timing light flash question..

fishfeatures

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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hi guys,


Can someone help me out here, I recently changed my CDI out of my 1990 60 hp j60elesm as i was getting errratic spark.Yesterday when i went to go out it would stall when put into gear and wouldn't idle. So at home I checked compression which was 118,115,112 all within tolerance. Carbs were recently cleaned with new OEM kits 2 months ago, but i whipped them off and soaked them again and ran wires through the holes etc... fuel bulbs and lines changed at this time too, and I did a lync and sync when finished all this.

Today still same issue so I pulled out the timing light and when runnning I could see erratic flashes or I think I did. Am new with the light and am wondering if the spark is firing correctly should the image on the flywheel be solid not jumpy at all. Do the flashes vary at idle compared to WOT?? Currently i def have a missing fire on #3 and think 1 & 2 are not right but am not sure. Spark test shows a good spark but would an intermittent fire cause my trouble?? I think I got a dud CDI when I changed it out....
 

fishfeatures

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Re: timing light flash question..

65 views and no answer?? C'mon guys,,,,,, for those of you that have used an inductive timing light before, does the image on the flywheel stay solid or does it flicker??????
 

fishfeatures

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Re: timing light flash question..

65 views and no answer?? C'mon guys,,,,,, for those of you that have used an inductive timing light before, does the image on the flywheel stay solid or does it flicker??????

Now 91!!!! surely someone can answer??
 
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Re: timing light flash question..

you need one of the big dogs to ans this. timing lights will flicker if they dont get a clean pick up or if the ignition system uses a multiple spark. some engines to reduce components will signal to fire a spark which is used for more than one cylinder which i dont think is done on a 3 cylinder. so its not that we are ignoring you its that we are intrested in the ans and as we dont know the motor so its better to give no advise rather than bad advise.

last time i timed a car the light would sometimes flash when it shouldnt but it was a free rental from the autoparts store so i was just surprissed it worked at all
 

fishfeatures

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Re: timing light flash question..

Glenn i appreciate your honesty... the flicker i speak of,is like..... when you stand at a bar and the lovely lady beside you turns and flutters those lovely eyes at you and you think "ching ching i'm in here" .. you know what I mean by the fluttering, as that is what i'm getting on #2 and #3
 

Bosunsmate

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Re: timing light flash question..

If you can post a video of it thatd be useful. Theres a fine line between fluttering as ching ching your in and fluttering as what the hell is this guy doing looking at me
 

fishfeatures

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Re: timing light flash question..

If you can post a video of it thatd be useful. Theres a fine line between fluttering as ching ching your in and fluttering as what the hell is this guy doing looking at me

We've all been there!

I would do the vid except the darn thing won't idle (notice post #1) and then trying to reach for a gun camera and push in a choke is just too much for one man.... If I can enlist some lovely beauty or "the accountant" as i lovingly refer to as I'll post it up.


surely though it should either be nearly constant solid flash or else a fast blinking (which is mainly what I'm seeing fro all 3 cyl)??
 

Bosunsmate

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Re: timing light flash question..

Have you changed the coil over to to see if a faulty coil is why you a getting an intermittant fire on 3? If you a getting 3 flashes on the flywheel i cant see why the flickering speed would not be ok.
 

fishfeatures

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Re: timing light flash question..

changed coils in a few variations but still getting bad results and I even have good spares that i substituted but still no good , that's why I'm thinking another dodgy powerpack...
 

Bosunsmate

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Re: timing light flash question..

Have you checked the trigger? the wires especially to them can go and send the powerpack wacko.
Since you have replaced the CDI already it would be quite a bad coincidence for it to be doing the same thing without something else being the cause
 

emdsapmgr

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11,551
Re: timing light flash question..

Weak/failing stators can cause erratic spark to the plugs.
 

fishfeatures

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Re: timing light flash question..

Have you checked the trigger? the wires especially to them can go and send the powerpack wacko.
Since you have replaced the CDI already it would be quite a bad coincidence for it to be doing the same thing without something else being the cause

After changing it the boat ran fine until now which is leading me to the cdi again unfortunately
 

fishfeatures

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Re: timing light flash question..

Weak/failing stators can cause erratic spark to the plugs.

I can't seem to find anywhere over here that sells or even knows what a dva adapter is. Can someone post a link of a pic or even a place on line where i can get one??

I'll then use it to do tests on the stator.
 

AlTn

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Re: timing light flash question..

just google..dva adapter...in fact, I think it'll even link you to the iboats thread on making one if you want to
 

fishfeatures

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Mar 29, 2011
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Re: timing light flash question..

just google..dva adapter...in fact, I think it'll even link you to the iboats thread on making one if you want to

just googled it, and it did lead back to Iboats... but make one!!! i'm friggin happy enough tinkering with my motor, all that electronic language is just toooooo much for my lil head.

did find this on a well know online site (starts with E and ends with BAY) I take it this will do??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marine-DVA-..._Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a726e5b5b
 

Bosunsmate

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Re: timing light flash question..

Ive never used a DVA but a $8 multimeter will allow you to check the resistance of these components and compare them to what the specs says which often gives the break through to which parts the problem.
 

AlTn

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Re: timing light flash question..

looks like it'd work....that and cdielecctronics.com/troubleshooting should point you in the right direction
 
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