76' mercruiser 888 no go

[gldavison]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

OK I swapped out the old coil and dropped in a brand new one. I am still only gettin 5-6 volts at the coils + terminal while cranking. I then went to the solenoid and only get 6 volts coming off it while cranking? Now what the solenoid is junk too? I wold think that if you expect 12 v at the coil while cranking then you should have 12 v leaving the solenoid when cranking. What do you think? Hey the battery is putting out 15v now. Am I gonna be boating on fathers day? Not looking good.

Thanks for the help.
Greg

 

[Don S]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

You don't have a solenoid problem, what you do have is a battery problem.
As I said earlier, 12Volts on the battery means it's very low, and will not start an engine. As you can tell. Charge it fully, get it load tested, then you may see the proper voltages so it will start.
Then, you have to find out if you have the timing anywhere near where it's supposed to be. And why did the distributor not move earlier. You have a lot of unexplained things going on.

After you get the battery charged/replaced or whatever, check for spark from the coil wire, not voltage to the coil.

 

[Coors]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

The dist can't be in correct time.
Why was it loose?
I mean loose enough to jump up 3/4" or more?
You need to start checking at ground zero- set dist to #1 tdc, etc.
Then problem shoot electrical.

 

[gldavison]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

Thanks Guys,

The battery is showing 15 v. now Don. Is this still not enough? This is the second new battery I have had on this boat since I picked it up last July. So I am having a hard time thinking I had two bad batteries, how about you? Perhaps this gives you another clue?

Re: the distributor and rotor, the shaft was not turning while turning over engine as I said earlier and yes it was seated on block all the way down and clamped tight. In fact I had a hard time getting it out again. Not sure why and have not really done much since but pull the dist. and reset it and now the shaft is turning with the engine.

I will reset timing today and see where that gets me. Don please reply on the battery situation.

I realize I am probably a pain to you pros out there and I am grateful for your patience and help. Happy Fathers Day to you all.

Greg

 

[Don S]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

Re: the distributor and rotor, the shaft was not turning while turning over engine as I said earlier and yes it was seated on block all the way down and clamped tight.

Let's put it this way, it may be turning, but I doubt it healed. You may have a sheared roll pin on the distributor gear and it is now binding which makes the rotor turn, but it will not stay in time.
Someone else just had this problem on a Ford, not to long ago.
His would start and run fine at idle, and as I recall, if he gave it throttle the gear moved the timing went away and it would die.

You have something draining your battery, what it is, is impossible to say. Could be something shorted out, turned on, who knows.
Disconnect your negative battery terminal. Shut everything on the boat off. Then touch the cable to the battery. If there is a spark, then something is on.

 

[gldavison]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

thank you will do.

 

[gldavison]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 A go

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 A go

Guys,

You will not believe it when I tell you but I got the boat going today. I reset the timing after setting the distr. closer to where it really should have been and while I was turning over to find TDC on #1 I heard a slight pop. I continued to find 10* befor tdc on #1 and set the timing more accurately and after that it fired right up. I did have a sticky float in the carb and was getting way too much fuel but once that was corrected it ran fine at 800 rpm. I adjusted the timing w/the cap to dial it in a bit better and now I am tickled to death.

I still have yet to sea trial it but I hope to in the coming week. Thanks for all your help and patience. Let me know if you think I still need to be looking at something more before I get too excited. This has really made my Fathers Day.

Thanks,
Greg

 

[Coors]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

You still have a gremlin in the dist.

 

[gldavison]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

Don was right, I just did not want to believe that the engine was in need of yet further work.
The distributor does not consistantly keep the rotor turning. I can pull the distr. and reset and it will spin and the engine runs great. Today I was prepping for dropping it in the water for my maiden test. I fired up the engine and was checking for leaks when all of a sudden it just shut down.
Pulled the dist. cap and turned over the ign. and no spin on the rotor. Pulled distr. and reset and it spun. What next or now? I was so happy for about a week.

Thank you,
Greg

 

[bomar76]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

Check the roll pin in the distributor gear...

 

[Don S]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

Remember this from post #25

Let's put it this way, it may be turning, but I doubt it healed. You may have a sheared roll pin on the distributor gear and it is now binding which makes the rotor turn, but it will not stay in time.
.

 

[gldavison]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

Sure do Don, that is why I said you were right. That is not much help in fixing the problem though.

Coors man I see you also fortold of this "gremlin". Thanks for the advice.

Greg

 

[bomar76]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

Sure do Don, that is why I said you were right. That is not much help in fixing the problem though.

Coors man I see you also fortold of this "gremlin". Thanks for the advice.

Greg

WTF???
Don did tell you in #25 to check the roll pin....how that wasn't much help is beyond me....he specifically TOLD you what to check.The statement "that's not much help in fixing the problem though" is a head scratcher..

Coors made a passing comment about a gremlin in the distributor....now THAT wasn't much help.

 

[Don S]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

That is not much help in fixing the problem though.

What's the big deal, remove the distributor, remove the gear, remove the pieces of the old roll pin and install a new roll pin, and put it all back together.

 

[Coors]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

WTF???
Don did tell you in #25 to check the roll pin....how that wasn't much help is beyond me....he specifically TOLD you what to check.The statement "that's not much help in fixing the problem though" is a head scratcher..

Coors made a passing comment about a gremlin in the distributor....now THAT wasn't much help.

Well, he wasn't following advice.

 

[gldavison]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

I am sorry to have caused offense. I do not know what all is involved in a distributor let alone its' roll pin, that is why I come to this site. You guys do. I enjoy working on engines but do not obviously do this for a living. I appreciate the help you have all been to me with this boat, I really am. I would be paying quite a cost for a mechanic to have done all that I have to this boat under the suggestions and directions of you all.

I did not want to believe that there was more wrong with the engine as it is beginning to grow on me. I did acknowledge the fact that both Don and Coors had brought up what actually was my problem but I did not know where the roller pin was that they were referring to or what the distributor gear was, on the cam or on the distibutor. That was what I was looking for when the problem of the rotor not spinning reared its' head agian. I believed that there indeed was a deeper problem with the distributor, the one I closed my mind to.

I hope this sort of explains that mess. I am only a human and I make a lot of mistakes. Please let's treat oneanother with a little more understanding and loose the attitudes. I think it is awesome of you knowledgeable ones to show the patience and direction to those of us who really bennefit from your responses.

I am sorry for any excitement I may have stirred and after being locked out of the forum, I got the message that I had. I hope that I can continue to count on your advice in the future, it is very valuable to me. I do appreciate the help and your reading this.

Best Regards,
Greg

 

[Don S]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

after being locked out of the forum, I got the message that I had.

When was you locked out of the forums?????????? I know nothing about that, and I am a moderator.

As far as your engine goes. Next time someone says something about a roll pin and you know nothing about it, maybe it would be a good idea to ask and not just brush it off since you didn't understand what was said.
The other thing you need is an OEM service manual. Not just have it, read it, understand it, and if you don't understand something then ask.

Mechanics, and marine techs make money working on boats. same as auto mechanics and techs make money working on cars and trucks. While a boat is a toy, the mechanical parts are not toys. They are still gas engines, and gear boxes,and mechanical things.
If repairing boats was easy, eveyone would do it.

 

[Coors]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

glad you fixed it.
Next time, for other problems; just ask, if you don't understand.
We don't ***** at newbies; only ***** at fellow old farts.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: 76' mercruiser 888 no go

after being locked out of the forum, I got the message that I had.

I know nothing of this either.
But glad you got it straightened out.