Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

[redfishpl]

I have a 1994 Johnson v4 140hp looper. I guess I did a newbie mistake and used jumper cables and my car to jumpstart engin on friday. It ran on muffs for 1/2 hour while I check the rest of the boat out. Sat I went to the ramp and it would not start. Further investigation revealed that I have no spark on all 4. I checked all kill switches and looked for shorts. I also disconnected the black/yellow wire and still nothing. I did some more looking online and found a CDI manual for my ignition system and it said not to jumpstart and to only use battery charger. So what did I fry by eing an impatient idiot? I hope it is just the rectifier. Any help would e great.:facepalm:

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

if you had to jump it off at the house..maybe battery is not fully charged??? if your motor does not crank above a certain RPM it will not spark...you need to remove your plugs and do a spark test with a spark gap tester..rectifier would opnly cause no fire if it burns up the stator.

 

[John Keenan]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

A rectifier changes A/C power to D/C. A regulator controls the alternator to charge the battery and has no part in the ignition system. Most marine cranking batteries are as big or bigger (higher amps) than a car battery so boosting from a car shouldn't hurt. Other issues may be involved here.

 

[boobie]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

If you are going to work on this mtr yourself you should get an OMC factory service manual. Lots of info in it on trouble shooting.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

Don't know about the 4 cyl's but the 1994 V6 will not spark with a bad rectifier/regulator.
They will run without it though.
The service test is to disconnect and see if spark returns.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

1st....Make sure battery is fully charged as it does not spin 300rpm or fast it will not fire.
2nd...Remove spark plugs as a dragging starter/defective battery cell will drop rpm and without plugs engine will spin faster.
3rd...Disconnect rectifier and retest as it can cause stator to overheat and fail.
4th .. Was battery dead when you jumped it? That stator is only a 10amp output and really not designed to charge a dead battery. If it was dead or has a bad cell it could cause stator to overheat and melt windings. Look under flywheel and see it there is a gooey epoxy substance oozing from stator windings.

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

Jones is correct...disconnect the rectifier and see if spark returns....generally the rectifier does not cause a no spark condition..but it is possible.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

not an electrical expert, BUT i did burn up a rectifier-regulator on my V4 60 degree LOOPER. the only thing i noticed was the tach would not work... i was also told I wouldnt be charging my battery as the motor ran...but i could NOT verify that... the motor ran fine other wise... i ran the motor for two days with the bad rect-reg...

I switched out to a used rect-regulator and my tach returned..

I am CURRENTLY in the postion of having a weak STRTER motor.. the results of which are

that i could get spark with no plugs in
but not get spark with the plugs installed
I charged the battery to full and the motor barely started( it was about 20 degrees warmer outside as well)
once I had used the motor a little and it was cold again, i could nt start the motor again and I had to use my kicker to get back in..

so a weak starter can be the cause no spark!!!

something about a minimum of rpm to creat enough juice

good luck

bob

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

generally a bad rectifier will have the problem you listed above Bob..but it is possible that it can cause a no spark issue..although I have never seen it happen..unless you count it burning up the stator..but the test chain I have seen at CDI list that as a possibility....

 

[boobie]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

I've never seen a bad rect/reg cause a no spark prob. They are all seperate circuits.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

X2 ...

 

[redfishpl]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

I cannot run motor at the house....neighbors complain. I go to a wash rack where I can hook up the muffs and run there. I charged the battery fully after I did my checks and overnight before I went to the ramp.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

I cannot run motor at the house....neighbors complain. I go to a wash rack where I can hook up the muffs and run there. I charged the battery fully after I did my checks and overnight before I went to the ramp.

so one way to check is to check spark with a spark tester in the dark( so you can see) unless you have a helper with you...and see if there is spark at all the plugs while all the plugs are installed and torqued...

IF NO SPARK...then move onto the second test

take ALL the plugs out...and check each plug wire with the tester to see if you are getting spark TO THE PLUG...if you do, then you have a weak starter motor maybe..


id install the a spark plug in the boot and ground it to the block somehow and make sure the spark jumps across the contacts...JUST IN CASE you might have bad PLUGS

if you didnt get spark with the spark tester and all the plugs out...then you will have to follow some of the others advice on what steps are needed to narrow down why you are not getting spark...

good luck

one step at a time...might gather all your tests before you head out..

bob

 

[CynicCE]

Re: Will a rectifier /regulator cause no spark on all 4 cyl?

I know this thread hasn't been commented on in awhile but it came up high on the list when I was searching so I figure this may help someone. This is on a 75 Evinrude 135

I had a no start issue at the lake. Appeared that the float wasn't working something with the carbs at first but replaced all that to no avail. Checked compression and it was good. This only left spark as the culprit. Got the spark tester out and sure enough nothing. Disconnected the kill switch and still saw nothing. I'm getting worried at this point because generally the only 3 parts going out at this point are the powerpack, timer base, and the stator. I did a good visual check and saw that the rectifier wire housings were cracked and appeared rather corroded. I disconnected the 3 wires and did a spark test again. VICTORY! I saw spark. I've only had the chance to test it on one cylinder but tomorrow she gets the other cyls checked and goes on the muffs to see if that solved the problem. Electrically, it doesn't make sense to me as it's really only there to direct proper current to charge the battery but if it works...i'm not going to complain. Sure beats spending 100-400 per part to replace the other stuff.