Need Help With No Spark Issue
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6833
Printed Date: November-15-2024 at 7:59pm
Topic: Need Help With No Spark Issue
Posted By: joed
Subject: Need Help With No Spark Issue
Date Posted: May-25-2007 at 9:29pm
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Hey guys... a little help please!
My boat ran great last season after you guys helped me out. I got it out of storage today... no spark! A buddy of mine that KINDA knows a bit about engines and boats helped me out. But I trust you guys more! 
We tested for spark at the plugs... nothing. He put a spark plug in the end of the coil wire... no spark. We tested voltage at the positive terminal... about 12 volts. He assumed since the coil had power but no spark at the coil wire... that the coil is probably bad. Is this correct? What I read in the manual is that positive terminal should be at least 9.5 volts, and I should test the negative terminal, and that should be at least 8.5 volts? Is that what I should focus on? Or can I assume that my buddy's intuition is correct? He said I could get the coil checked at an Auto Parts store? Please guide me boat gods! Thank you! I'm learning what I can because I cannot afford "professional" help. I'm lucky if I have enough money to fill the gas tank due to a family members struggle with Alzheimers ( ugly disease)... so I certainly appreciate your guidance. Cheers. Joe |
Replies:
Posted By: boat dr
Date Posted: May-25-2007 at 10:18pm
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Points, points, points.Install a module, throw the points away.Mallory, Petronix both offer them..........boat dr ------------- boat dr /diaries/details.asp?ID=4631 - 1949 Dart /diaries/details.asp?ID=1533 - 1964 American Skier |
Posted By: nuttyskier2002
Date Posted: May-26-2007 at 5:05am
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Your reading of 12 volts on the + side of the coil is good. Now, if you have a 12 volt test light, attach the clip to ground and touch the pointed tip to the - coil terminal. Have a friend crank the engine over with the key. The test light should flash. If it flashes and you have no spark, your coil is probably bad. If the light stays steadily on, you have an issue with the module or points. You can also test the coil by attaching a test wire to the - side of the coil. With the key on, ground this test lead and when you unground it the coil should spark. ------------- 95 Malibu Echelon w/Mercruiser 350 Magnum Skier Former boats: 88 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II 59 Chris Craft Capri (woody) |
Posted By: barturd
Date Posted: May-26-2007 at 5:25am
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I just got my '70 Freeport running. It has a 235 HP 318. I put new points, plugs, rotor and condenser. With all of the parts OEM the cost was like $36. Most of that was plugs. The points and condenser were about $8 a piece. I had people suggest installing a module but I wanted to hear it run all stock before anything. I just took a shot in the dark at .015" for the point gap and it fired so easily it was amazing. I can't wait until we get the points adjusted and the timing dialed in tight. I need to replace the water pump impellers. I'm having so much fun cleaning this boat up and getting it ready to go in the water it is great. ------------- Bart's got another bunny. |
Posted By: joed
Date Posted: May-26-2007 at 7:43am
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Hey guys,
Thanks for the tips. I am ordering a pertronix on Tuesday... but unfortunately that isn't going to get me on the water this weekend. Here's where I stand this morning... I checked resistance of my coil... Keep in mind I'm kinda new to this multimeter stuff. Resistance between + and - terminals read 2.1 ohms on the 200ohm setting (the lowest setting I have on my meter). The info I have says it should read about .75 ohms. Possibly this reading is not accurate due to the 200ohm setting on my meter. Get a new meter... right? 
Resistance between the - terminal and the coil output terminal read 7.31 ohms at the 20K ohm scale. My info says it should be around 10,000 ohms. Stupid question... Do I need to multiply that 7.31 reading by 20K if the meter is set to the 20k setting? If so... that would put that reading at about 146K, a far cry from 10K. I'm desperately trying get my family on the water this weekend. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Nutty Skier... I'm going to try the coil spark test as soon as it quits raining. Thanks guys. Joe |
Posted By: nuttyskier2002
Date Posted: May-26-2007 at 9:03am
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No, you do not multiply by 20K when your meter is on the 20K scale. 7.31 reading on that scale means 7.31K or 7310 ohms which may be a little low but you should still get spark. Sounds like you are using an analog meter. Is this right? Digital ones are the most accurate. Try the spark test that I described. Let me know. Brian ------------- 95 Malibu Echelon w/Mercruiser 350 Magnum Skier Former boats: 88 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II 59 Chris Craft Capri (woody) |
Posted By: joed
Date Posted: May-26-2007 at 5:29pm
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Update...
Pertronix EI and Ignitor Coil are on order. But in the meantime... I had my coil tested... the resistance test indicated faulty, so I bought a new coil and a ballast resister. I installed both. I have 12 volts at both + and - coil terminals, and spark from the coil terminal wire. Still no spark to the plugs. So my next question is do I look at points and condenser? At least until my Pertronix comes? Cap, rotor, and wires are nearly brand new. I cleaned the points with some 400 wet/dry paper... no help. What's the next step guys? Thanks again for all your help and advice. My family's dying for a boating fix on Monday. Cheers. Joe |
Posted By: nuttyskier2002
Date Posted: May-27-2007 at 4:01am
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If I understand you correctly, you now have spark from the center (tower) of the coil. So now you have to get that to the plugs. The path from there is through the high voltage wire attached to the center of the coil, into the center of the distributor cap, then to the rotor and from there to the appropriate spark plug wire. If the spark isn't making it through this path, something is grounded or open or installed incorrectly. Wires, rotor, cap. That's what you are left with. That is of course considering that your points are gaped properly and are not shorted (coil side of points). Good luck! I will be heading out of town early in the AM and won't be back til late Tuesday. Hope you get her fixed tomorrow. Brian ------------- 95 Malibu Echelon w/Mercruiser 350 Magnum Skier Former boats: 88 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II 59 Chris Craft Capri (woody) |
Posted By: joed
Date Posted: May-27-2007 at 8:50pm
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Good news Brian! She's purring like a kitten. Installed new points and condenser... gapped, set dwell, and timing.
We're off to the lake first thing tomorrow. My Pertronix EI should be here Wed or Thurs. Thanks for all the help! Joe |
Posted By: logicsound
Date Posted: June-16-2007 at 11:38am
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i have a similiar issue, but i have the electronic conversion kit, (351windsor) I get spark out of the coil but no spark to the plugs..boat was running fine, What are my steps to troubleshoot this?
Thanks |
Posted By: boat dr
Date Posted: June-16-2007 at 12:27pm
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logicsound,Is the rotor turning???? If so sounds like a bad rotor or distributor cap.Are you getting a good hot blue arc out of the coil wire, you should be able to "HEAR" it fire,crack crack.........boat dr
------------- boat dr /diaries/details.asp?ID=4631 - 1949 Dart /diaries/details.asp?ID=1533 - 1964 American Skier |
Posted By: logicsound
Date Posted: June-16-2007 at 1:29pm
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yes the rotor turns, tried new cap and rotor, and yes the spark looks good from the coil, but I could not hear it, then I disconnected they grey tach wire and it sounded alot stronger, and I am getting spark at the plugs, but still no start and to add to my problems I turned the key off and they boat kept cranking??? had to pull coil wire. any ideas ? by the way I installed new starter and relay
Thanks |
Posted By: joed
Date Posted: June-16-2007 at 4:13pm
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Hey logic... did you just install the electronic conversion? If so... maybe you need to reset the timing.
After I installed the Pertronix my engine wouldn't start. I had to rotate the distributor a bit until it started... then warmed it up and set the timing. I can't believe what a difference the EI kit makes... super easy starts, great idle, good performance. Best $100 bucks I've ever spent, and I learned how to use a timing light too! Thanks for all your help and support guys... you rock! Joe |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: June-16-2007 at 4:36pm
Trever, This is from my other post to you in "engine repair". Did you see it and did you check the voltage? Quote: When the new starter stayed engaged, you may have another problem other than a bad starter relay. You will need a volt meter or a test light. Check that the 12 volts coming from the ignition switch to the starter relay coil is actually turning off. It is the small wire on the relay. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
logicsound wrote:Posted By: abolton
Date Posted: June-20-2007 at 7:08pm
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78 SN 351 Ford w/ Elect. conversion won't start hot, changed out the coil and it started for a few days, but now its back. Gets gas, but when its hot won't start, any ideas? ------------- ABE |
Posted By: 79nautique
Date Posted: June-20-2007 at 11:54pm
your timing isn't set correctly ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=756&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1979&yrend=1979 - 79 nautique |
Posted By: abolton
Date Posted: June-21-2007 at 10:08pm
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If it was the timing wouldn't it be hard to start all the time, only when the motor is hot it doesn't have spark. Could it be the control module in my conversion kit? Napa wants $136.00 for it. ------------- ABE |
Posted By: 79nautique
Date Posted: June-21-2007 at 11:24pm
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your timing is advanced to much most likely and when it's hot it won't crank because of it. So set the timing at 8 btdc and gofrom there. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=756&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1979&yrend=1979 - 79 nautique |
Posted By: nuttyskier2002
Date Posted: June-22-2007 at 3:36am
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79, I think he is saying that he has no spark when the engine gets hot.
Joe, is this correct? If so what coil are you using with the Pertronix? Are you using the ballast resistor? What is the resistance of your coil? ------------- 95 Malibu Echelon w/Mercruiser 350 Magnum Skier Former boats: 88 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II 59 Chris Craft Capri (woody) |
Posted By: abolton
Date Posted: June-22-2007 at 7:38am
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I just took off the stock coil and put on a blaster coil. I am using the ballast resistor, Not sure what the resistance of my coil is. I will check the timing, and set it at 8 btdc. I should change out the control module? ------------- ABE |
Posted By: nuttyskier2002
Date Posted: June-22-2007 at 8:12am
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Abolton, I have to apologize. I got you confused with the man who started this thread. Now that I've re-read your original post I see that you never stated that your EI unit is a new one or that it is a Pertronix brand. It sounds like you are describing a thermal breakdown issue with your ignition module. So, let me see if I have this right,....are you saying that you have spark when everything is cold, but once the engine is hot you lose spark? And you have replaced the coil right? And it ran okay for a while with the new coil but then started doing the same thing again,....is that right? If I have correctly re-stated your issue, then I think you are right in suspecting your electronic ignition unit is the culprit. ------------- 95 Malibu Echelon w/Mercruiser 350 Magnum Skier Former boats: 88 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II 59 Chris Craft Capri (woody) |
Posted By: abolton
Date Posted: June-22-2007 at 10:25am
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yes you are right on all that you said ------------- ABE |
Posted By: GottaSki
Date Posted: June-22-2007 at 11:42am
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Seen that before... they do fail like that. ------------- "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worthwhile as messing around with boats...simply messing." River Rat to Mole |
Posted By: abolton
Date Posted: June-30-2007 at 10:54am
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I replaced the control module and now it will not start at all, I have spark (new coil too) I have gas, (even starting fluid) cap and rotor are new too, but not even a sputter. So why did she stop firing up? first not when its hot, now not at all. Could it be I need a new distributer, it looks orig. What should I do ????? ------------- ABE |
Posted By: joed
Date Posted: June-30-2007 at 12:36pm
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You say you have spark... where? At the coil, or at the plugs? Did you try playing with the timing after you installed the new EI module? I know when I installed my conversion kit it would not start until I rotated the distributor a bit, got it started, then set the timing.
Good luck. Joe |
Posted By: abolton
Date Posted: June-30-2007 at 11:02pm
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Joe,
Very good, I too will try rotating the distributor Sunday, I was on a Offshore Poker Run today to Toronto, and couldn't work on the 78SN. I have spark at the coil, and will check for spark at the plugs tomorrow. I have a friend bringing over a timing light too. I will post how it go's, ------------- ABE |
Posted By: abolton
Date Posted: July-03-2007 at 9:01pm
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So embarrassed, but this site is so good I have to share. My problem turned out to be loose fuel line clamps. Sometimes it would start and sometimes not, it would suck air and the gas would drain back to tank. I thought it was the control module breaking down so it did cost me $130. to learn a little more about the wonderful sport of boating. If anyone wants a Petronix conversion kit, I will sell my old one cheap. ------------- ABE |
Posted By: JackBShelby
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 4:18pm
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Hello all, PLEASE HELP! I am having a similar issue however, I am not getting any power to the coil at all. I tried replacing the coil, but still no luck. Any suggestions on how to get power or what to do next? Thanks, Jack |
Posted By: 75 Tique
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 4:31pm
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Do not blindly start throwing parts at it. If you do not have a volt-ohm-meter, run to sears or walmart or auto parts store and buy one. They are cheap and useful. Then start tracing power starting at battery, then switch, then coil, then distributor. There are a ton of good videos on youtube on how to step-by-step diagnose ignition problems with your VOM. Works every time. ------------- _____________ “So, how was your weekend?” “Well, let me see…sun burn, stiff neck, screwed up back, assorted aches and pains….yup, my weekend was great, thanks for asking.” |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 4:34pm
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Welcome Jack. It would be best to start your own thread stating what boat you have and year,what engine etc so we can help ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: spiralhelix
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 5:18pm
I didn't see a new thread yet, so I'll just post this here just in case. I came up with a little spreadsheet to help me keep track of my values and what I was testing. My normal values may be off for certain parts or may be different than what you have or it may need some tweaking, but it might help get you going. I, unfortunately, had to go through the process myself and even though my ballast resistor did in fact test to 1.5 ohms, didn't get a spark with a known good coil and for the $5 for a new resistor gave it a go as everything else was coming up as normal up to that point. The new resistor was the answer for me. ------------- -Spiral '89 Sport Nautique |
Posted By: tryathlete
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 9:13pm
| For those of you with Pertronix, be sure not to leave your ignition switch on as it will fry the module. SkiDim and I found this out along the way with my Supra a few years back. |
Posted By: KENO
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 10:29pm
You only get that burn up the module feature on the Ignitor (black module) In the Ignitor 2 with the red module you can leave the key on and it won't burnup thanks to some electronic magic in the module It was one of the improvements in the Ignitor 2 |
Posted By: tryathlete
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 10:56pm
| Good to know that was fixed! What a glaring omission that was! |
Posted By: KENO
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 11:04pm
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Just like a set of points, if you have the key on and the points are closed, you'll burn up a set of points and/or ignition coil in a short time.. The same thing happens with the "electronic switch" in the Ignitor It wasn't necessarily fixed, you can still buy the Ignitor or you can pay more for the Ignitor 2 |
Posted By: tryathlete
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 11:29pm
Dang I was gonna write that and ya beat me to it. My tree trimmer fried his points by leaving the switch on to his chipper. I ran out and got a set and replaced them. Two years later he still on that quick fix. |
Posted By: JackBShelby
Date Posted: June-01-2018 at 11:43pm
| 1979 Correct Craft Mustang. No power going to the coil. Power is at the ignition switch but nothing at the coil when you switch on the ignition switch. Coil must get power from somewhere else because of no direct wire from key switch to the coil. Was ok when winterized but will not start now. Cranks over fine but no spark. Thanks for your help. |
Posted By: KENO
Date Posted: June-02-2018 at 1:05am
Jack you need one of these diagrams to find your problem on a 1979 engine assuming it's a 302 Pleasurecraft with points or maybe an electronic conversion that still keeps the ballast resistor in the circuit.  You do have a direct wire to the coil from the key and it passes through the ballast resistor.On the diagram follow the purple wire from the ignition switch to the coil and you'll see the resistor If the resistor is dead (open circuit) you won't have any coil power like Spiralhelix mentioned earlier. You can check voltage into the resistor and voltage out of the resistor. . The resistor is on the back of the engine Or you can check it's resistance, if it's infinite the resistor is broken If it's about 1.2 or so ohms it's good and not your problem A good replacement part number would be Echlin ICR23 at a NAPA store or it will cross reference to a variety of other brand resistors. It should look pretty much like this and be around 5 dollars maybe a little more  You could also temporarily put in a jumper from one terminal to the other and see if you have spark, but if you run it that way it'll eat up your points fairly quickly. If the resistor is good, it could also be that your ignition switch itself is bad or you have a broken or heavily corroded wire between the key and the resistor.but I'd try the resistor check first. |