Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

[swfleur]

hello boaters, I love this forum. Need your help - I have an 85 Cobalt with a 228 Mercruiser ( 305 CID ) Serial is 6883209. I cant get spark - I have electronic igntion and ran a test light to the coil wires - It stays lit as I crank the engine over - good battery but no spark?? Distributor and rotor looks okay - Any ideas ? I am thinking about changing the Ign Coil but was wondering if there is any schematic for the electronic ignition box? Any help is greatly appreciated. I have ordered a manual but it's not here for a week thanks guys

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Check this chart, might just be a bad tach or shift interupter
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?p=2808468&posted=1#post2808468

 

[swfleur]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

thanks but that is for a 5.7 and seems different then my engine - any other ideas?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Who`s electronic ign.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Its still the same stuff, If the tach or the shift interupter are bad or stuck you wont have a spark. the eletronic ignition mod can go bad the coil can go bad, cap, rotor. Any number of things.
Read the adults only section and down load your manual, Then you should be able to test this out and find the problem.

 

[swfleur]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

okay so I should check the neutral position and the tach -
if Neutral switch was off or bad - starter wouldnt even work ? correct?
I keep checking the ADULT only section but cant see any manual ??
I ordered one already - are you suggesting I buy a download version?

how do I check the tach? - obviously the tach signal is created by the alternator/generator as I crrank the engine over - then what am I looking for a signal and where?

 

[swfleur]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

thanks to BT doctor and Bifflefan - you guys were on the right track and the I was a Jac_*** to question your advice on what motor regarding the "thunderbolt" - finally got my manual and did the chart check list -

With a goos spark plug in the High voltage lead from coil and grounded to block ...

-pulled the gray tach wire off the coil - still nothing for spark
-tested the purple wire for the power to the ignition module ( Thunderbolt IV breakerless electronic timing High Energy igniton ) - power to this ok
-did the - remove green /wht wire from dist term and touching it to ground to simulate - no spark
-tested the shifter cable limit switch - it was okay - making and breaking continuity to ground depending on shift position - removed it for testing - still no spark at crank over
-lastly - checked the red/white wire coming from the ignition module - no voltage at all -

looking like the ignition module is the issue ( ?)

is there any way to check the crank sensor in the distributor with ohms or ?


Any suggestions?
Thanks again and feel free to be rough with me

 

[mudweiser]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Not trying to hi-jack your post but i have the same problem in my 89 Arriva 5.0LX with the thunderbolt ignition. I have no spark from the coil. I have yet to look into it any further, but i will post my results when i find something.

 

[swfleur]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Dude - we got it fixed - check - CDI red wire output with voltmeter - test crank sensor under dist cap and then gray tach wire could ground out. - lastly - geen white wire at shift cut out switch - ours was the crank sensor -

 

[mudweiser]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Mine was a painless, E-Z fix. The 2 wires that attach to the side of the distributor were loose. Tightened them up, and life was good.

 

[Henry Rush]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Hey Guys, I'm just getting on, and I don't know anything about boats except that I own one. It's a 1988 VIP Ski boat with an inboard 3.0L Murcury engine. I let it sit in the carport for two years and now it wont start. The battery went dead so I replaced it with a battery from my Van. It will turn over, but I cannot detect a spark from the coil. HELP!!! Any advice would be more than welcome. Oh yes, this may help, the HIN # is Vvn69223j788.

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Hey Guys, I'm just getting on, and I don't know anything about boats except that I own one. It's a 1988 VIP Ski boat with an inboard 3.0L Murcury engine. I let it sit in the carport for two years and now it wont start. The battery went dead so I replaced it with a battery from my Van. It will turn over, but I cannot detect a spark from the coil. HELP!!! Any advice would be more than welcome. Oh yes, this may help, the HIN # is Vvn69223j788.

Henry,

You should start your own fresh thread for this question. This current post is almost 5 months old.

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser, No Spark, SOS

Welcome aboard Henry.
Best thing you could do at this point is to start your own thread. This thread belongs to someone else and their problem.
When you do start your own thread, post the type of engine and drive, along with serial numbers. The HIN means nothing in this forum, it's all about the engine and drive.