Replaced power pack, stator, plugs on 96' Johnson 200 venom and it still wont fire

Terryfish

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Jun 24, 2017
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1st time boat owner, bought a cobra bass boat with a 96 Johnson 200 venom and the motor fired right up when I bought it, also fired right up when I took it home and put it on the lake..didn't run as fast as I thought it should but no other obvious problems except tach and speedometer not working, next day went to start it and no fire..had someone look at it and they said for sure 100% the power pack was bad so I put a new one in,still nothing..so did some research and a few tests..pulled the flywheel and it looks new, all 7 magnets look new but the stator was melted bad so I replaced it..still no fire...can someone help before I buy more parts,suggestions?
Would really like to get this thing on the water where it should be instead of wasting time throwing parts at it. Any help whatsoever would really be appreciated.
thanks
 

boobie

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Nov 5, 2009
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Go to cdielectronics.com. for ignition trouble shooting before you spend any more money on it.
 

Terryfish

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Jun 24, 2017
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I've done as much testing as I can with my multimeter with online instructions, when I was putting everything back together today..I noticed the wire from the rectifier that meets with the yellow wire from the stator was burned to a crisp...so I left both yellow wires and the two wires from the rectifier off and cranked the motor but still no fire...I've seen online that the motor will fire without those wires connected but for me no fire so I guess that pretty much leaves the timer base as Faztbullet stated? ohhhh...more parts...and yes I have also disconnected the yellow and black kill switch wires to the power pack but still no fire...if I do get the motor to run with a new timer base..will I damage anything without the rectifier hooked up?
 

racerone

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Dec 28, 2013
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How are you testing for spark ?------Using a gap tester set at 3/8" or so ?
 

Joe Reeves

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Feb 24, 2002
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The speedometer operates via air pressure to the gauge, created by water pressure against the pickup attached to your transom... check the pickup.

The tachometer operates off of the charging system and is not working is due to the voltage regulator/rectifier being faulty... info as follows:
********************
(Testing Tachometer With Water Cooled Regulator/Rectifier)
(J. Reeves)

A quick check is to simply plug in a another new tachometer as a piece of test equipment. If the new tach works properly and the old tach didn't, obviously the old tach is faulty.... but usually boaters don't carry around a spare tach (see below).

A faulty rectifier wouldn't damage the tachometer, the tachometer simply wouldn't work. This is due to the fact that the tachometer operates off of the charging system and the rectifier converts AC voltage to DC voltage, enabling the charging system. A faulty rectifier disables the charging system, and the tachometer simply doesn't register.

However.... those water cooled regulator/rectifiers that are used on the 35 ampere charging systems (and some others) bring into play a different type problem, and as you've probably found out, they are really a pain to troubleshoot via the proper procedure. There's an easier way.

The tachometer sending/receiving setup operates off of the gray wire at the tachometer. That same gray wire exists at the engine wiring harness which is connected to the engine electrical terminal strip. You'll see that there is a gray wire leading from the regulator/rectifier to that terminal strip, and that there is another gray wire attached to it. That other gray wire is the wire leading to the tachometer which is the one you're looking for.

NOTE: For the later models that DO NOT incorporate a wiring terminal strip, splicing into the "Yellow Wire" mentioned will be necessary.

Normally the Gray wire leading from the tachometer is attached at the terminal strip to another Gray wire which leads from the water cooled voltage regulator/rectifier...... remove the gray wire that leads to the tachometer. Now, find the two (2) yellow wires leading from the stator to that terminal strip. Hopefully one of them is either yellow/gray or is connected to a yellow/gray wire at the terminal strip. If so, connect the gray wire you removed previously to that yellow/gray terminal. Start the engine and check the tachometers operation, and if the tachometer operates as it should, then the regulator/rectifier is faulty and will require replacing. If the tachometer is still faulty, replace the tachometer.

If neither of the yellow wires from the stator is yellow/gray, and neither is attached to a yellow/gray wire, then attach that gray tachometer wire to either yellow stator wire, then the other yellow wire, checking the tachometer operation on both connections.

I've found this method to be a quick and efficient way of finding out which component is faulty.... the tachometer or the regulator/rectifier. It sounds drawn out but really only takes a very short time to run through. If the water cooled regulator/rectifier proves to be faulty, don't put off replacing it as they have been known to catch on fire with disastrous consequences.
*******************************
The no spark condition, if it still exists after replacing the regulator/rectifier assembly.... Do this:

Remove the black/yellow wire (Kill circuit) from the "M" terminal of the ignition switch. If you now have spark, the switch has an internal short, in which case replace the ignition switch.
 

Terryfish

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Jun 24, 2017
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I used an inline spark plug tester, also pulled each plug and used the ground method..I'm going to try changing out the timer base..my question is..if it runs then, will I hurt anything with the rectifier not working?
 

Terryfish

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Jun 24, 2017
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I used an inline spark plug tester and also used the ground method, I'm going to try changing out the timer base, my question is if it runs will I hurt anything with the rectifier not working?
 

cfauvel

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Aug 16, 2005
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645
you can get the motor running without the rectifier/regulator working...but just for testing purposes....from what I under stand if one component is bad in the chain it will cascade up to the stator and maybe down to the powerpack and back up to the timer base. (from what I understand).
 

Joe Reeves

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I used an inline spark plug tester and also used the ground method, I'm going to try changing out the timer base, my question is if it runs will I hurt anything with the rectifier not working?


You didn't bother to read post #6?
 

Terryfish

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Jun 24, 2017
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yes I did read post #6 but I didn't see the part about disastrous consequences till now, must be this brutal heat working outside 10 days straight here in Austin getting to me..thanks for getting me to look at it again..I'll see if it fires with a new timer base but I wont put it on the water until I get the rectifier replaced...thanks for all the input!
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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I would replace the rectifier as well and try starting it with everything new and set up. If you know for certain your rectifier is bad, buy a new one and wire it up when replacing the timer base. Then if it starts, you will have a charging system all in place for the stator output. JMHO
 

Terryfish

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Jun 24, 2017
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Forgot I had posted this...it was the timer base and now the motor is running like a top! Also found the reason for the stator meltdown...the pisser was clogged with rocks and sand and now that I put in a new rectifier the tach is working and battery is getting a good charge...life is good! Thanks for all the help and suggestions
 

ob

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Aug 16, 2002
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Dang...Rip van Winkle.:D ..good to hear your running strong now. :)
 

Tim Frank

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Jul 29, 2008
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There is a dedicated propeller section that would be the best place to find the answer.
They will have you propped up in a flash.
 
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