Re: Evinrude 60hp '71 ignition dramas
I'll take a stab at it. To the best of my (limited) knowledge this is not an OMC conversion and therefore there probably is no documentation for it. In order to use a car coil in place of the CDI that ignition system must have originally been points triggered, and the points are probably under the flywheel. I would suggest first checking to see if there is 12 volts at the plus terminal of the coil. If so follow the wire from the minus terminal of the coil to where it hooks to the points under the flywheel. If the wire appears ok until it dissapears under the flywheel he'll have to pull the flywheel. Follow the wire to it's termination with the points and insure that there is continuity from the coil to the termination at the points. The distributor is in this same location and the points are probably in or under it. Check the distributor cap and rotor very closley for cracks, carbon tracks, etc. and check the wires for cracks breaks, etc. Clean (or change) the points (and condenser) and check the point gap. The point gap should probably be the same as when the CDI was installed and will be listed in the manual. Sometimes the point gap is shown somewhere in the area of the points so he might look carefully around there. If it is indeed a car coil there should be a resister betweeen the 12 volt supply and the plus terminal of the coil. With the points closed the voltage at the plus terminal of the coil should be in the range of six to nine volts or so. <br />Good luck. This is a simple system and I'm sure he'll have it figured out in short order.
