Good Morning,
I have a 90 hp Chrysler on a Chrysler Courier 154. I bought this rig a few years ago at a local auction (near Hartford, Wi) in memory of my mom's husband. He died in '07. He was an Engineer and various other management positions at the outboard plant from '47 to '85. I haven't used the boat much due to time. I replaced the impeller and gear lube when I bought it. It seemed to run ok so I never worried about timing or the carbs.
Although, I've had some "near misses" with aluminum "leaving" the top of the #3 piston. I'm using surface gap plugs so fortunately a piece of aluminum shorted the plug to prevent additional damage. This happened during high speed operation. The 1st time this happened to me, I removed the carbs (assuming #3 main jet was restricted causing a lean condition). No obvious problems. Float level seemed lower than the others so I adjusted it to be the same. The weekend was over so it went out of sight, out of mind. The next time it happened to me, I was being pulled on a ski. I inspected the ignition system for any obvious problems. The plug boots could be improved/replaced but that's about all I could see. I didn't have a manual with me so I didn't want to remove the distributor to inspect the points.
The boat hasn't been used since because I don't have a solution to the problem. I decided to dig into problems the other night since this is a better family boat. My Chrysler Conquerer SIII with a 340 jet drive is a cool boat but it's not good for family fun. The SIII will be sold.
I've read and watched the videos and have a good understanding of the principles for setting the carbs and timing.
With all the plugs removed and grounded, I was not able to generate a spark while manually turning the flywheel. I was able to see spark while cranking, but not while manually turning. Obviously, this spark method is the best way to begin since it allows you to verify when the "spark" is actually occurring. Using a test light to verify when the points close (pass power) makes sense also, but not as definitive as the spark method. I couldn't find my test light, so I fumbled around some more, trying manual vs. cranking, in gear (NSS jumpered) out of gear, etc. with no success on generating a spark while turning the flywheel manually. The battery was getting low, so I added another battery via jumper cables to insure that I had good power for generating a spark. (2 things that were working against me: - working outside with intermittent showers possibly causing damp connections, and my white wire (Tach) connection on the terminal board has a stripped stud - I didn't worry about it since I don't have a tach installed. In some other posts Frank A said that all connections from the magnapower must be sound, so to eliminate that variable, I will improve the tach (white wire) connection like it should be.
At some point during this fumbling, I lost the ability to generate spark while cranking with the battery???? I don't know if it was water on the plug wires, moisture in the cap or whatever. I tried to make sense of the points open/close (continuity) with a meter. But, without spark, continuity through the points, doesn't really matter!!!! All that said, I moved #1 to TDC and then removed the distributor to inspect it in the house where it's bright and dry. The distributor is simple so no obvious problems were found. I'll verify gap etc. but my 1st problem is getting back to generating a spark while cranking, and then being able to generate a spark while manually turning the flywheel. Then I can get to actually setting the timing!!!!
Frank A, I hope you're out doing something more fun than looking at a computer, but if not, I look forward to your insight.
Thanks in advance,
Tim
I have a 90 hp Chrysler on a Chrysler Courier 154. I bought this rig a few years ago at a local auction (near Hartford, Wi) in memory of my mom's husband. He died in '07. He was an Engineer and various other management positions at the outboard plant from '47 to '85. I haven't used the boat much due to time. I replaced the impeller and gear lube when I bought it. It seemed to run ok so I never worried about timing or the carbs.
Although, I've had some "near misses" with aluminum "leaving" the top of the #3 piston. I'm using surface gap plugs so fortunately a piece of aluminum shorted the plug to prevent additional damage. This happened during high speed operation. The 1st time this happened to me, I removed the carbs (assuming #3 main jet was restricted causing a lean condition). No obvious problems. Float level seemed lower than the others so I adjusted it to be the same. The weekend was over so it went out of sight, out of mind. The next time it happened to me, I was being pulled on a ski. I inspected the ignition system for any obvious problems. The plug boots could be improved/replaced but that's about all I could see. I didn't have a manual with me so I didn't want to remove the distributor to inspect the points.
The boat hasn't been used since because I don't have a solution to the problem. I decided to dig into problems the other night since this is a better family boat. My Chrysler Conquerer SIII with a 340 jet drive is a cool boat but it's not good for family fun. The SIII will be sold.
I've read and watched the videos and have a good understanding of the principles for setting the carbs and timing.
With all the plugs removed and grounded, I was not able to generate a spark while manually turning the flywheel. I was able to see spark while cranking, but not while manually turning. Obviously, this spark method is the best way to begin since it allows you to verify when the "spark" is actually occurring. Using a test light to verify when the points close (pass power) makes sense also, but not as definitive as the spark method. I couldn't find my test light, so I fumbled around some more, trying manual vs. cranking, in gear (NSS jumpered) out of gear, etc. with no success on generating a spark while turning the flywheel manually. The battery was getting low, so I added another battery via jumper cables to insure that I had good power for generating a spark. (2 things that were working against me: - working outside with intermittent showers possibly causing damp connections, and my white wire (Tach) connection on the terminal board has a stripped stud - I didn't worry about it since I don't have a tach installed. In some other posts Frank A said that all connections from the magnapower must be sound, so to eliminate that variable, I will improve the tach (white wire) connection like it should be.
At some point during this fumbling, I lost the ability to generate spark while cranking with the battery???? I don't know if it was water on the plug wires, moisture in the cap or whatever. I tried to make sense of the points open/close (continuity) with a meter. But, without spark, continuity through the points, doesn't really matter!!!! All that said, I moved #1 to TDC and then removed the distributor to inspect it in the house where it's bright and dry. The distributor is simple so no obvious problems were found. I'll verify gap etc. but my 1st problem is getting back to generating a spark while cranking, and then being able to generate a spark while manually turning the flywheel. Then I can get to actually setting the timing!!!!
Frank A, I hope you're out doing something more fun than looking at a computer, but if not, I look forward to your insight.
Thanks in advance,
Tim