Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

Hi everyone, I just purchased a 1975 85hp to replace my 1963 40hp. The motor looks excellent under the cover. I couldn't get it started so I rebuilt the carb. and then checked the spark and #2 was not firing. So swapped couple of wires on powerpack and the spark plug fired. Easy solution: New powerpack. Got the new powerpack in today but the motor won't fire up. I get spark on all 4 with the spark plugs out of the engine and no spark with the spark plugs in the engine . I used an inductive pickup to check if they're firing when in the engine and they are not. If I pull a plug out that plug it will fire outside and I can verify that the inductive pick-up tool is working. The rest of the plugs that are still in the engine are not firing . The plugs don't look too bad, they're not new and the spark when the plugs are out of the engine is very strong. The battery is fully charged and the engine seems to be rotating fine. The compression is between 107-114 on all cylinders. I also sprayed a little fuel/oil in each cylinder to verify that it still isn't fuel issue (I know the inductive pick-up tool isn't showing a spark but who knows) and still didn't do anything. Where do I go from here?

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any comments.

Re: Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

The gap between ignition sensor, and flywheel magnet in flywheel hub need's adjustment. Rapair makes, and sells a simple guage to do this. I had a early post on this procedure.

Re: Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

Weak coils do the same thing...I have t shirts.

Re: Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

R.Johnson said:

The gap between ignition sensor, and flywheel magnet in flywheel hub need's adjustment. Rapair makes, and sells a simple guage to do this. I had a early post on this procedure.

Click to expand...

I checked some of your previous posts and found that the tool # is R553-9702.
I called my local outboard shop and they don't have the tool. He said that I can use a .002" feeler gauge to do this. Does this sound about right?

Re: Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

Are these the sensors that need to be adjusted, if so any other way besides the mentioned tool?

http://sulejman.home.comcast.net/~sulejman/sensors.jpg
Is it normal for the stator to show some wear marks on it?

http://sulejman.home.comcast.net/~sulejman/sensors2.jpg

Re: Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

Is this what you are talking about?

http://www.boatpartstore.com/images/553-9702.png

Re: Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

The guage is sold by Rapair. The guage is a nylon ring that slips over the crankshaft. You set gap per instructions supplied with the guage. That mechanic you talked to, did he explain how to get a feeler guage between the sensor, and hub of the flywheel? should be fun to watch. The last pictures in your post are the alternator coils, they have no bearing here. The first pictures are the sensor you adjust.

Re: Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

The engine must crank over with at least 300 rpm in order for the stator to provide the proper voltage to the powerpack's capcitor.

If you have a slow cranking engine, therein would be the cause of no ignition. Remove, clean thoroughly and retighten all cables with a wrench or pliers. Do not attempt to tighten wing nuts with your fingers if wing nuts exist.

Loose, or tight but dirty connnections result in a voltage drop which in turn result in a slow cranking condition.

Cables means.... battery terminals, ground at powerhead, starter solenoid connections, actual starter post terminal, any wiring pertaining to the starting system. If the starter gets very hot within a very short time of cranking, I'd suggest dismantling and inspecting it in its entirety.

Feel the main cables, both positive and negative. Should any portion of those cables get unusally hot, the cause is normally a nearby loose connection or a internal failure of the cable at the hot spot due to corrosion etc.

Re: Spark with Plugs out, No Spark with plugs in...1975 85hp

Joe Reeves said:

The engine must crank over with at least 300 rpm in order for the stator to provide the proper voltage to the powerpack's capcitor.

If you have a slow cranking engine, therein would be the cause of no ignition. Remove, clean thoroughly and retighten all cables with a wrench or pliers. Do not attempt to tighten wing nuts with your fingers if wing nuts exist.

Loose, or tight but dirty connnections result in a voltage drop which in turn result in a slow cranking condition.

Cables means.... battery terminals, ground at powerhead, starter solenoid connections, actual starter post terminal, any wiring pertaining to the starting system. If the starter gets very hot within a very short time of cranking, I'd suggest dismantling and inspecting it in its entirety.

Feel the main cables, both positive and negative. Should any portion of those cables get unusally hot, the cause is normally a nearby loose connection or a internal failure of the cable at the hot spot due to corrosion etc.

Click to expand...

this thing has immaculate wiring on it, looks new. The starter is actually new and the stator is newer. The battery cables seem to be kind of thin though (maybe 8 gauge).

I ordered the gap tool yesterday, so I will have to wait for it to get here. I will wait till I rule out there is no gap issue before going any further.

Please don't move this to stupid human tricks.

Please don't move this to stupid human tricks.

Update, I received the gap sensor tool yesterday. I checked the sensors and they were way off. I adjusted them and tried the motor and same thing. So I started thinking.....I know this battery was strong enough for the 40hp Johnson but maybe it's not strong enough for this beast. I hope this thread doesn't get moved to "Stupid Human Tricks" but here it goes: I hooked my cars battery to the Johnson and now it showed spark with the plugs in . It still didn't run so I added a bit of fuel to the spark plug holes and after nearly giving me a heart attack (because I wasn't expecting it to fire) it fired up. I tried it again to make sure it's not a fluke. It fired again, roaring like a jet. I pulled it outside and slipped on the muffs, hooked up the fuel and sprayed some fuel in the carbs. It fired up and stayed running . It idled just fine with no problems. I didn't notice any water coming out of "tell tale" so I shut it off and started searching on the internet if there should be any coming out of it. To my relief I found a good post that was very detailed about when and where the water should flow on this engine. I fired the motor back up and sweet the water is flowing as it should. Lesson learned.

Tip for anyone who might have similar issues and comes across this thread: "Even though the battery is fairly new and fully charged and you used to start your other motor with it, it doesn't mean it will be strong enough for your new one"

Thanks to all and sorry for being so stupid.