18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

griggs · Apr 17, 2010

first off i graduated from wyotech with a degree in marine mechanics so im not stupid but i dont pretend to know everything either i have a 1965 evinrude fastwin 18 hp and im having problems with the ignition i replaced every component of the ignition about two years ago now i cant get it to be reliable enough to use sometimes it just looses spark i have tried everything i can think of and was considering changing it to cdi with parts from a 28 horse if it was possible

please let me know if you have had these problems and fixed them succesfully or if it is possible to use the 28hp cdi stuff

moonfish · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

I don't think there's a secret. You probably have a bad connection somewhere. I learned the coil can't touch the flywheel magnets when I did it.

jbjennings · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

Any chance the crank seal is leaking and slinging oil in your points? How about the oiling wick? Too much oil?
Is there a LOT of slack in the armature plate so that the points won't stay gapped right? Last of all, I have gotten coils that were bad from the factory. Are you able to clean the points, regap, and get spark again? If so, then it doesn't sound like the coils are bad.
I hope you figure it out,
JBJ

lindy46 · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

Coils flush with the mounting bosses? If they are pushed in a little too far, you won't get consistent spark. Coil wire(s) pushed under and out of the way of the rotating shaft? I've seen them with insulation worn off and shorting out against shaft. Points clean? Any residue can cause fouling. Pug wires pushed firmly into coils?

restornator · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

you should know the answer to your last question.

griggs · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

there is no oil on the points and i used the factory tool to set the coils all the wiring is new and ive checked all the connections

griggs · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

according to my sierra book all the part numbers for the 18 horse and 28 horse cdi igntions are the same but i do not know if they will work on the 65 model since it did not come with cdi

F_R · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

Not meaning to be a wise guy, but see the thing is you insist that everything is new and installed correctly and we are supposed to tell you why it won't work. That is pretty difficult. You have one of the most reliable ignition systems ever made, and if everything is right , it should work. We can only make wild guesses, which won't help.

I would say, without actually checking, that the CD system won't fit. Even if it did, you would need a flywheel for it.

bktheking · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

Why don't you take a pic of your setup with the flywheel off, better than being blind.

14ftgrumman · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

flywheel nut torqued properly? Possibly flywheel key is partially sheared, bent?

Start with checking spark with a spark tester and all connections. It must be something simple.

When was the last time that the carb had been gone thru?

Sometimes these schools teach too much high tech. When I had the auto parts store, I had a graduate from the local tech college that didn't know how to gap points., or what dwell was.

glassmaster68 · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

assuming your flywheel is where it should be [ie no sheared key making the magnets going across coils at the wrong time]and that youve done a compression check on both cyl and its good,,,,,,,,,,try taking the two black wires loose going through the bottom of armature plate to the point sets,see if it fires then,,they are your magneto wires one should go to kill switch and the other to cutout switch ,,then from cutout switch back around to other side of kill switch,,this should cancel out a bad kill switch and/or bad cutout switch,,,,,,,,,,,if it works with those disconnected,you have to fig out now if its a bad kill sw or bad cutout sw,also its a 65 model motor,i would suggest using the point system as its what it came with and was designed for,,just a thought,hope you get it

restornator · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

the 18 does not have a cutout switch

glassmaster68 · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

my bad

griggs · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

it has two black wires one coming from either set of points that just go to a toggle switch thats how it was when i got it and had it running i replaced the wires and the toggle switch and have tried it with the toggle switch unhooked sorry the picture is so small it wont upload one from my camera so i dad to use my wifes phone

bktheking · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

Wires look proper from as much as I can see, are the coil laminates lined up perfectly with the boses on the mag plate?

Ezeke posted a nice pic of how they are supposed to align.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=387180

glassmaster68 · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

the coil on the left looks like it is wires to "itself" on top like its supposed to be and the bottom wire to the point set,,,,kinda looks from the picture like the coil on the right isnt wired to itself on top,,,looks like the top wire that is sup to be grounded to itself is going to the pointset on the coil on the right

glassmaster68 · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

ok ,had to look closer, looks right it isnt touching the pointset there is it?,would ground it out

CATransplant · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

Check those two kill wires for chafing or a pressure point somewhere under the plate that holds the coils. It's a pretty common problem and can be very intermittent. That plate moves back and forth all the time, and any rubbing point can easily wear through the insulation, grounding the wire and "poof" goes your spark.

That'd be my first place to look, given your symptoms.

bktheking · Apr 17, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

glassmaster68 said:
ok ,had to look closer, looks right it isnt touching the pointset there is it?,would ground it out

I see it too, the bottom coil in the pic, could be , may not be, wasn't a good pic for detail.

griggs · Apr 18, 2010

Re: 18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

im sorry the picture is not very good i just looked at it the black wire from the coil is grounded to the coil on top and the green wire from the bottom of the coil is connected to the points in the same place the condensors and kill wires are connected thanks for all your help to i really appreciate it

18 horse ignition problems NEED help please

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