1978 CC Ski Nautique Engine Type & Mystery Box?

Voltage regulator.

Better pics of the engine would be helpful. The id # is unlikely to help. Exhaust manifolds and paint color make Commander a good guess with nothing else to go on.

Thank you Grand Poobah! @ Baitkiller I am not Lisa so no it's not me.

The last time I took the boat I barely got it started at the boat launch. After a few jumps I got it started and was afraid to turn off the engine so we ran around for about 30-40 minutes. I shut the boat down and BARELY got it to start a second time. I decided to leave the engine on and drive around for 20 more minutes, at idle the engine finally quit and the battery was flat out dead so no luck starting again. I assumed it might be the alternator. I yanked the alternator and had it tested, it passed. Auto Zone tested my battery which was less than a year old and gave me a free replacement they said it was basically dead so I thought the new battery would fix the problem. New battery and functional alternator I couldn't get the boat to start at all now. It was starting immediately before I started having this electrical issue as my mechanic re-wired the ignition and cleaned up some of the wiring it was starting like a champ. My mechanic thinks it's this voltage regulator box, he told me to look into fixing this and see if that does it b/c the coil isn't showing anything north of 7-8V and it looks like it pulls from that box so that's where my mechanic said I should check, either that or maybe a bad coil but my coil is brand new and my brother insists that coils don't just go bad in their first few months usually. I am going to try and get a voltage regulator from Auto Parts store and see if that works. Thanks so much for the reply. This forum is awesome. I hope to give back as I learn more. Sincerely, BOAT- BUST OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND!!!!!!!!!!!

haha yeah @8122pbrainard I think my mechanic is more sick of me than the boat itself. I was a little trigger shy on posting as I was worried I might not be clear enough. The engine will not start up, the starter is going and it's trying to start but no ignition whatsoever. We have brand new battery. Will post a video of this tomorrow... It's the same sound an engine makes when it's not getting any fuel but we know its getting fuel so I think it's the spark/electrical type problem.... Alternator, starter are fine, brand new battery. We recently put in a new ignition switch and did some re-wiring as the key switch was not wired correctly. He made some wiring adjustments and changes that I am not 100% up to speed on but I was told to do a voltage check on this voltage regulator and report back in. That would explain why the voltage at the coil is sub 10V right? Maybe the regulator is t*ts up? Thanks for your patience on all of this, I sell software and airplanes, don't know squat about boats. However I'm stoked to learn more and I am learning! Thanks again for all of your comments. This forum is awesome.

Your coil is getting less than 10v because there's a resistor ahead of it punching it down as the coil doesn't like a good 13.6. I agree with Pete, find a new mechanic! Voltage regulators usually don't go bad.... Come to think of it , I've never replaced one and all the ones I've ever seen or had were all original. If your "mechanic" straightened out the ignition wiring, I'd strongly suspect that to be the problem. Dumb question, you don't have a safety kill switch do you? Or perhaps a hole where there was one say around the throttle?

And I'd lean towards Commander on engine. Wasn't Crusader a lighter blue and the glimpse of that manifold elbow sure looks like a Commander log.

I'll make note on the mechanic. If anyone knows a good mechanic in Austin TX where I can get some help with this boat let me know. Also regarding my engine and condition of the boat (I will post more pics) I scored this boat from a friend that let it sit outside and stopped caring for it and it didn't move for 4-5 years sitting outside uncovered. I've been restoring it slowly, I am going to publish a library of pics b/c I have some questions about the hull and other projects I'd like to take on. Thanks for the tips on the coil and the resistor, etc. I need to get out a paper and trace this out and follow a few wires and get some better answers. I have also heard the voltage regulators don't go bad as I've seen the inside of them and it doesn't look like anything that would go bad easily. I will look for a safety kill switch. I don't have one that I know of but might be a nice thing to have come to think of it! Will do some investigating today and report back with some pics. I would buy all of you a beer if I could for the advice. thanks so much. We need an online beer thing on here where u can automatically give the guy with the best tips a beer? cheers y'all.

Okay I'll look into that as well. The wiring harness was also modified and changed up. I am going to get the voltage regulator as I think I can get that at a auto parts store rather easily. My brother sent me this link does this resonate with anyone? http://www.junkyardgenius.com/charging/ford02.html

The boat ran all summer and it was sparking fine, I am pretty sure he used the point file on the point set. Engine was great up until this recent electrical problem. I know its a marine battery but I agree on the auto parts guys. Will double check and I'm going to check out the FAQ section on maint.

The battery is Duralast Marine- Starting and Deep Cycle - however it doesn't have any other ID on it. It also doesn't have the cranking amps listed. When they gave it to me there was some uncertainty but based on what you are telling me I think battery is ok.
Engine is CM1-90-930 Commander?

Here's a link to some pics. http://imgur.com/a/YGiSp
I can't seem to get the link to work in this forum I guess you have to copy paste?

Having trouble with the links, ahh this is better...

Dan,
Here's your link. For direct linking on CCfan, go to "post reply" and not the "quick reply". Click on the world icon with the up arrow. The first box is your description of the link and the second is where you paste the address.

The combination battery you have will work but it is a compromise and may die early. Yup, don't go to Autozone! We, including myself have interesting stories about the place!

Is this the right way to identify the engine #? Seems as if my starter is blocking my view and I would need to disconnect to identify my engine here..

I can't get the engine to start. It will not turn over, it's not getting spark. Recently my mechanic came by to winterize and did some trouble shooting and told me it's most likely the little box he thinks might be bad. So I just purchased a new voltage regulator today and no luck, nothing is different. The battery is good and new and it seems like the coil isn't getting the power it needs from what I've gathered. My mechanic said it's most likely the coil or the voltage regulator. I just replaced the voltage regulator and nothing. The only thing that's changed along this process is the alternator was taken off for testing and put back on. My alternator only had two wires going in and out of it which another friend pointed out was strange. I think the heart of the matter ties into this post earlier.

"When I bought my 1978 in 2012 before it was restored, the main issue was that the wire harness in the boat had fried the voltage regulator and the alternator. According to my mechanic once the correct wiring was done to the original diagram, and the shorted out and spliced wires were replaced. Bingo, Motor fired up on the second crank, and all systems were go! The wiring in a boat that old is a big and costly issue if it had not been maintained"

I think the best strategy moving forward will be to start wire by wire and map it all out and make sure it's in line with the manual. Or maybe take it to a local shop since I've lost faith in the mechanic that I basically spent upwards of $2500 getting me up to this point. I found a local shop that I didn't know about where all they do is boats. I have exceeded my budget so I was hoping to take matters into my own hands more as $$ is a concern. I feel like I really need to troubleshoot battery, keyswitch, alternator, solenoid, voltage regulator and coil wiring to make sure it's all in check. voltage check at the coil was low 6-7.

Thanks Hollywood. It's turning over for sure. It ain't getting no spark. I appreciate the correction.

Sounds good. I got the multimeter and a six pack I think I can figure it out. Thanks again for all the help.

You could remove the cap and take a picture and post it.

DAN, The wire diagram you need is TRBenj: Fast find it under
(1980 Ski Nautique wiring diagram, Correct Craft Fan.com) This was posted by Pbrainard, 4/19/2007. I found this for my mechanic two years ago and he said it was excellent. Thanks TRBenj /Pbrainard. Please note:
They used a 4 wire alternator on the PCM ford not sure what is on yours.
You said 2 wire, is there now so as you said things may have changed, I had my 4 wire rebuilt to original. So the diagram was good for us. Also I was told that some alternator replacement's are 2,3, wire etc. making it more confusing and can be (internal and or external) voltage regulated. Also I found out as the process for me progressed that (Tined wire is used not stuff bought at Home Depo).Buy this at any Marine store. Also wire gage is important and not covered in the diagram and international color code has changed over the years.
Home wiring and boat wiring are also different as night and day.
I feel your boat engine wiring looks pretty original and if you check all the wire's you can visually for breaks and bad connections things will turn around for you on this. I did see a few wires in the picture that seemed to be questionable the one 8" from the alternator for one . This splice is what my boat was full of. One more thing, In the old days they used Amp meters in the dash, vs: Volt meter's. This is also very important to look at the way its wired, as they are very different in how it is wired. I was told all this by my mechanic who did my 1978.