Hello,
I've been searching and reading post after post for weeks now, all diagnostic references and testing procedures etc I can find and cannot figure this one out.
I purchased a 13' mini speed boat about a year ago which has the Tohatsu 30 efi 4 stroke. It always started so easily. The boat sat for about 2 months and I went to go take it out and it would not start. I found it had no spark in any of the 3 cylinders. I checked the kill switch, was not the problem. I gave up after about 20 minutes as I had better things to do that day and decided Id take another, more professional, stab at it in the morning.
The next morning I pulled the cord once and it started. Took the boat out on the lake and ran it on and off for the next 3 hours. No problems at all. Put the boat away that evening and attempted to take it out the following afternoon... No spark. that was 4 weeks ago and it hasn't run since.
So here's where I'm at. I've followed my shop manual and tested all resistances. From what I'm seeing, they are all within spec. I made a DVA, pulses are all in spec.
When it seldom gets spark, while cranking, the buzzer horn sounds. It always had done that since I owned it on every pull until it started, like a short whistle. Once started the horn shuts off. So now, every once in a while the horn will sound while trying to start it. At that time, if I have my spark tester hooked in line, it will light up on that pull. Next pull, and several pulls after, there will be nothing. Then it will have spark on one pull again, sometimes two.
The only thing I'm finding strange in my testing's are, in the shop manual, there's a resistance test that is for the ignition coils. It shows testing from the, i.e. Black/white wire to the black, which shows resistance just out of spec on all three coils and the next test shows a resistance reading through the plug wire to the black ground. I'm not getting any reading on that test on all three coils, which leads me to believe I'm doing something wrong because I find it hard to believe all 3 of my ignition coils would fail simultaneously. Is that possible, but then all three suddenly light up on one pull, then for anywhere from 5 pulls to 50 pulls they're all dead again?
I'm frustrated and ready to put a for sale sign on it. it seems, because of how its acting, it would be something simple. I've tried the jiggle test, ready to try the gentle persuader (hit it with a hammer) test.... For the life of me I cannot solve it.
Thanks for any input or thoughts
Scott
I've been searching and reading post after post for weeks now, all diagnostic references and testing procedures etc I can find and cannot figure this one out.
I purchased a 13' mini speed boat about a year ago which has the Tohatsu 30 efi 4 stroke. It always started so easily. The boat sat for about 2 months and I went to go take it out and it would not start. I found it had no spark in any of the 3 cylinders. I checked the kill switch, was not the problem. I gave up after about 20 minutes as I had better things to do that day and decided Id take another, more professional, stab at it in the morning.
The next morning I pulled the cord once and it started. Took the boat out on the lake and ran it on and off for the next 3 hours. No problems at all. Put the boat away that evening and attempted to take it out the following afternoon... No spark. that was 4 weeks ago and it hasn't run since.
So here's where I'm at. I've followed my shop manual and tested all resistances. From what I'm seeing, they are all within spec. I made a DVA, pulses are all in spec.
When it seldom gets spark, while cranking, the buzzer horn sounds. It always had done that since I owned it on every pull until it started, like a short whistle. Once started the horn shuts off. So now, every once in a while the horn will sound while trying to start it. At that time, if I have my spark tester hooked in line, it will light up on that pull. Next pull, and several pulls after, there will be nothing. Then it will have spark on one pull again, sometimes two.
The only thing I'm finding strange in my testing's are, in the shop manual, there's a resistance test that is for the ignition coils. It shows testing from the, i.e. Black/white wire to the black, which shows resistance just out of spec on all three coils and the next test shows a resistance reading through the plug wire to the black ground. I'm not getting any reading on that test on all three coils, which leads me to believe I'm doing something wrong because I find it hard to believe all 3 of my ignition coils would fail simultaneously. Is that possible, but then all three suddenly light up on one pull, then for anywhere from 5 pulls to 50 pulls they're all dead again?
I'm frustrated and ready to put a for sale sign on it. it seems, because of how its acting, it would be something simple. I've tried the jiggle test, ready to try the gentle persuader (hit it with a hammer) test.... For the life of me I cannot solve it.
Thanks for any input or thoughts
Scott