50ESL73R No Spark

[Captain Bravo]

I am almost at the end of my tolerance with this motor. I had a combination of problems recently (ignition and fuel). It took me a while to get that sorted out. I replaced the stator, rectifier, and timer base. That fixed the spark problem, and then there was a bizarre fuel issue that ended up being an aftermarket fuel pump that had a gasket that wasn't fuel resistant. So would clean the carbs, it would start for a short time, and then as the gasket quickly filled the carbs with tiny gasket fibers, it would give me problems again. Long story short, when we figured that out, I bypassed the fuel pump, and we just kept squeezing the primer bulb, and it kept running. Ok, problem solved. I ordered an OMC fuel pump, installed it, and it never fired even once. It now had no spark. How that happened at that time is just one of the mysteries around this motor.

In testing, I am getting 6v on the timer base, but only .5v on the brown wire from the stator, while it was connected to the power pack. So I took the wire off the power pack, and got 700v. I still had the original power pack, so I tried it too, and got the same results.

Does that mean that the (new) power pack is bad, or the (new) stator is bad? Or something else is bad? Is there something else I need to check?

Any help would sure be appreciated. In the past this boat has been a source of relatively inexpensive entertainment for the family. A new motor just isn't possible right now, too much life happening all at once if you know what I mean.

CB

 

[F_R]

Do you have the kill wire disconnected from the power pac? Describe in detail, how you are making that test.

 

[Captain Bravo]

F_R,
yes, the kill wire is disconnected. I neglected to mention that, but that's the first thing I did. After that I started doing the testing described by CDI Electronics. So I tested the ohms and then voltage with a DVA. Ohms and voltage on the timer base and brown wire from the stator check ok when disconnected, but the brown wire is only. 5v when connected. Which tells me that either the power pack is bad, or the stator is bad, being unable to make power under load. If that makes sense.

CB

 

[saltchuckmatt]

Your crap fuel pump went bad and now your not using OMC/brp power packs?

I think your answering your own question.

I hope your studying the proper procedures to install all that.

 

[Captain Bravo]

I am following the manual, or updated instructions. Things have changed since 1973, the manual recommended tools and spark plugs are no longer the recommended parts and procedures. The timer base, power pack, and stator are all CDI Electronics parts. Which I had understood to be as good or better than OEM.

CB

 

[saltchuckmatt]

I know lots of marine mechanics that do not like them. In general, and this applies to most mechanical things, OEM will always be the right call

 

[F_R]

Don't have an answer but what makes sense is that the stator output is going to ground through some low resistance shunt instead of charging the capacitor as it is supposed to do. That's why the kill wire was first suspect. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Captain Bravo]

I am no expert on boat motors, but I can see two possible reasons for the test results I am seeing. Either the stator is only producing "ghost" voltage that it cannot sustain under load, or the power pack is internally grounding that wire. I came here hoping someone would know how to test between those two components and determine the actual fault.

 

[racerone]

Post the actual ohm readings off the charge coil.-----And actual ohm readings on sensor coil.-----Is the starter motor spinning flywheel fast enough??

 

[Captain Bravo]

Racerone, they were within spec, but I didn't write them down and don't remember. I'll check them tonight after work and report back. Thanks.

 

[Captain Bravo]

Racerone, I think this is everything.
Brown (stator ignition wire) to ground disconnected & connected to power pack - 719ohms.

Trigger to trigger - 18.4ohms.

Power pack brown to ground terminals, wires disconnected - 9950ohms.

Yellow to Yellow (stator) - 1.1ohms.

Power pack term 1 (brown) to ground - 2.1Mohms.

CB