1984 Evinrude 140 hp sea drive

[Scovbert]

Hi everyone, I recently bought a 20ft sea ox fishing/family boat with a 1984 Evinrude 140 sea drive. When purchasing the boat i was told the motor ran great all last season and then when putting it away for the winter it would not run. It was determined that there is no spark on any of the cylinders. For the price I paid I figured no spark would be a relatively easy and inexpensive fix. I’m only a couple of hours in on diagnosing this but I’m starting to get a little stumped as I move along, mainly because it seems like someone has messed with the factory wiring a little bit. Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
cleaned up ground terminations.
charged the batteries
took our the plugs to achieve high rpm over 250.
unplug black/yellow wire and cranked. No spark.
unplugged both yellows from the rectifier. No spark.
resistance check of stator= 580ohms.
the previous owner replaced the rectifier and ignition switch.

engine model #2BAXCOM
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[spybot]

When purchasing the boat i was told the motor ran great all last season and then when putting it away for the winter it would not run.

Did you actually see the motor running?
How did you check if there was a spark ?

 

[racerone]

Post picture of the ignition switch.-----Or does the ignition swith have 2 " M " terminals on it ?------First thing I would do is a compression test on a " crossflow " engine.----Post the numbers.---------I would have battery load tested.----Also take starter apart for testing / inspection / new brushes.----No $ involved in inspection / testing.

 

[Scovbert]

Did you actually see the motor running?
How did you check if there was a spark ?

I did not see it run. I took the plugs out, rested each one against the block and cranked...not a single sign of spark. I also bought a spark tester and tried each plug while in the cylinder and got nothing on the test light.

 

[Scovbert]

Post picture of the ignition switch.-----Or does the ignition swith have 2 " M " terminals on it ?------First thing I would do is a compression test on a " crossflow " engine.----Post the numbers.---------I would have battery load tested.----Also take starter apart for testing / inspection / new brushes.----No $ involveed in inspection / testing.

I will check the ignition switch when I get home. I did compression check of the motor before purchasing it and all 4 cylinders had an even 90 psi. I read the manual which says the even compression is what to look for. I also think once it's running the psi numbers should increase from the oil creating a seal on the rings. The starter is brand new. I could try to do a load test on the batteries. Unfortunately the wiring has been slightly tampered with being the Oil injection has been removed. I also was wondering if someone could tell me what this one wire goes to, I've looked at the wiring diagram but not sure if this is right. thanks guys for your time and help! very much appreciated!

 

[racerone]

Compression of 90 psi is low.----You have a bad gauge or serious engine problems.----I am not sure if I would put a lot of faith in this saltwater motor.

 

[Scovbert]

I won’t deny that the gauge could be off...it was 25$ at harbor freight.

 

[Scovbert]

Also just realized I didn’t have the throttle wide open while checking! Man the stupid things I do sometimes.

 

[racerone]

Throttle does not need to be wide open for a compression test on that motor !!

 

[Scovbert]

Throttle does not need to be wide open for a compression test on that motor !!

Can you please explain this for me to better understand why? In other news, according to the ignition system check list i found online it seems as though my stator is actually bad. When I did my initial resistance check of it i went from brown to brown/yellow and that yielded 580 ohms. The check list says i should have checked from the brown wire to the motor ground and get approximately 500 ohms, but it reads OL(open load). Just want to confirm that this method is accurate and the stator is indeed bad. thanks again for the help.

 

[racerone]

Check list be wrong.-----Brown to ground should show infinity ( open circuit ) -----Brown to brown / yellow is reading correct I believe !!-----Exhaust ports are wide open.----Therefor throttle plates do NOT need to be open !

 

[jimmbo]

Cause unlike a 4 Stroke, which can only draw air through the Induction System(some real wild cams exempt from this statement) to fill the Cylinder, a 2 stroke can let air in through the exhaust ports too.
If you have a spec of X Ohms, and you read Infinity, then it sounds like a open in the circuit. Just reread the Instructions to verify you are testing/measuring the correct connections. Electrical Parts, once purchased are not returnable.

 

[Scovbert]

Cause unlike a 4 Stroke, which can only draw air through the Induction System(some real wild cams exempt from this statement) to fill the Cylinder, a 2 stroke can let air in through the exhaust ports too.
If you have a spec of X Ohms, and you read Infinity, then it sounds like a open in the circuit. Just reread the Instructions to verify you are testing/measuring the correct connections. Electrical Parts, once purchased are not returnable.

Thanks! i agree, i was starting to lean toward bad timer base assembly. Going to pull the flywheel tomorrow and inspect that as well. I have been told by multiple people now that this is sometimes a common issue. I never like to throw parts at something, so i am trying to confirm before I buy any parts.

 

[Scovbert]

Four Cylinder Engines (Except Quick Start Models) No Fire at All: Disconnect the black yellow kill wire and retest. If the engines now has fire, the kill circuit has a fault-possibly the keyswitch, harness or shift switch. Disconnect the yellow wires from the stator to the rectifier and retest. If the engine fires, replace the rectifier. Check the stator resistance. You should read approximately 500 ohms from the brown wire to the brown/yellow wire. Check the DVA output from the stator. You should have a reading of at least 150V or more from the brown wire to the brown/yellow wire (while connected to the pack). Check the timer bases resistance from the white wire to the blue, green, pink and purple wires. Reading should be 38-42 ohms. Check the DVA output from the timer base. A reading of at least 0.5V or more from the white wire to the blue, green, pink and purple wires (while connected to the pack) is needed to fire the pack. Check the cranking RPM. A cranking speed of less than 250-RPM will not allow the system to fire properly.

Is this the wrong checklist for my engine? Excuse my lack of knowledge, but the marine world is fairly new to me.

 

[Scovbert]

So i checked the resistance of my timer base today and i'm unsure if this was done right being the wire colors seem to be different than the list i posted and less wires as well. one socket had 4 wires 3 coming from the timer (white, green, blue) and a black wiring coming from the main harness. the other side from the timer i have white/black, green/white, blue/white. If i measure from white to green and blue i get 33ohms and same on the other side. if i measure between white and white/black i get OL(open load) and just to confirm i checked for continuity from the black wire on the one side to the main motor ground and as suspected it is ground. I also popped off the flywheel to check for anything obvious like stator oozing or anything like that, all looks good. I did order a service manual which i will have in a few days, hopefully if you guys haven't helped me already the service manual can. Thank a lot guys for being so helpful, really hoping to get out there for some good fall fishing!