1985 Force 125 Question

[Salt Dawg]

I am brand new to Iboats, first log in, but am needing some information.

first: Are these engines dependable. This engine looks brand new, other than the fade on the cowl. Been sitting up for about 8 years or so on a bayliner capri. It is a local boat, so I know the owner. Have watched the boat rot to the ground around the trailer. He told me when I got it that he put it in a local lake one day after running it previous summer, and it would not crank. He took it home and put new plugs in it and it would not crank. He then put it in the yard and left it to rot.

second: two cylinders are not firing. I switched the cdi modules around and the other two cylinders fired, so all four coils are good. Which is more logical? 1/2 a bad stator, 1/2 a bad trigger, or bad cdi?

 

[erosenwinkel]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

I have a 1985 125 hp. I will tell you one thing, mine is easy and cheap to work on. Another thing, be patient. Usually within 24 hours you will get more than enough information to make an informed decision what to do. Make sure you be as specific as possible and then I am confident you will receive more than enough help. I am still learning so I won't muddy the waters with my uninformed guesses.

 

[Salt Dawg]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

Thanks. Didn't know how long it would take to get a response. Glad it was only a few minutes. I have a connection for used electronic parts, but you know how that is, used and electronics may not last very long, but would get me running to make sure that I want to spend money on the unit.

 

[Salt Dawg]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

Now I am even more confused. I went to work on it today, and none of the cylinders are firing. I pulled the flywheel, and cleaned the magnets underneath, and sprayed the stator with carb cleaner again to get off the rust and debris, put it back on and one of the packs sparked again, ___ONCE.
What is up with this thing? The magnet underneath the flywheel appears to be loose where it joins together. Is that a problem?

Make sure I am on the right track. I have the engine off of the boat and bolted to a table. All the wiring harness is OFF of the unit. I am hooking a battery directly to the ground, and positive side fo the solonoid, and using a screwdriver to jump acros the solonoid. (I took out the spark plugs, so it wouldn't have any compression.) There is no reason it should not fire, right?

How do you check the stator and the trigger for proper firing without a dva meter, which I do not have? Also, engine would be extremely hard to move right now.

 

[Salt Dawg]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

Went back, again, and took the flywheel off, cleaned everything again, put everything back again, and turned it over and #3 and 4 fired. There are two plugs that go to the cdi units coming out of the stator. I swapped those plugs, and then #1 and 2 fired and not 3 and 4. I am guessing that means without a doubt that one side of the stator is bad, right? both coils on each cdi fired, each cdi called for the particular plug to fire, and the trigger called for every plug to fire. The only break down is the stator energizing the cdi to fire when the trigger calls for it to fire.

Am I understanding this right?

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

Yes, you seem to have it correct.

 

[Salt Dawg]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

I got on a thread which contained questions about compression issues, and asked a question about my compression issues.

I got my message deleted, and chastised for "Highjacking" someone elses thread. I thought that is what the threads were for is to share information and to ask similar questions about what one person was asking. Guess Not!!

Well anyway, I do not even completely remember my thread reply, but it basically was that my compression was 90, 130, 90, 110 ( but that is not with the throttle advanced in any way, just simply as it sits in idle, with all plugs out, and shorting across the solonoid. Is that OK? Why is 1 and 3 lower but exactly the same? Looking at the side of the engine, it appears that a rubber hose(which I am supposing is the entrance for water into the water jacket) is located on 1 and 3, and those are the two low cylinders. I want to get this engine running for as little as possible, and do not want to pull the heads unless absolutely necessary. It has been sitting up for 8 years or so, without running. Could that cause variability in the compression, and am I dreaming when I ask, if that issue might fix itself once running??

 

[foodfisher]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

When a thread gets jacked, no-one knows which question is getting answered. = hand slap

 

[sidenberg]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

Seems you might consider buying a manual and reading it through to help you understand some of the basics about the Force 125

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

The hoses on the side of the engine are oil recirculation hoses and have nothing to do with compression. They simply recycle "puddled" oil at idle to improve the idle of the engine. Slightly lower compression on #1 and #3 are probably just coincidence. and by the way, cylinders are numbered from top down so the hoses you mention are probably on #2 and #4. Try squirting a little bit of oil into the low cylinders and see if compression numbers come up.

Be certain that when you crank over the engine with the plugs out, that all plugs are grounded or the ignition switch is off (depending upon what you want to test) Cranking with ignition on and plugs not grounded can damage the CD boxes.

 

[Salt Dawg]

Re: 1985 Force 125 Question

After I got this engine and started to try to find out what was causing it not to fire, I was turning it over with all plugs out, and none of the plugs grounded, except the one I was testing to see if it was firing. I just hope that I have not already damaged the cd boxes. I have determined that the stator WAS all that was wrong, but now it could be cd boxes as well.

How much cranking could cause damage?