Stumped beyond Stumped

crestlinermusky

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
110
Hi there
I have a 1975 Evinrude 115 that is giving me a run for my patience
In July I had a bad stator, where there was no spark. I had that changed and everthing was fine. But now if I leave the motor sit for more than a week. it is impossible to start.. Today I went to start it and it is a no go., have compresion,, spark, butterfly valves on carbs working, fuel is there but it will not start
The only thing I notice was that the ground cable got very hot. Battery is new and connections tight and clean. Do you think there could be a short somewhere. I need some help

Stumped
 

tlewis1

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Messages
112
When you say it will not start..nothing happens when the key is turned or the engine just cranks and cranks to no avail? I am assuming it is just cranking.

A engine requires 3 things to fire...spark..compression and fuel....From there you must determine which of these are not happening and start diagnosing the issue. Assuming you have good spark and good compression at the last time of starting as you mention, try spraying a little bit of fuel into the carbs while the engine is cranking; if it starts to run on that fuel then you know you have a fuel delivery issue.

You should also check to make sure the choke butterflies are operating properly and that you do indeed have good spark on all cylinders with a proper spark tester gapped accordingly.
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
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Dec 28, 2013
Messages
36,033
Test for strong spark.------With all 4 plugs in and cranking it over , will the spark jump a gap of nearly 1/2".----Answer with a YES or NO.
 

crestlinermusky

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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May 9, 2010
Messages
110
NO, There is no spark on any of the 4 plugs now
I had replaced the bad stator and I replaced the timer base as well figuring I did not want that going too.
Now I am at wits end. The electrical block or the coils, but I cannot see all four coils going at once.
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
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Dec 28, 2013
Messages
36,033
Fact------If motor is not cranking fast enuff there will be no spark.--------You might want to inspect starter motor ( very easy ) , check battery cables and have battery load tested.----------Only by trouble shooting can you sort out the problem !!
 

emdsapmgr

Supreme Mariner
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Dec 9, 2005
Messages
11,551
The ground cable getting hot could be a sign. Too much current going through the cable-when that happens, the cable will get hot, could even melt the insulation off.
A couple of things can cause high resistance in the wiring. 1. when the starter solenoid ages, the internal contacts will have a layer of carbon form on the tips. This carbon will get so thick, it won't transfer enough current to the starter to crank it. 2. Same thing happens when the starter ages. The brushes will age/deteriorate, even get misshapen. These can also cause high current draw. Also poor starting.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
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Jun 26, 2011
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You haven't stated if the engine it turning over but not firing. And is the engine turning over like usual, or is it struggling to turn?
 

crestlinermusky

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
110
The motor is turning over very fast , just not starting
The battery cables are new this year as well as the battery
This motor is all original, the stator and timer base were the first things changed on it.
 

shaw520

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
634
A warm ground cable usually represents a bad ground to the block.
 

crestlinermusky

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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May 9, 2010
Messages
110
Ok, just finished retesting the electrical system
There is strong spark coming from the stator and timer base
There is no spark going to the coils in cyl 1,2,&4, but there is very weak spark to # 3
I now suspect the powerpack has seen its day
 

Fed

Commander
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
2,457
Your testing methods & willynilly parts replacement is floored, well it floored me anyway.
Start over using the cdi website as a guide.
http://www.cdielectronics.com/support/
Download the PDF then look up your exact motor & follow the testing steps.
Hopefully you haven't caused any damage, good luck with your project.
Unless you had a good reason to change the battery cables I'd put the old ones back on to level the playing field.
FWIW starting OK the next day but not after a week sounds more like an operator error.
 

boobie

Supreme Mariner
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Nov 5, 2009
Messages
20,826
Crestliner, where are you from ?? As a guess I'd say you have a bad power pack.
 

interalian

Commander
Joined
Jul 23, 2009
Messages
2,105
Ok, just finished retesting the electrical system
There is strong spark coming from the stator and timer base
There is no spark going to the coils in cyl 1,2,&4, but there is very weak spark to # 3
I now suspect the powerpack has seen its day

Any warm cable in the starting circuit means the cable or connection is loose/frayed/faulty. Or the item it's attached to is bad causing high resistance under load.
 

crestlinermusky

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
110
I am in Montreal,Quebec,Canada
I found that my newly installed ground cable had loosened at the motor causing
it to heat up.
I have strong spark coming from the stator and nothing coming through the powerpack
 

jimmbo

Supreme Mariner
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
12,944
Salutations ? un coll?gue Canuk. Y at-il une chance votre commutateur d'allumage est mauvais et ne pas laisser le Powerpack faire son travail? D?marrage prolong?e va chauffer le c?ble trop.

For those who don't know both of Canada's languages
Greetings to a fellow Canuk. Is there a chance your Ignition switch is bad and not letting the powerpack do its job? Extended cranking will heat the cable up too.
 

Baylinerchuck

Commander
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Jul 29, 2016
Messages
2,726
Honestly these were going to be my questions. I believe testing the stator, timer base, and power pack requires a DVA. It's been my experience, however, that the power pack(s) are usually the weak links in these ignition systems. Though to be sure, test.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
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Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
I take it the "Power Pack" is nothing more then a CDI setup. And that trigger for each cylinder if coming from the timer assembly. Because it still have four spark coils. So how you verified those parts are good is the question. What methods did you use to verify those ignition part are working properly? :noidea:
 

tlewis1

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Messages
112
I agree with FED, get on the CDI website and follow their diagnostic procedure for your engine. They're guidelines have helped me with countless repairs on outboards.

And yes you will need a DVA adaptor for your multi meter to properly test your engines ignition circuits.
 
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