**HELP**78 Evinrude Not Firing

[Nismospeed]

Hi all, first day on the forums, and first time to own an outboard. As the title said, I have a 1978 Evinrude 140hp outboard. Its a V4 and she's got issues. It will crank and crank and crank some more, but not fire for me. It does have a new fuel line, no leaks, so I am pretty sure she is getting fuel. I looked for loose or disconnected wires and have found none. I wanted to check each plug for spark, but I have no clue as to how to do it. The previous owner said it had none in any cylinder, but I think he knows as much as I do about the motor. I would like to check there first. If there is no spark, should I assume that both power packs are dead and replace them? Is there a way to test the power packs and/or coils? If anyone has the solution, I would love to hear it!! Thanks!!

 

[mulishatroop940]

Re: **HELP**78 Evinrude Not Firing

take one plug out at a time with the spark plug in the spark plug wire let it hang and let the plug side on the motor as a ground have someone crank that boat over and watch if it has spark good if not try replaceing the plug or the coil pack... if none have spark i would lean into checking the stator under the fly wheel. check if theres also bad ignition wires in the ignition bad wires cracked or broken to the coils

 

[Nismospeed]

Re: **HELP**78 Evinrude Not Firing

thanks... i will check into that as soon as my 1wk old finishes this bottle. earlier i did notice that the starter kinda sucks. seems if the position isnt right on the controls, it wont fully engage the flywheel. just bumps it and falls while whining a lot. will try to get a vid with sound today. maybe that will help... thanks for the starting point!!!

 

[Nismospeed]

edit to previous

edit to previous

checked plugs. no spark on any of them. followed the wiring back to the starter and everything seemed fine. the plugs dont look bad at all. they all look fairly new. is there any way to test the coil or the power packs without special tools? also, i spoke to the previous owner, and he claims that it was running on the water and then just died.....

 

[TimmyC]

Re: **HELP**78 Evinrude Not Firing

Sounds like you have a stator problem, it is under the fly wheel. I really don't think that both coils would have went bad at the same time.

I am not for sure if your engine has a power pack, check for that also.

 

[Nismospeed]

Re: **HELP**78 Evinrude Not Firing

Sounds like you have a stator problem, it is under the fly wheel. I really don't think that both coils would have went bad at the same time.

I am not for sure if your engine has a power pack, check for that also.

Actually, believe it or not, this thing has 4 coils, one per plug. Powering them is a pair of power packs, one on the number 1 and 4cyl, and the other on 2 and 3.

Sounds a little odd, but here is where I found all the info....
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/j...manufacturer=Evinrude&section=Ignition+System

really good site for parts and what not, gave me an estimate and an idea of what to look for at the very least. i'll check the stator and go from there.... thanks

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: **HELP**78 Evinrude Not Firing

Unlikely that all 4 coils went at once. There are three remaining components which contribute to spark: the two power packs, the timer base and the stator. (It is also somewhat unlikely that both packs went at once.) These three components are all expensive, so some electrical investigation is worth your time. You can get a factory service manual and perform electrical the diagnostic tests to see if you can determine which one part is faulty and replace just that part. Or: you could start changing out each part till you find the problem-an expensive alternative. Or:take it to a trained outboard mechanic. It is possible that you have a bad key switch. Unplug the main wire harness under the cowling. Jump start the starter with battery cables and see if any of the plugs fire as it turns over. An inductive timing light is handy here, as it shows any flashes in the plug wires.

 

[Nismospeed]

Re: **HELP**78 Evinrude Not Firing

ok, walked through everything again and still no signs of wiring issues or anything. decided to call the local marine shop, which i hate doing because they are so finicky on which motors they will or will not work on. anyway, they seem to agree with everyone here (and yes, i made it known that i asked a group in a forum called iBoats before calling the officials...lol). sooo, who am i to argue with a dozen agreements? going with the stator. like everyone said, what are the odds that 2 power packs, or 4 coils, or 4 spark plugs for that matter, all went dead at the same time. the odds that any one of those happening while the boat is running are very thin. so, lets start at the top and work our way down. wish me luck, and thanks to every one of you for your help. i will post the results as soon as i can get it ordered and installed. THANKS EVERYONE!!!!