1972 Evinrude 85HP won’t start

[DoingTheBestICan]

I have a 1972 Evinrude 85HP Hydroelectric Shift. The motor has ran great all summer then all of a sudden on the last last week it starts surging and running really rough. I drained the gas tank and put fresh non ethanol gas in. Put a new fuel pump on and gas lines. Changed spark plugs. I ran it on the hose for about 15min after I did this. I tried to crank it yesterday and it would only turn over and would not fire. I check compression and spark. Just turning over the engine there was no spark. I check the power pack and that was fine. Could this be an issue with the distributor or stator? Anyone have an idea what could be causing this?

Here is a video of what it was doing on the water .

https://youtu.be/XskOAN21OTQ

 

[fireman57]

How did you check the power pack?

 

[racerone]

Remove flywheel.-----Inspect anti-reverse spring.----Clean / adjust breaker sets ( points ) to 0.010".-------Clean distributor cap and rotor.------Perhaps run at night to look for spark leaking under the flywheel from wee rubber boots on leads.

 

[DoingTheBestICan]

I checked the purple wire out of the power pack and there was 12volts there. The power pack was also replaced right before I purchased it last October.

 

[fireman57]

I'm with racer, check the points and look for a wire that may be rubbing under the flywheel.

 

[DoingTheBestICan]

It won’t even start but it does turn over fine. Would I be able to see the spark at night just turning it over ?

 

[racerone]

Inspection / trouble shooting needs to be done.---------Or I could say----" I have a motor just like that and after installing a new amplifier it runs like a top "-----Keep posting on your progress.

 

[DoingTheBestICan]

How would I go about testing the stator while I have the flywheel off?

 

[F_R]

You can start by listening to what people are telling you. Once you get the flywheel off, you will see a ring of coils. They are for charging the battery and have nothing whatsoever to do with spark. They encircle the distributor cap. Take all that off and you will find two sets of breaker points. You will also find a silver wire spring around the shaft. All that requires regular maintenance which probably hasn't been done for years.

BTW, it is an "amplifier", not a power pack. Just so people know what you are working on. And careless messing around can blow it in a heartbeat.

 

[fireman57]

Step one. Remove the flywheel with an air gun. Pull it with a harmonic balancer puller, not a three jawed thing. Can't remember the thread size but grade five bolts will do it. As you tighten it tap the top of the pull with a hammer.

 

[geoffreymoreland@gmail.com]

Just pulled mine. Bolts for puller are 5/16 - 24. Similar problem for me was running rough. Found the one set of points to have almost no gap when opened.