what a bummer

[novabrg]

I recently bought a used boat from an individual it is a 1990 maxum 120 horse (im told it is inboard/outboard- my first boat so i dont know the difference-the motor is inboard but looks like an outboard mounted inboard to me) but it cranked fine when i bought it but when first trying to put it in the water it developed a problem and power to the key switch went dead - after a couple days of scratching my head i ended up running wires from the battery to the key switch and that seemed to fix the problem-the boat started right up and ran great we took it out and ran around the lake for about 8 hours one day then took it home-couple days later took it out again - it started and ran great for about 30 minutes then died like the switch was turned off no sputter just died wouldnt start-of course a storm was coming i didnt know about- so after sitting all night in a thunderstorm trying to get it goin the sun finally comes up and we decide its time to row to somewhere - by now it had been about 12-16 hours dead -i decide to try to start it again just in hopes and wham it started right up and ran about 2 miles back to the ramp then died again and wouldnt start - Im new to boats so im still scratching my head - anyone have any ideas on what this boats problem might be- not interrested in spending another night like that stuck on the lake( probably the last time boating in a remote area for awhile also) thanks in advance for any help at all

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: what a bummer

You need to be more specific:year, make & model

 

[vipzach]

Re: what a bummer

What lake were you on here in OK? Last weekend? My boat did something similar two weekes ago and the only problem I could find was the outdrive was real low on oil(at the shop now getting top half rebuilt) Give more details about your motor and drive(size and type). You have an I/O, motor mounted Inside and drive mounted on the Outside

 

[novabrg]

Re: what a bummer

sorry it is a 1990 120 horse mercury inboard/outboard - hope that tells you what you wanted to know

 

[novabrg]

Re: what a bummer

we were on eufaula lake off of highway 31

 

[vipzach]

Re: what a bummer

Have you checked the battery, had it tested? How did the wire look under the dash that went to the key switch. How about the battery cables, clean, and tight, no corrision?

 

[vipzach]

Re: what a bummer

Have you checked the battery, had it tested? How did the wire look under the dash that went to the key switch. How about the battery cables, clean, and tight, no corrision?

 

[Striper Blues]

Re: what a bummer

check the lanyard. Sometimes when they get old the work intermittently.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: what a bummer

Check ALL THE CONNECTIONS! Now is the time to do electrical maintenance. Remove, sand, clean, re-install, and lightly grease all your electric connections. The boat is 15 years old and it might have been done in a long time if ever!<br /><br />Just a good chance to get the manual and do some preventive maintenance.<br /><br />Bob

 

[Olds Eddie]

Re: what a bummer

Could be two problems. Do as suggested and clean all electrical connections including the grounds. The won't start condition could be the coil going bad as this is how they behave. After cooling down engine will usually restart and run until the coil heats up again.

 

[novabrg]

Re: what a bummer

thanks yall you have given me some new things to work on - I had read in a post somewhere that to much voltage to the coil will cause it to over heat and i wondered if when i bypassed the ignition system (by running wires from battery to the key switch ) if maybe i increased the voltage at the coil im obviously not real sharp on electrical issues so not sure if it matters

 

[novabrg]

Re: what a bummer

i also considered the coil - it looks like it has 4 coils - one to each cylinder if that is a right assumption then it seemed unlikely that all 4 no doing well - but i could be wrong in assuming 4 of them - also i didnt say in the original post (and should have)that the engine cranked over very strongly but it acted like the power to the cylinders was interrupted it wouldnt try to fire at all-and though i know it is a bad idea to use starting fluid i did shoot some in the carbs to be sure that it was electrical- i figured if it will fire off on starting fluid then the problem is feul related but it didnt react to the starting fluid at all and seemed as though the plugs were not firing - QUESTION can i bypass the lanyard is that a bad idea for some reason i dont know-because i wondered about that also-i figure it is a fairly simple problem considering it finally did start and when it got ready to start it busted right off on the first crank. i carry 2 extra batteries so battery power was not an issue (they are around as extras not connected)also i have checked the connections as best i could and was not able to find anything that looked like a potential problem and all the wires from the dash to the engine and all around the engine compartment appear to be in good shape-the whole boat seems to be fairly well maintained---again thatnks for yalls time and your input

 

[Olds Eddie]

Re: what a bummer

You have a newer style ignition with a coil pak so that is probably not your problem. Try by-passing the lanyard. It won't hurt anything.

 

[novabrg]

Re: what a bummer

thank you ill try that lanyard bypass

 

[bluewater19]

Re: what a bummer

Sounds like you have a mercury/force L-drive not the standard 3.0 mercruiser. <br />Is this motor a 2 stroke? Do you add oil to the gas?<br />The mercruiser has 1 coil and a regular car looking distibutor.

 

[novabrg]

Re: what a bummer

yes it is 2 stroke and yes it is L-drive - not sure what L-drive is exactly but i have it

 

[rodbolt]

Re: what a bummer

its a problematic rig that my advice is to spend no money on other than testing and water pumps. <br /> its has a stator that powers the ign system. if all 4 coils produce no spark it could be a bad ign switch, a bad emergency stop switch a bad spot on the terminal block on the engine or a bad stator. the terminal block will get enough junk on it to allow the kill circuit to arc over and kill the system.<br /> moderators need to move this to chysler/force forum