1995 60 hp 3 cyl no spark!

[ibnfe]

OK, I found a CDI ignition troubleshooting guide online from CDI Electronics here and here and need help interpreting the results. First off, background is motor died on recent fishing trip while idling and wouldn't restart. Checked for spark at the garage, no spark on any cylinder. I finally got it to spark one time by tapping on the side of the ignition switch. Thought "must be bad switch", changed ignition switch, still no spark. Disconnected the yellow/black wire for the kill circuit from the CDI box, no spark. Disconnected the two yellow wires to the rectifier, no spark.
Here are my resistance readings for the stator: Blue to ground is open, red to ground is .5700M.
Trigger resistance readings: brown to white/black-1.280M, white to white/black-1.090M, purple to white/black-1.008M. brown to ground-1.335M , white to ground-1.375M , purple to ground-1.448M.
I don't have a DVA (yet) to check the peaks, and I'm not a rocket scientist, but my readings are off nearly across the board from what they should be, so either I'm doing something wrong or I need some help reading the results. Blue to ground should not read open. Red to ground should read less than
.5700. None of my trigger wires should have any continuity to ground. The only thing I see that reads within spec's are the triggers.
The spec chart lists two separate resistance values, one OEM and one CDI. What is the difference between the two?
Anybody run across something like this before or know what might be causing my headache here? Parts cost too much to buy without knowing they're bad, but being without a fishing rig sucks, especially when the fish are biting!

 

[ibnfe]

Re: 1995 60 hp 3 cyl no spark!

Forgot to include that it's a mercury outboard.

 

[emckelvy]

Re: 1995 60 hp 3 cyl no spark!

There are (2) different set of specs; one for OEM stator and one for the CDI replacement stators. Assuming you have the original factory stator you should be using the OEM specs.

Providing you are following the testing instructions correctly, and your meter is accurate, do not discount bad resistance readings.

DVA testing is not going to lead you to a different diagnosis when you already have bad resistance readings.

DVA testing is useful when resistance testing is inconclusive or you have a stator that's only slightly marginally out-of-spec and you want to confirm the diagnosis.

In your case, you've indicated one of the windings is blown out and that will certainly mess up your sparking!

Sounds to me like it's time for a new CDI stator. I have never had to replace a CDI-brand stator after trashing the shot OEM part (and have done this many many times).

So, the CDI resistance specs are great to have but likely once you install one you'll never have the need to use them!!!

Here's one good place to find CDI-brand replacement stators:

http://www.boatfix.com/searchcdi.asp

HTH & G'luck...........ed

p.s. be sure to check for voltage to ground on the 'kill' wire, any voltage at all on this wire will kill the switchbox. I'd check in both the Off position and in Run to be sure.

 

[ibnfe]

Re: 1995 60 hp 3 cyl no spark!

Thanks for the help Ed! More to the problem now. Changed out my stator with CDI. Ran like a champ today for awhile, probably 45 minutes or so. Then died while idling through no wake zone. I could only get it to start by cranking up the idle lever. It would run, but died every time I tried to idle down to put in gear . Back to the garage. Found I was getting intermittent spark to each cylinder. I got it to start with idle lever up again on hose but it sounded like it was missing. Tried the spark tester again, intermittent and weak spark during cranking, only when throttle lever was up. No spark at all if throttle lever wasn't up. Stator and trigger resistances all read good. Disconnected kill wire again, no fix. Same with regulator disconnected. Tried reading voltage to coils and didn't even get a bump. Looking at the switch box I think, but I hate getting a part when I'm not certain it's bad. Any suggestions on what else I can check? Ever have a new stator cause problems elsewhere?

 

[emckelvy]

Re: 1995 60 hp 3 cyl no spark!

So you're getting spark only if the fast idle lever is up? Very strange indeed!

The only diff when you're throttled up a bit is that the trigger moves. So, I'd suspect busted wire(s) in the trigger assy.

You can try metering the trigger wires while wiggling and pulling them. See how the wires move when opening the throttle, and move them the same way.

One other thing, I'd doubt that a defective switchbox could take out a new stator, but it couldn't hurt to verify the new stator is still OK. Be sure to use the CDI values for high- and low-speed windings.

If you are able to rule out any issues with the trigger assy, and the stator still checks out OK, there's not much left but the switchbox. It's highly unlikely all the ign coils have failed. It would still be nice to get some readings via DVA to confirm the bad switchbox. There are postings here on commercially available DVA's for fairly reasonable prices, also a thread on how to build your own.

Here's some links I dredged up on that:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=371144

http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=43784&d=1264473219

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?p=1609186

Here's a pretty reasonable price for the commercial product:

http://www.boatfix.com/bykeywordnew2cdi.asp?textfield=511-9773&texttype=2&submit=Search

HTH..............ed

 

[ibnfe]

Re: 1995 60 hp 3 cyl no spark!

CDI stator readings: 30.9 ohms red, 570 ohms blue. triggers, 1.2 M, 1.15 M, and 1.22 M. Still building the DVA. Radio shacks around here closed on Sunday . I'll post the DVA readings when I get 'em! Already looked at the trigger harness. Don't see any problems with it moving or stationary. Tried reading while moving, no change.