Tuning help!!

I have to give a little background on this problem, so please bear with me. I appreciate any help that I can get on this one. I have an '81 SN and I decided to upgrade from points to electronic ignition. Before the upgrade the boat ran perfectly... no issues in the last 3 years I have owned it. I probably should have left it as is, but anyways here are the upgrades that I recently did: Pertronix conversion kit with flame thrower coil (bypassed the B/R), New plugs (gaped at .45), new wires, new rotor and cap. Pretty much a basic install, or so I thought. I had trouble starting it, and once it was started it backfired on me. I adjusted the timing and idle which finally got the boat running pretty smoothly (off the fake- a-lake) Put it in the water and under a load it was missing terribly (could only get it up to about 30). I decided to inspect all the plugs and noticed that one of the plugs was fouled. I replaced ALL the plugs and the boat was no longer missing. However, I can only get the boat up to about 40 now at wide open throttle (before this upgrade I was able to get it up to 45 without pushing it (I have never had it at wide open throttle). Although it seems to be running OK, I feel a great loss of power. It is also harder to start when the engine is hot (even stalls sometimes after a re-start)

So now that you have the background story on this one (sorry it was so long), my question is: When I first did the install of the electronic ignitor and it backfired could I have messed something up in the carburetor? I have heard that I might need to replace the power valve. The carburetor was replaced new just before I bought it 3 years back.

I still have the old parts, but I would prefer not to put everything back in considering all of the dinero I put into it. Any help is greatly appreciated. THANKS!

I would double check the base timing and then look at the timing at 2500 rpm. You might have a problem with the mechanical advance or the conversin kit is installed quite right.

in the drive is fine should be around 30-35

Good luck Chat, wish my dad was still around so I could take him for a ride.

I know this will make you crazy Chris but this is why the '80 still has the old set-up it had when you worked on it. I am to afraid to screw it up.

john

I know you are right. Just gotta do it.

When are coming back down south?

john

John, you get the parts and we'll fix it up for you.

Maybe we should see about getting together for dinner some night while Chris is down????? If we get lots more rain, we might even be able to drop the boats in the water for a cruise!!!!

I have double checked everything. Wouldn't it miss really bad or consistently backfire if the wires were switched/crossed for some reason? It runs smooth right now, but I am not getting as much power as I used to get. I will double check the initial timing and at 2500 rpm and will report back tomorrow. Any other ideas for the loss of power?

Eddie: You know I'll take you up on the offer. If Chris will let know what to get. I know he's told me before but I got a bad memory. To many years spent remembering counts, colors and numbers.

A get-together when Chris is here sounds great to me. Dinner at least. No way we can get boats in at Shipp. Or we'll just do a movie and dinner with the ladies again, if a good flic comes around.

john

6strings wrote: Chata, I don't think you mentioned if your engine is a Ford or not....all of my Ford info indicates a .035" gap for the plugs.

That's correct Walt if you're still using points. With an EI upgrade you can easily run .045".

I will check the firing order again. According to the manual everything is in place as it should be. I have also checked all of the connections to make sure that the wire is seated as it should be. Trust me, this problem is driving me crazy. When I first did the EI upgrade I had the plugs gapped at .045, but I could not get the boat to fire up. I then gapped them down to .035 and got it running (still missing though). After reading more on this site, I went with the concensus that after the upgrade the plugs need to be set at .045.... so that's where I'm at now. Hopefully tonight I will finally get a chance to double check the timing. Thanks for the help guys.

In your defence there is a certain expectation that when one buys parts they work!
glad you got it fixed!