1989, 125 hp Force - no spark

[1813BLY]

I'm thinking of buying boat with 1989 - 125 hp Force engine (black engine housing). Twice I have gotten it to idle for about 1 minute and then it quits and will not restart. Prior to this, the mechanic checked the compression - said it registered 145 on both, he also did a "Dyno check" and said that turned out good. He replaced a bad water pump. We replaced the 4 spark plugs and drained all existing fuel and replaced with 50:1 mix with some "Quick Clean" added. I can see fuel in the carbs and can see fuel spray into the the spark plug hole (while we pulled a plug to check spark). We could not see spark on the one plug that we did pull. Also checked the kill switch to make sure the little button was pressed in all the way. The engine appears to crank strongly using two batteries connected together (each 650 amp deep cycle). During the two times it idled there was some dark smoke out the backend. Any ideas as to wy this engine won't start and what I should check next?

 

[brose]

Re: 1989, 125 hp Force - no spark

I have the same motor, and had a similar problem as well. I had removed the coil packs cleaned all connections and then cleaned the terminal connections on the circuitboard. If you do this, remember to mark all wires and locations as to get the wiring correct. After I did this, I I cleaned my plugs and it fired up. I ran it a few times in the river and the problem seemed to disappear. I was told in a prior post that these motors have a hard time starting and running when they are cold. Good Luck!

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 1989, 125 hp Force - no spark

Are you setting the control handle in the fast idle-start position? Many force engines will not start cold unless put into this position and even if they do start, they will stall until warmed-up.

Since you had black smoke at start, assume the plugs are fouled and clean them before attempting to start again. These surface gap plugs foul very easily.

Now, to cold start, depending upon control, either push in the center button or pull the entire control handle out about 1/4 inch. Then advance the throttle as far as it will go.

Push in the key while turning it to start position to choke the engine and if she has spark and fuel, she should start and run at about 1500 RPM. let it warm up for a couple of seconds or more and pull the control handle back to neutral.