Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

[russm313]

I've got a 1979 Skitique made by correctcraft. It has a Ford 302 commander with a 4 barrel holly carb. Love the boat, only problem is....it won't crank Here's what is funny. It was cranking just fine, it would fire and crank up everytime. Now, all of a sudden, out of the blue, it will turn over just fine, but it will not catch. I have changed the coil (with an auto coil, is that ok?) and the points. The plug wires are fairly new. I have only had the boat for a couple of weeks, I have not even had it in the water yet. Please help!!!! <br />Thanks in advance,<br />Russ<br />also, is there a place I can buy a repair manual for the engine?

 

[McKenzie]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

are you getting power to the coil? an auto coil is fine as long as it is the same spec as the old one.

 

[dick]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

Do you have spark ?

 

[boat doc]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

on the coil, it depends if you have electronic ignition or not. are you externaly resisted, did you buy and external resisted coil, or internal. Did you hook your new coil back up right. grey wire on the ground side, purple wire on the plus side. Pull your distributer cap to see if your points are opening and closing (point gap should be listed on a stiker on valve cover). Make sure rotor is not broke.

 

[boat doc]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

had to run, here is a little more detail for ya<br /><br />you can test for a signal from your points or electronic ignition by hooking the clip side of the test light to pos of coil, and the proble side to neg of coil, turn the key over see if the light flashes...... if it flashes you eliminated your points, or elec ignition. If you used an internal resisted coil, and you also have an external resistor, you are going to get week fire.

 

[dick]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

As I said do you have spark? It will be one of three things ,electrical,fuel or mechanical.Do the easiest test first .Do you have spark? Pull off a plug lead and ram a screw driver or new plug in there and check for spark.

 

[boat doc]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

The only bad thing about the screw driver test is that you may still get a spark, but a weak spark. I have seen spark plugs fire out of a cylinder, but you put them under pressure (compression) and they fail

 

[russm313]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

Wow! Thanks for all the great information! I will have time to work on it tomorrow (sunday) and I will see what I can see. I'll post back here with any more questions or results I come across. Thanks so much for all the help!<br />Russ

 

[russm313]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

Ok, I just came inside from working on the boat. here is where we stand:<br />No sparks, anywhere! I pulled the plug wire, stuck a screwdriver in it and laid it on something metal, nothing happened when I turned the key, not even a little spark. I did the same thing to the coil wire that goes to the distributer cap. No sparks. I checked the circuit between the positive and negative terminals of the coil. When I turn the key on, the light on the tester comes on. It is steady though, it does not flash. Also, the coil is 12v externally resisted So, the million dollar question is.....How do I get sparks??? Thanks for all the help guys!<br />Russ

 

[russm313]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

Just to ammend that last post a little bit. I didn't just lay the screwdrive on something metal, I also held it really clost to the metal to see if a spark would jump, I tired really really close, and backed it away slowly while I was turning the key over. Never a spark. Also, the something metal was part of the motor block, so I'm sure that it was a ground.<br />Thanks,<br />Russ

 

[rattana]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

It could be the points. Are they opening and closing when you turn the engine over. Check the gap, it should be about .017

 

[russm313]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

GOT IT!!!!! <br />Thanks for all the help, everyone! The points were not opening at all. I adjusted them closer to the rotor, so it would hit the points to open them. As soon as I did, it cranked up first time, with just a bump of the key! Thanks again for everything, you people rock!<br />Russ

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

I'd suggest getting electonic ignition (Petronix) or getting/borrowing a dwell meter to be sure you've got them set up right. While a feeler guage works, it is not that accurate and a dwell meter works much better.<br /><br />I remember sitting in my engine compartment of my first car with the motor running and the little window up setting the dwell. THinking back, I'm not sure having my feet by the exhaust manifold was a bright idea, but there was lots of room in the engine bay to play.

 

[boat doc]

Re: Engine not firing... H E L P !!!!!!!

obviously you have voltage to your coil if you light lit up, did you crank your engine when you had your test light hooked up to see if you are getting signal to your coil. The advise on changing out to electronic ignition has its ups and downs. They are great when they work, but when they fail, they do some strange stuff. To buy from a dealer, it is 135.00 for that conversion, where as points and condensor are about 12.00. You also need to make sure to request an electronic ignition for a clip cap . The advancing springs in the distributer are different that a screw cap. <br /><br />Back to the topic. If you still do not have fire, check your points, make sure they are opening and closing (like I said before, point gap should be listed on valve cover gasket VIA a stiker) Dwell is the best way to go, but it will be out of dwell within a few hours of use (point burn, and therfore dwell does not stay within speck. What I do is set them at the smallest gap listed, and as the points burn down, the gap gets wider. Just my 2 cents anyway. Oh yea, to set gap, make sure you point are on the high side of the lobe on the dist shaft, also make sure to lube that lobe up with a touch of grease.<br /><br /> A little tip, the thickness of a business card is a great width to gap if you are ever stranded without feeler guages.