1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

[jasperastro]

Purchased used boat and motor Thursday eve, Engine ran fine at time of sale. Very clean, checked out very good. Friday morning went out and fired back up on muff in yard, ran great, no problems.Saturday am, went out changed out old battery, hooked up trolling motor to weaker battery, engine cranked great, but no fire?<br />Battery connections are hooked up correctly, noticed a spark at the battery positive side when hooking up new battery. <br />Checked wires to solenoid, has power, circuit breakers are not kicked out, test light goes off everywere but coils and power pack. <br />Pulled out plugs to arc while turning motor, no spark at all. I dont understand why a battery change would cause a problem like this, just wondering what it may be before i take to shop.<br />Hopefully something simple?<br />Any help would be great...holler at ya later...jas....

 

[CoachHolland]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

Test your stator with a DVA. If you don't have one, they're kind of expensive ($100+), so that might be something to have your local shop do just to get your readings. They'll be able to tell you if the voltage is low or not. Additionally, check your wiring first and make sure there are no loose or broken wires.<br /><br />Could be one of a bunch of things though. Bad coils (doubtful), bad power pack (a little more probable), bad stator (still probable) and bad trigger (possible as well). A short can fry any or all of your electrical system.<br /><br />Anyway, I would have them test the voltage at the stator. If that is good, then most likely your problem lies in your power pack. Replacing them is a piece of cake.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

If you have a digital multi meter you can get this adaptor for 36 bucks. DVA Adaptor

 

[jasperastro]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

Thank you for your replys, i will get to work soon and try out what you recommended.,....jas....

 

[12Footer]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

To check your kill circuit, disconnect the black wire with yellow stripe, on the port side of the engine, on the terminal strip.<br />It may be a defective lanyard kill switch, ignition switch, or short in the harness. But if you disconnect that wire, it disables the entire kill circuit. Caveat: be ready to choke-off the air supply to the carb (choke it to death), because you won't be able to shut off the engine with that wire disconected.

 

[jasperastro]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

I chased a ghost last night till 11:00pm, still to no avail, Dropped off boat this morning at shop on the way to work, they will diagnose and give me a call, I will let you all know what the problem was. Sure do appreciate ya"alls help!!!<br />Ground control to Major Tom.....jas....

 

[jasperastro]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

Just got word from the shop here in town, they say they are not getting any reading off the stator....also they say trigger may be bad. <br />I was dropped by the price they gave me for the stator....355.00$$...i found one for 175.00$$. They blame price on upgrades for that year model.<br />Now i am past the point of flustered, and feel i am being railroaded...any help at this point would save me a bundle.....pick it up...take it home...order parts...fix myself?, or let them work on it?...or buy a new motor?,,,humh....help

 

[oogaboga]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

Ive got tha same motor and the stator is 150.00to 170.00 not 355.00 unless the trigger and labor are in that price ,other wise your being "railroaded" ther not that hard to fix but a get book they help

 

[jasperastro]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

I just got off the phone with the mechanic, not the service manager. Got a new story.....He started with the Trigger, saying that three leads have no reading on his meter, only one has a faint reading. He is confident that replacing the trigger will determine if the stator is bad, then the power pack to follow this.<br />I believe this may be the culprit being the trigger is needed to activate the other two, in his "honest" opinion he thinks this is the only thing wrong. I guess i will give it a try, anything after this i will not fall for. Being most shops are high priced, it seems kind of strange the prices they are giving me, i found stators for 175.00 and trigger for 141.00. <br />They want 244.00 for the trigger, saying these are upgraded parts from Merc....cross reference...ect...<br />I guess thats what i get for hooking up a new battery////

 

[jasperastro]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

Can somebody tell me the order in which you check the electrical system on a boat motor?<br />I was told by the local shop mechanic, that he started with the trigger, getting no reading off three of the four leads, getting a very faint reading off one. He then added that he could not get a reading off the stator because the trigger was bad. I am having the trigger replaced first to see if the stator will get power from the new trigger, maybe this will eliminate the need for a new stator, then coils and power pack. <br />Would this be the proper order to replace parts and eliminate replacing un needed parts.<br />It seems that this local shop...Dawson Marine....is trying to make some money and chase ghosts...I got a good deal on this boat and it ran fine untill i changed out the battery, then my electrical problems came about. <br />It looks like i may be paying what i paid for the boat in order to get it repaired. <br />That 39.00$ battery so far has cost me 200.00$, and it looks like its going to be alot more...jas...

 

[jasperastro]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

Ground controll...to major tom...help.....

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

I'm trying to figure out how changing a battery could possibly cause your ignition system to fail. Except for the ignition switch, they're completely separate. The stator has separate windings for the charging and ignition systems even though they are part of the stator assembly.<br /><br />The stator can be checked with a common ohmmeter. The trigger isn't at all necessary to test the stator. Finding no resistance on three of four wires doesn't seem possible. The leads should be tested in pairs. See if the mechanic can provide you with some resistance readings. Maybe we can help from those. Don't authorize a complete changeout. It has to be something simple. I'm leaning toward the ignition switch, but that's a shot in the dark.<br /><br />Addendum: I just got back from Dawson's website. I didn't see anything mentioned about handling Force or Mercury. If they're trying to go off an aftermarket manual, they're not so hot. The factory service manuals are a ton better and since they do handle MerCruiser, they can get one. I'd advise ordering one for yourself and let them use it to test the ignition system before they go any farther. Electonic parts are not returnable and you'll be stuck with any they put on whether your old ones are any good or not. It'll take more time this way, but it could save you a ton in the long run. Good Luck!

 

[jasperastro]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

Thanks Willie B....My guns are now loaded....i will give them a call here shortly, ill let you know what happens,,,,thanks again.....

 

[jasperastro]

Re: 1991 50 hp Force, No Spark

Just talked to the Service manager, and he said that the mechanic did check the the stator, said it was bad, and also the trigger, bad also, i am supposed to call back after 1:00pm, to get my readings. He also said that the trigger harness is part of the trigger, and if the triggers bad, then the new harness comes with a the new trigger. There was not a short in the harness, the trigger is bad.<br />I also asked about the ignition switch, it was ok, so here we go........hurry up and wait...i think from now on i will do my own work, so far ia m getting the typical high overhead service experience....jas....