87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

reelfishin

Captain
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
3,043
I have an '87 125 Force which needs plug wires and boots, the wires are the type which go directly to the coils. ( It runs fine till the wires get damp or wet and getting your hands anywhere near them draws a loud snap and sudden shock).
Do the wires separate from the coils or do I have to replace the whole coil?
 

maxum247

Lieutenant
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
1,363
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

With Prestolite Igntion (blue coils) you have to change out the whole coil.
 

reelfishin

Captain
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
3,043
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

Yep, blue coils. Can I replace with a different type coil that will allow me to replace the wires?
 

Frank Acampora

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Messages
12,004
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

Why don't you first try spraying the wires, coils, and boots with a dielectric spray? I believe it's sold in auto stores and it just might save you some time and money. If not in auto stores, then for sure in electric supply houses.
 

reelfishin

Captain
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
3,043
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

Why don't you first try spraying the wires, coils, and boots with a dielectric spray? I believe it's sold in auto stores and it just might save you some time and money. If not in auto stores, then for sure in electric supply houses.

That's pretty much what I've done for the time being, but the right fix looks like new coils. I did pick up another parts motor with bad cylinder that gave me four more coils and a better lower unit as this one is well pitted from saltwater. The motor runs good and has 140 psi compression across the board so I don't see any reason to toss it yet. I'd rather make this last a few more years if I can without dumping big money in it. I'll most likely sell the boat next summer and find something smaller and better on fuel.
I'd go a couple hundred or so for new coils, it was the dealer's quote of $225 per coil that had me thinking it was time to part this out and find something else.
 

bman1bpm

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
450
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

I'm not sure on these coils, but I had success soldering new wires to the coils on an old johnson motor. just have to find copper core wires, which was tricky for me.
 

reelfishin

Captain
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
3,043
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

I picked up a pair of parts motors locally, one runs and the other has a dead cylinder, all are 1987 models, I have three different style coils between the three motors. My original ones are blue with the wires apparently fixed permanently, another has what looks to be the same coils, only in black, with the same wire set up, and the other has tiny coils which are obviously epoxied into the coil near the windings. On my original coils, the wire exits to the side and out of a non sealed round hole in the coil winding body. On the coil with the problem, the plug wire spins free in the hole, the others are tight and don't move. All of the parts motors have wires which are corroded off on the ends.
(I got the motors for nothing, so no loss that way, but it gave me a couple of spare props if nothing else).
It looks like all of the factory coils have fixed plug wires, other than a makeshift repair, only replacement coils have removable wires.
My original impression was that the wires may attach like those on many motorcycles, with a threaded nail or stud at the coil end to hold the bare end of the wire. But that doesn't appear to be the case. Once I have a new set of coils, I'll fiddle with the old ones to see what I can do, but for now, I guess it's a search for new coils.
 

JMatt1022

Recruit
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
3
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

I'd like to change my spark plug wires on my 1988 85hp Force. Did you find out if they could be unscrewed or do you have to replace the whole coil? Throwing away a good coil beacuse of a bad wire is like throwing the baby out with the bath-water...
 

reelfishin

Captain
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
3,043
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

I just took one of the spare motors black coils and pulled the wire out of the coil, they are soldered in place, the solid core of the plug wire is soldered directly to the coil winding, pulling the wire out rips this connection apart.
I really don't see any way of splicing a new wire in place and getting it sealed back up again. It appears that they form the housing around the already connected coil and wire.

A pretty stupid design in my opinion. It's not even really waterproof, the wire isn't a super tight fit in the coil housing. I can see a seam where the plastic is molded in two pieces, but cutting that back apart would take hours and you would never get it all back together properly.
They obviously made these to be disposable coils and wires.

I did consider soldering in a stud or pin which the wire could be pushed down over like on a motorcycle coil, but I didn't figure I'd want to trust such a rig out on big water. New coils run in the $300 range for the set aftermarket and they have replaceable wires. Just a much nicer design all around.
 

maxum247

Lieutenant
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
1,363
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

You can use the black coils on your engine, be sure to use a black Cd Module and two black coils together, you can have a blue CD Module and blue coils for the other cylinders. so one set is blue and one set is black. But don't use a blue CD Module with black coils or black CD Module with blue coils.
 

tjello327

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
150
Re: 87 Force 125 ignition wire leak?

I have 4 blue coils that I dont need. If you are interested, I will test them on my engine to be sure that they are good. Send me a private message if you are interested. One of them has burnt insulation on the input wire that comes from the cdi box but the others are not burnt. Like I said, I will test them and see how far spark will jump with a spark tester. I will let them go for a good price.
 
Top