3cyl 60hp johnson spark, fuel....nothing

[wyohunt]

I have a what i believe to be a 1971? 60hp 3 cyl johnson. Its on a 16 foot starcraft (semi tri-hull?) I actually got the boat for free. I have no real mechanical experience. Once i got the boat i looked on the internet here and followed some advice. Changed the lower unit oil, removed any old gas in the lines and flushed it with new. It fired right up..and sounded great. Have had it on the lake about a half dozen times. Never a issue. This last time after about 3 hours of trolling it died...and stayed dead. Since getting it home i have checked my fuel lines(no clog). Pulled the plugs(wet) Checked for spark(all 3 spark). It would seem to me if i have spark and fuel it should equal fire. Not in this case. I tried removing the cover over the carburators and shot starting flued directly into them. Nothing. I thought maybe bad compression. I have no compression gauge, but even with bad compression(assuming all 3 cylinders went bad at once) wouldn't i still get at least a fire. I thought maybe i jumped the timing, but woudn't i still get a fire? Any advice for a guy who really has no idea what he is doing would be most appreciated. Thanks

[jimdd810]

how are you testing for spark?

[wyohunt]

i pulled each plug 1 at a time grounded to the motor and cranked it over. i then pulled all 3 grounded and cranked. Is there such thing as weak spark?

[Evinrude Boater]

Yes, you can have a weak spark. Buy a spark tester and see how far it will jump. Even though it doesn't jump very far on a spark plug it should be able to jump much farther, maybe 1/4"-3/8" I'm guessing. Is your boat green?

[wyohunt]

just the owner is green. The boat is a yellowish-brown color. I will see about a spark tester. I'm assuming if my spark is weak i would have to look into replacing the wireing? thanks

[Evinrude Boater]

You story sounds like someone I saw getting towed today. You're not alone. Maybe cleaning and adjusting the points will help or replacing them. Buy a manual while you're there. Test the spark gap first.

[wyohunt]

one of the first things i did was try new plugs. When mine died i hadn't seen anybody else on the lake for hours. It was about a 2 mile trek along the shoreline rope in hand. The wife sitting in the boat asked if she could throw out a trolling line.