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1999 BF30 ignition repair help

L

Loosenuts

New member
I bought an old Honda BF30 outboard for my sail boat from craigslist. Ran great when I tested it at the guys house.
Installed it onto my boat and off I went for about 15 minutes. It began to cut out and then wouldn't run at all.
I took it to a marine mechanic that fired it up tuned it and said I had probably gotten some bad fuel.
Off I go again, same problem. I take the motor to the Honda dealer, six months later they say the ignition module is bad and it is no longer available.
I surf the net and find a place that test them and repairs them. Off it goes. I get it back and the note says "tests good"
I don't believe it. I think the module works until it gets hot and quits. When they test it cold, it tests good but the problem is still there.
Is my engine scrap? Does anyone know of a solution? BTW, I rebuilt the carbs and put a new fuel pump on it.
 
That must be a BIG sailboat to hang a 30 on the stern!

Yeah, I wouldn't believe it's good either. And it is highly likely you're right about it getting warm and crapping out.

On the other hand, this could be an issue with another component like the exciter coil or the pulsar coil.
But....sadly.....even if it was one of those, they aren't available anymore either.

It's a shame the ignition controls aren't available any longer. Seems like such a waste.
Honda made it impossible to repair them by encapsulating the components.
I don't know of any alternatives.

Are you positive it's not overheating and going into "guardian" (de-power) mode?
It shouldn't stop running if it is but, if it has 1 weak cylinder it might so you never know.

If you're sure it's not overheating you might try disconnecting the temperature sensor and see what it does. Those go bad and give a false overheat signal.
That part IS still available.

Other than that, if you need a discontinued part it would probably have to come from a parts motor or ebay. And you probably know better than I do that buying parts that way is the same as rolling dice in an alley.

Wish I had better news for you.
 
Thanks. I was afraid of this. I spoke with a friend that builds Porsche race cars about this. His thought was to replace the ignition with a generic one like an MSD or the like. He said all I needed to know was how it's triggered. Maybe I'll explore that path.
 
I think Jimmy's right. It's overheating, they go into gaurdian and if you don't shut down they will shut themselves down. These ignition systems are pretty bullet proof, they usually either work or they don't.Do the test Jimmy mention by unplugging the temp sensor, just don't run it for too long
 
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