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No Fire Evinrude Vindicator 200 hp Serial # E200CXEOC

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Dam13n

Contributing Member
All,

I've recently purchased a boat with an Evinrude Vindicator 200hp outboard SR# E200CXEC. The engine was firing and running really well at the time of purchase. I've set the Boat up for the winter and decided to give it a start this past weekend. However, when starting the engine I got nothing. Checked for spark with gap checker and no spark on any cylinder. I began to diagnose the symptoms and test backwards by unplugging the kill switch and shift switch, still no spark. I then checked the stator with volt meter for resistance. (brwn to brwn/yellow wire was 776 res) Even though this is low according to spec. Would this cause a "No Fire" condition? How do I check the power pack? How do I check the Rectifier/Regulator? Would bad Rectifier/Regulator cause no spark condition?

Also, I am getting gas to the carbs. Even sprayed a little choke spray into each cylinder to see if it was gas restricted. Still no Start/No Fire.

Thanks in advance
 
Charge the battery.------Have battery load tested.-----Perhaps inspect the starter motor.------No money spent doing those simple things.
 
Thanks for the info racerone. I’ve confirmed that the battery is good. Practically brand new battery with 1000 CCA and the cranking rpms are over 200. Still no spark. I did a little reading and will test to see if the rectifier is the corporate. I will unplug the two yellow wire connector and see if the spark returns.
 
Remove all the spark plugs so the engine turns as fast as possible. Use an adjustable gap spark tester set to 7/16" gap.
Using a neon style spark tester will not do the job.

Re-test for spark. If you have spark it is likely the engine is not turning fast enough with the plugs in. 200 rpm? I always heard 300.....
 
Thanks for the info daselbee.! So when i got home and used the adjustable gap checker and only could see fire on cylinders 3 and 4. All other don’t have fire at all. I disconnected the rectifier to see if things changed and it didn’t. Battery was fully charged over night and sounded as if it was cranking a lot stronger. Could this be signs of a bad power pack?
 
Is there a way to check the timer base and be sure that's the problem? I don't want to start throwing money on parts I don't need. I see that they can be pretty expensive.
 
Ok.. here is an update to what I'm seeing. I cranked the engine over tonight to see if i could see any arcs from wires to ground. Didn't see anything out of the norm. I did however check to see if fire/spark still existed on cylinders 3 & 4 and it did. So i moved the power supply from the coils that were firing to see if the spark would follow and it did. moved power supply from cylinder 3 to 1 and it fired jumped gap. moved the power supply from cylinder 4 to 2 and cylinder 2 sparked. This tells me that the coil packs are actually good. And its hinting to me that the trigger is ok. I am going to order and replace the power pack to see if this clears up the firing issue. I'll keep you posted when the part comes in and installed. I at least want to finish this thread out. I've read so many that were not updated with final results..
 
forgot to add that i did test the ignition coils from cylinders 5 and 6 by moving them up to the cylinders that fired. Those ignition coils showed spark across the gap too. So bad coil packs are out the question.
 
The spark test (air gap) should be done with all of the spark plugs removed so as to obtain the highest cranking rpm. The cranking rpm should be at least 300 rpm.

The black/yellow wire (kill circuit).... remove it from the ignition switch. If you now have spark with that wire removed but no spark with it connected, replace the ignition switch.
 
Ok, so i finally tested the spark without the plugs in with the exception of the cylinder i was testing and saw spark on all cylinders. Does this indicate i have a bad Starter? The pinion gear does not release while cranking. Thanks for everyone s help this far!
 
Guess i should’ve listened. I’ll have battery load tested tomorrow. If battery checks out ok would it be possible to test the starter strength on a machine like at an auto parts store?
 
The starter is easy to take apart for inspection.----May need new brushes ( $5 a set ) and an ohm check on the armature.---A little bit of grease.--May need to fabricate a simple tool to re-assemble.-----Cost very little money.
 
Well, i can finally put an end to this thread. It turned out to be a bad starter. The old starter was not making the flywheel spin fast enough to make the electrical components work properly. Put new starter on and she fired up. Took it to Lake Lanier, GA. Yesterday for a test run and she performed flawlessly. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.
 
Dam13n said:
Ok, so i finally tested the spark without the plugs in with the exception of the cylinder i was testing and saw spark on all cylinders. Does this indicate i have a bad Starter? The pinion gear does not release while cranking. Thanks for everyone s help this far!
Click to expand...

So, with the new starter, you now have your 300+ cranking rpms back (reply #12)... and the needed spark. Good for you. :)

This (the pinion gear statement) is normal. The pinion releases when the engine fires, kicking the pinion gear out, then the return pinion spring takes over from there.
 
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