CDI Electronics Outboard Ignition Troubleshooting Guide

50 TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE - Johnson/Evinrude Troubleshooting Johnson/Evinrude Troubleshooting Four Cylinder Engines (Without Quick-Start) 1988-1997 65-140 HP Single Power Pack Engines Service Note: Please use the Factory recommended spark plug (currently Champion QL77JC4/QL78YC) gapped at 0.030”. NO SPARK ON ANY CYLINDER: 1. Disconnect the Black/Yellow stop wire(s) AT THE POWER PACK(S) and retest. If the engine’s ignition has spark, the stop circuit has a fault. Check the key switch, harness and shift switch. 2. Disconnect the Yellow wires from the rectifier and retest. If the engine has spark, replace the rectifier. 3. Check the cranking RPM. A cranking speed of less than 250-RPM will not allow the system to spark properly. This can be caused by a weak battery, dragging starter, bad battery cables or a mechanical problem inside the engine. 4. Inspect and clean all engine and ignition ground connections. 5. Check the stator and timer base resistance and DVA output as given below for BOTH banks: WIRE READ TO OEM Ohms CDI Ohms DVA (Connected) DVA (Disconnected) Brown Brown/Yellow 510-620 530-630 150-400 V 150-400 V (*) White Purple 30-50 38-48 0.6 V + (a) 0.6 V + (#) White Blue 30-50 38-48 0.6 V + (a) 0.6 V + (#) White Green 30-50 38-48 0.6 V + (a) 0.6 V + (#) White Pink 30-50 38-48 0.6 V + (a) 0.6 V + (#) (*) This reading can be used to determine if a stator or pack has a problem. For instance, if you have no spark on any cylinder and the stator’s DVA reading is out of spec – disconnect the stator wires and recheck the DVA output. If the reading is still out of spec – the stator is bad. If the reading is now within spec – the pack is bad. (#) This reading can be used to determine if a pack has a problem in the triggering circuit. For instance, if you have no spark on one cylinder and the timer base’s DVA reading for that cylinder is low – disconnect the timer base wires and recheck the DVA output. If the reading stays low – the timer base is bad. If the reading is now within spec – the pack is bad. (a) Check stator DVA first. Then if timer base DVA is 0.6 - 2.5 V, the pack is faulty. If below 0.6 V or 2.6 - 99 V, the timer base is faulty. 6. Check the triggering and charge coil flywheel magnets for cracked, broken and loose magnets. NO SPARK OR INTERMITTENT SPARK ON ONE CYLINDER OR ONE BANK: 1. Swap the stator’s Brown for Brown/Yellow and see if the problem moves. If it does, the stator is bad. 2. Check the stator and timer base resistance and DVA output (see NO SPARK ON ANY CYLINDER above). 3. Check the DVA output on the Orange wires from the power pack while connected to the ignition coils. You should have a reading of at least 150V or more. If the reading is low on one cylinder, disconnect the Orange wire from the ignition coil for that cylinder and reconnect it to a load resistor. Retest. If the reading is now good, the ignition coil is likely bad. A continued low reading indicates a bad power pack or timer base. 4. Visually inspect the ignition coils for burned or discolored areas and cracks in the casing (indicating arcing inside the coil). 5. Swap the ignition coil with one that is sparking correctly. 6. Check the power pack resistance given below: Wire Color (CYL) Check to Wire Color Resistance Orange/Blue (#1) Blue 110 (a) Orange/Green (#3) Green 110 (a) Orange/Violet (#2) Purple 110 (a) Orange (#4) Pink 110 (a) White Black (Engine Ground) Shorted Brown Black (Engine Ground) Open or M range Brown/Yellow Black (Engine Ground) Open or M range (a) Use a comparison reading as different brands of meters will give different readings. The typical range is 90 to 150 ohms for the Orange wires. You should have approximately the same ohm reading on all six tests with the Orange wires. If one of the SCR’s inside the power pack is shorted or open, the readings will be quite a bit different. 7. Rare causes include a weak trigger magnet. If possible, try another flywheel.