Re: 67 Johnson 60hp Super Seahorse Having Spark Problems
Pull the spark wire out from the coil;
Unscrew the spark wire from the distributor cap;
Reinsert spark wire in coil;
Now crank it over and see if you have spark off the end of the wire.
The above routine will isolate the trouble as being before or after the distributor.
If no spark off the wire, remove the distributor wire from the (-) terminal on the coil;
Rig up a tempory wire to the (-) terminal
Turn on key;
Brush the temporary wire against a bare metal grounded part;
Does it get sparks off the spark wire when you did that? If so, check and fix the points.
If none of this produces sparks, check the voltage at the coil (+) terminal while cranking. It goes through a resistor, so should probably be around 6-8 volts. If no voltage while cranking, check the ignition switch, and/or the resistance wire. The resistance wire is built into the cable.
If on the first step you got sparks off the coil wire, but not at the plugs, check the distributor cap and rotor. The rotors arc through from the brass arm to the shaft. Just an invisable pin hole, but enough for the spark to ground out. Replacement is the only cure. New rotors come with a drop of dielectric grease inside them to prevent that arcing through from getting started.
This should keep you occupied for awhile.
