
 
OK lets start right at the beginning.First thing to do is check the compression.Anything round or over 100 psi is ok ,what's important is that both cylinders be the same (+- 5%).Next comes spark.Just putting a plug against the block doesn't cut it.the spark has to jump an open air gap of 7/16 to 1/2 an inch.If it doesn't,off comes the flywheel to inspect,clean and regap the points and inspect the coils.If any coils show evidence of cracking discard and fit new,available on here or at NAPA.Points should be set at 0.020 as ballpark figure,can be set more precisely using multimeter or similar.Next comes fuel.Check supply to carb by removing feed line to carb and turning motor over.If OK move to carb itself.Remove ,strip and soak in carb cleaner or neat Pinesol over night,Clean out ALL orifices especially under the welch plug.wash clean in hot soapy water and blow dry.Reassemble using your carb kit taking care the float is level when the bowl is held upside down.Renew the packing on the low speed needle and set the needle 1 1/2 turns out from lightly seated.If all this checks out your motor should be good to go.I must admit that the safety switch is a bit like voodoo to me but the killswitch just grounds the black wires from the magneto and the engine stops.Let us know how you are doing.
 
Is it possible for this engine to run with both black wires from the coil plate left unconnected to anything/or each other?
(if this is possible, would make my wiring / starting problems easier to figure out.
they're only for grounding a cylinder to stop the motor right?
 
Great info. Carb I'm gonna say is ok 'cause I saw it working prior to it being attached to this motor.
Gonna try new coils as I'm reasonably sure it's a wiring or points coil issue. Especially where there was a lot of wiring butchery under the console. I figure that the fact that the magneto wires are on the ignition switch next to live leads....I'm pretty sure someone at some point cooked a coil....or perhaps it's just a bad connection somewhere along the line. Will let you know when I get a good look at them. Is there a way to test coils with a multimeter?
thanks in advance for the helpful comments.
 
From the look of the diagram on this site...looks to me like one of the leads on the safety switch goes to power head ground and the other is grounded to the cutout switch's mounting bolt, making it a ground as well. Is that right?
 
Soggy said:
Is it possible for this engine to run with both black wires from the coil plate left unconnected to anything/or each other?
(if this is possible, would make my wiring / starting problems easier to figure out.
they're only for grounding a cylinder to stop the motor right?
Click to expand...
Yes,they don't do anything unless they're grounded.
 
Spark on these old magnetos should jump a gap of 1/4" ---5/16" with ease.----Coils are cheap and it is hardly worth testing them with a multimeter.-----where in Ontario ?
 
I'm about 40 minutes north of Kingston. There is a Johnson/Evinrude dealer there...I'll pick up some coils and go from there. Will let you know how it goes.
 
You may be able to pick up these coils at a NAPA auto parts place.---Often they know little about marine motors , but they may carry the SIERRA parts catalogue.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
You can isolate the two small black wires from the armature plate to see if the motor gets spark on both cylinders. to kill it just use the choke. The center post on the cutout switch is where you connect two black wires one from the plate and the other goes to the ignitio.n switck M terminal. The cutout switch is not necessary all it does is short out one of the coils in case you lose a prop or the motor kicks up it wont run away. The stud on the side of the cutout switch is not grounded it just connects the start safety switch to the start solenoid it will start in gear but the throttle must be at low idle speed to crank the starter.
http://www.maxrules.com/graphics/omc/wiring/18-25_EL-START_TO_1972.jpg
In an emergency you can wire it like this but if it is in gear at WOT it will throw you off the back of the boat when it starts.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the diagram...just what the doctor ordered for troubleshooting my electrical wiring issues.
 
Update: found the problem....
...replaced the coils, points, condensers. (Had spark, but nowhere near as strong as you had described)
Smoked like a forest fire for a couple minutes (I'm assuming while it burned up the excess SeaFoam I had liberally applied) then ran like a top with surprisingly little adjustment.
thanks to all for the help/suggestions!
 
I removed the entire plate...old could and points had been there so Lon it was easy to mount the new stuff in the exact same spots as the old. (Probably why I had surprisingly little adjustment required)
 
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