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Testing coils with ohm meter

S

snookwhaler

Regular Contributor
"Is there a way to test the co

"Is there a way to test the coils and wires with an ohm meter?

If so... What should the resistance be in the wires? And how do you check the coils?

Any info. on the power pack as well would be great.

I'm doing a camping trip out in the 10,000 islands area and don't want any problems. I don't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere.

I'm doing the plugs and cleaning the carb. on Thurs. The water pump is new last year. The lower unit is tip top as is pretty much the rest of the motor. I have never replaced the fuel pump diaphram. But I pull it every season and it looks like new. All the fuel lines are new as well.

Are there any tips on what else to check.

I plan on taking a small tool kit and a spare aluminum prop.

Any other advice is appreciated.

AJ"
 
i carry a inductive timing lig

i carry a inductive timing light in my tool box...with a dead in the water situation i want to make the fuel/fire decision as fast as i can..spare power pack...keep the plugs from last change..the normal tools plus electrical tape and cloth duct tape...spare fuel bulb..make sure battery in good shape and charging...when i had my campboat some miles back in bayous i carried spare battery in small boat...multimeter..a collection of what some call junk...used fuel hose...clamps for same...etc etc..
 
"if else fails flair gun,loud

"if else fails flair gun,loud horn,cell phone,
2 way radio,there is no such thing as boat junk
in a boat tool box.its all good for something."
 
"I carry these...they work wel

"I carry these...they work well
221847.jpg
Emergency power unit
 
"Thanks guys. The fuel bulb, p

"Thanks guys. The fuel bulb, power pack and handheld VHF are great ideas.

Funny.... I never even thought of paddles because the boat has been so reliable. And I am a kayak freak too. Pretty funny.

I appreciate the advice and will take it seriously.

AJ"
 
"i carry every thing mentioned

"i carry every thing mentioned above and a little more.......one thing i will not go out without is an extra fuel line fitting........yeah you would think you would notice a leak, if it had a bad o-ring, before you left the house but i have had to replace them during launch------the bad part is i never unhook the fuel lines unless for maintenance but have still replaced the one on the motor 3 times this year.

p.s. i also carry a fuel line splicer and extra fuel line just in case something rubs a hole in it."
 
so do i...this is an interesti

so do i...this is an interesting conversation to me...i have often though there is a market fo a tool kit just for the average fishing rig or runabout..some of us carry a pretty good hodgepodge of tools and parts in our boat but i guarantee i dont have an essential thing or two in the box..i do have a completely waterproof box tho..dont know what ammo it had but it is about 1.5 cubic feet inside..
 
"Ohm meter tests are not neces

"Ohm meter tests are not necessarily conclusive. The resistance can be right on the money, and yet the coil is no good.

Output tests are more reliable."
 
i agree tony...multimeter is g

i agree tony...multimeter is good for finding high resistance connections or wiring problems...excellent for finding voltage drops under load...every tool has its limitations...
 
"So it is safe to assume that

"So it is safe to assume that due to the age of the engine (25 years), I should replace the coils? Is there a "shelf life" for coils or is it based on hours of use, worn plugs, excessive gaps, excessive heat or anything else?

Would the same apply to the power pack at this age?"
 
"over time the spark intencity

"over time the spark intencity of the coil will berak down/get waeker,weaker,until failure.it can also give you a false idea that it is working
using a spark plug test light.
the best way to check it is called spark gap test
with out the plug in the wire it should jump 7/16
of an inch to ground,there are tools for this if you do not like how it feels if you are touching it when it FIRES
crazy.gif
"
 
"AJ--

one thing to consider

"AJ--

one thing to consider on coils and power pack: do you carry a flywheel puller in your onboard kit? could you pull flywheel while at sea even if you had one? power packs on this vintage OMC are not the most reliable, esp if run at trolling speeds. oars are important but it sounds like you may be going further out than you'd want to row home. before a serious backcountry trip like this area or Baja, i'd probably replace damn near everything ignitionwise and then keep old ones for spares..... how much is it worth to you to avoid being stranded even for an hour? "that sinking feeling when you're a mile offshore at dusk and no one's around to tow you and wind is blowing you further out......PRICELESS."

just my.02 worth."
 
"another item to add to your s

"another item to add to your spares kit which gives MAXIMUM peace of mind out in boonies: spare small motor with low-tech ignition etc. Maybe post ad at local supermkt: old outboard wanted, need not be running.....most of these don't run due to tuning stuff rather than bad compression.
OK, i'm at .05 worth so i'll shut up. good luck on your trip!"
 
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