Good evening,
Please be patient with me! this is my first engine / boat project, but i feel i am learning quickly!
I hope some people here can help me out, I am after some suggestions as to what might be wrong with my engine.
First off, I have to admit, i can't be very specific about the year of my engine, It is labeled as a "Mariner 60" and is a 2 stroke. I will post the serial number and photo's tomorrow so hopefully somebody can help me identify the exact year/model. I tried to take some pics tonight, but it is a bit dark, so will wait for sun up
The engine was purchased on the cheap as it needed re-wiring. When I say re-wiring, i mean the previous owner had bodged the wiring inside the outboard to get it to work with the setup he had on his boat, so the connector had been replaced etc.
When I purchased the engine the previous owner fired it up and had it running. He started it by putting power directly into the starter motor and it ran for a few mins, so I know the engine does run, and will run, so assume I have done something wrong at the moment to not have it working...
I have since wired in a new mariner wiring harness. I am fairly sure i have my head completly around the electrical system, just to be sure, I will explain how i think things work, and if i am wrong, i would appreciate being given some direction to my mistakes
I have two thick cables from the battery. the live ( + volts) goes onto a pin on the starter solonoid. The ground ( - volts) goes onto a large ground point, in this case a big bolt.
There is also a cable that hooks up to the battery from the same pin on the starter solonoid. This takes power to the rest of the outboard and allows the other parts to function. There is an inline fuse on this cable.
The power cables goes into a metal block, where various other wires are joined. Basicly as far as I am concerned, the block is just a place to join wires, and serves no other purpose as there are no actual components to it. Inside this block are several wires which go to different parts of the outboard. They are.... Choke, Starter solonoid, ignition unit, voltage regulator (I believe will go to a rev counter) and all of the others go under the flywheel.
I have tested each seperate item listed above, and they all appear to be ok. I can make the solonoid open and the starter motor spin. The choke works when i put power into it (it has a lever so i can work it manually if required also). The ingition unit was tested, and produced a spark to each of the two spark plugs.
Now... to start the engine, and have it up and running I believe all I need to do, is to have +12v into the ignition unit, and then fire up the starter motor. Well, i have tried this.. The starter motor does its job, and spins the flywheel, but the engine doesn't fire up.
so, at this point, i thought maybe the spark plugs were not sparking, so i removed the plugs, and tested them. The plugs are ok. I grounded the plugs and ran the starter motor again, the spark plugs do produce a spark.
There are two spark plugs on my engine, I have tested both, and they appear to spark as I expect them to. However, could somebody tell me how often you would expect the spark plugs to spark when the starter motor is spinning the flywheel?
So, as far as I am aware, the electrical system, although a bit rough and bodged right now, is working and doing its job.
When i was trying to fire up the engine, I had my fuel tank connected, and I did see fuel go into the filter after using the pump on the fuel line.
I also remembered to open the small valve on the top of the fuel tank so air can get in when fuel is being taken in by the motor.
Right now, I am unsure what I should be checking next, could this still be an issue relating to the wiring, or is it possibly a mechanical problem?
If anybody can give me some tips on what to check next, or things that could be wrong i would be greatful.
Thanks in advance for any replies!
Alec.
Please be patient with me! this is my first engine / boat project, but i feel i am learning quickly!
I hope some people here can help me out, I am after some suggestions as to what might be wrong with my engine.
First off, I have to admit, i can't be very specific about the year of my engine, It is labeled as a "Mariner 60" and is a 2 stroke. I will post the serial number and photo's tomorrow so hopefully somebody can help me identify the exact year/model. I tried to take some pics tonight, but it is a bit dark, so will wait for sun up
The engine was purchased on the cheap as it needed re-wiring. When I say re-wiring, i mean the previous owner had bodged the wiring inside the outboard to get it to work with the setup he had on his boat, so the connector had been replaced etc.
When I purchased the engine the previous owner fired it up and had it running. He started it by putting power directly into the starter motor and it ran for a few mins, so I know the engine does run, and will run, so assume I have done something wrong at the moment to not have it working...
I have since wired in a new mariner wiring harness. I am fairly sure i have my head completly around the electrical system, just to be sure, I will explain how i think things work, and if i am wrong, i would appreciate being given some direction to my mistakes
I have two thick cables from the battery. the live ( + volts) goes onto a pin on the starter solonoid. The ground ( - volts) goes onto a large ground point, in this case a big bolt.
There is also a cable that hooks up to the battery from the same pin on the starter solonoid. This takes power to the rest of the outboard and allows the other parts to function. There is an inline fuse on this cable.
The power cables goes into a metal block, where various other wires are joined. Basicly as far as I am concerned, the block is just a place to join wires, and serves no other purpose as there are no actual components to it. Inside this block are several wires which go to different parts of the outboard. They are.... Choke, Starter solonoid, ignition unit, voltage regulator (I believe will go to a rev counter) and all of the others go under the flywheel.
I have tested each seperate item listed above, and they all appear to be ok. I can make the solonoid open and the starter motor spin. The choke works when i put power into it (it has a lever so i can work it manually if required also). The ingition unit was tested, and produced a spark to each of the two spark plugs.
Now... to start the engine, and have it up and running I believe all I need to do, is to have +12v into the ignition unit, and then fire up the starter motor. Well, i have tried this.. The starter motor does its job, and spins the flywheel, but the engine doesn't fire up.
so, at this point, i thought maybe the spark plugs were not sparking, so i removed the plugs, and tested them. The plugs are ok. I grounded the plugs and ran the starter motor again, the spark plugs do produce a spark.
There are two spark plugs on my engine, I have tested both, and they appear to spark as I expect them to. However, could somebody tell me how often you would expect the spark plugs to spark when the starter motor is spinning the flywheel?
So, as far as I am aware, the electrical system, although a bit rough and bodged right now, is working and doing its job.
When i was trying to fire up the engine, I had my fuel tank connected, and I did see fuel go into the filter after using the pump on the fuel line.
I also remembered to open the small valve on the top of the fuel tank so air can get in when fuel is being taken in by the motor.
Right now, I am unsure what I should be checking next, could this still be an issue relating to the wiring, or is it possibly a mechanical problem?
If anybody can give me some tips on what to check next, or things that could be wrong i would be greatful.
Thanks in advance for any replies!
Alec.