No spark 55 HP Evinrude triumph 1969

[sad boater]

I would never spend $400 on new ignition parts for that motor !!

I don't have much choice, I got the distributor from eBay and it doesn't seem to be doing the job. So I don't know who to trust alli know is that parts from marine engine.com have a 1 year warranty at least that's what the guy told me about the amplifier. I so confused as to why it ran so good and now nothing at #2 or #3 and weak at #1. One boat shop tried to convince me it was fuel related. Another told me to gap to .08 neither of those seem right to me. Points give me a strong pulse at coul but the timing light works only on #1 and if you hold it long enough it skips a beat sort of it's hard to explain it's just not correct. I'm about to take it to a shop because I can't figure it out. AI keeps telling me the wrong crap so I have to correct it then it tells me something else. All I know is I had it for a minute now I have nothing. I can't afford to replace the whole motor or boat and I'm sick of being stuck at home all the time! I'm going to lose my mine, too many people bank fishing you can't catch **** anymore without a boat.

I appreciate the advice but telling me not to do something doesn't help me get it running. If you have a cheaper way for me to get known good parts that are guaranteed good let me know. As of now the only one I can find is $199.99 each piece

 

[racerone]

???-----Use google with part # and rotor !!!-----Cheaper parts will jump out of your screen !

 

[sad boater]

???-----Use google with part # and rotor !!!-----Cheaper parts will jump out of your screen !

I'll see what I can find

 

[68glasspar]

I would pack your spark plug wire boots were they attach to the dist cap with silicone dielectric grease before you spend anymore money!
Your symptoms match what i had to a tee of what i had on my 1969 85hp

 

[68glasspar]

You said you put new wires on it!!!
But did you install new boots at the dist cap? I replaced my wires but not the boots, and the results were exactly the same as what you got now. I had to install new boots and pack them full of silicone dielectric.
You stated you had black arcing type spots on your stator that aligned with the plug wires! That tells me they leaked spark and due to carbon tracking or an unseen pin hole in the boot they will leak with your new wires too.

I'm not sure how you say you have wiggle at your dist. rotor, once the flywheel is on and torqued you can't see it.

 

[Mc Tool]

This is probly a long shot but some of those under flywheel ignitions rely on the locating of the flywheel on the crankshaft to be spot on , and if I am understanding you the flywheel key has some slop so its no locating the flywheel precisely on the crankshaft.
When the magnets in the flywheel pass the coil the flux changes as the north and south poles pass the coil ,if the flux change doesnt time up with the points opening the secondary winding collapse doesnt happen suddenly enough to induce the voltage needed for a spark.
Just thinking of the old Briggs And Stratton vertical shaft mower engines that would shear the flywheel key it you clubbed something with the blade......they only needed to leave a small mark in the key .....like only a few degrees of partial shear and there would be no spark .
I dunno if Im comparing apples with apples but its been bugging me so I'll put it out there.

 

[racerone]

Flywheel key has nothing to do with timing on this motor!!

 

[sad boater]

I would pack your spark plug wire boots were they attach to the dist cap with silicone dielectric grease before you spend anymore money!
Your symptoms match what i had to a tee of what i had on my 1969 85hp

No they were not packed with dielectric grease. This still makes no sense to me why it would run great and then dump my spark. From the research I've done it seems like the distributor and/or rotor have made a difference path to jump, I have dark marks on the brass ring of the distributor just before the area it should be arcing. It seems to me that it is firing to early.

 

[sad boater]

You said you put new wires on it!!!
But did you install new boots at the dist cap? I replaced my wires but not the boots, and the results were exactly the same as what you got now. I had to install new boots and pack them full of silicone dielectric.
You stated you had black arcing type spots on your stator that aligned with the plug wires! That tells me they leaked spark and due to carbon tracking or an unseen pin hole in the boot they will leak with your new wires too.

I'm not sure how you say you have wiggle at your dist. rotor, once the flywheel is on and torqued you can't see it.

Yes the new wires came with boots, those marks were with the old wires and old distributor, those parts are all new.

 

[racerone]

???---Guessing does not work.----Have you looked closely at the rotor and cap ( have one in front of me ) to see how spark from the coil gets to each plug lead???---Firing is determine by opening of the breaker points !----Have you cleaned all areas of cap and rotor to remove any traces of carbon and metal dust ?

 

[sad boater]

???---Guessing does not work.----Have you looked closely at the rotor and cap ( have one in front of me ) to see how spark from the coil gets to each plug lead???---Firing is determine by opening of the breaker points !----Have you cleaned all areas of cap and rotor to remove any traces of carbon and metal dust ?

Yes I did that, I found a local shop that had a rotor so I replaced it, there is less wiggle in it now but it didn't change anything. Could it have anything to do with the amplifier trigger time being different? One of the shops I called told me to set them at .008 not .010 he claims it's because the aftermarket amplifiers trigger differently. But yes everything is clean in the distributor.

 

[sad boater]

Yes I did that, I found a local shop that had a rotor so I replaced it, there is less wiggle in it now but it didn't change anything. Could it have anything to do with the amplifier trigger time being different? One of the shops I called told me to set them at .008 not .010 he claims it's because the aftermarket amplifiers trigger differently. But yes everything is clean in the distributor.

My understanding is that will affect the dwell and could possibly damage my new amplifier

 

[racerone]

Are both sets of breaker points ABSOLUTELY clean?

 

[sad boater]

Are both sets of breaker points ABSOLUTELY clean?

Yes when I cleaned them I removed the adjustment screws to better access the contact areas

 

[sad boater]

Yes when I cleaned them I removed the adjustment screws to better access the contact areas

I did not remove the the whole points assembly just the screw I used my wife's acetone nail polish remover to clean them.

 

[racerone]

Take an ohm reading across both breaker sets.----The rotor is held in place by the wave spring and flywheel.----Not sure why you are obsessed by any wobble that you appear to observe !

 

[sad boater]

Take an ohm reading across both breaker sets.----The rotor is held in place by the wave spring and flywheel.----Not sure why you are obsessed by any wobble that you appear to observe !

Because the play in the rotor doesn't keep it in the same position. Where then do get an ohm reading on the points from what area to what area I used my ohm meter while I rotated the engine all the way around to make sure they were opening and closing correctly. I'm not exactly sure how you want me to check the points. I know that they open and close when I turn the motor by hand.

 

[racerone]

Once more----The rotor has nothing to do with timing.-----I need to step aside on this project / saga.

 

[Mc Tool]

Because the play in the rotor doesn't keep it in the same position. Where then do get an ohm reading on the points from what area to what area I used my ohm meter while I rotated the engine all the way around to make sure they were opening and closing correctly. I'm not exactly sure how you want me to check the points. I know that they open and close when I turn the motor by hand.

I would isolate the points .....remove all wires to the points and then connect one probe of your meter to one side of the points and other meter probe to the other side of the points , set meter to ohms and rotate whatever you have to to make the points open and close . When points are open you should see a very very high resistance .....ideally infinity , when the points are closed you should see Zero ohms or stunningly close to zero ...like 0.1.
Anything else indicates a problem . This has nothing to do with timing ,your just verifying that the points are working correctly .
I agree with racerone in that I think its time you handed the motor to someone who knows what they are doing , no shame in that . Im fortunate here in that my motor skills have served me well but I employ a plethora of experts to cover me for the stuff I know little about .
, ie , lawyers, doctors, orthopedic surgeons, the computer geek , plumber, and even the odd gunsmith.
I have discovered that while such peeps often charge like wounded bulls I am better off bowing to their greater knowledge/skills. I will however admit that I have often been slow to recognise the benefits to my frustration and expense . Save your self some stress dude

 

[sad boater]

I would isolate the points .....remove all wires to the points and then connect one probe of your meter to one side of the points and other meter probe to the other side of the points , set meter to ohms and rotate whatever you have to to make the points open and close . When points are open you should see a very very high resistance .....ideally infinity , when the points are closed you should see Zero ohms or stunningly close to zero ...like 0.1.
Anything else indicates a problem . This has nothing to do with timing ,your just verifying that the points are working correctly .
I agree with racerone in that I think its time you handed the motor to someone who knows what they are doing , no shame in that . Im fortunate here in that my motor skills have served me well but I employ a plethora of experts to cover me for the stuff I know little about .
, ie , lawyers, doctors, orthopedic surgeons, the computer geek , plumber, and even the odd gunsmith.
I have discovered that while such peeps often charge like wounded bulls I am better off bowing to their greater knowledge/skills. I will however admit that I have often been slow to recognise the benefits to my frustration and expense . Save your self some stress dude

It seems like racer one just doesn't want to help me anymore and both of you are incorrect The points have everything to do with the timing The points trigger the amplifier to send the voltage to the coil which is literally the beginning of the timing without the points working correctly the trigger is triggered incorrectly points to closed triggered too soon points to open maybe not triggered at all. And I am about to take it to a mechanic cuz I am done with this s***. Racer one told me it was the rotor a number of times I replaced the rotor did not fix the problem so does he know what he's talking about doesn't seem like it because I did what he said and it didn't fix anything. The closest boat shop to me swears that it's bad fuel Tell me how bad fuel takes spark away from my spark plug wire? I could understand if I had it at the wire but not the plug and the plug was fouled but that's not the case here I have a weak spark on cylinder number one and nothing at 2 and 3 so either I have brand new bad parts or nobody on this page knows what they're talking about. Because at this point the only part in my ignition system that has not been replaced is the key switch. I know that my problem lies somewhere in my points I don't know why and I don't know how to check them I have ohmed them out they open and they close like they're supposed to when they're open I get an OH reading you know nothing it shows me nothing okay when they're closed I get zero which is perfect perfectly closed so I know my points work and I can rotate my motor with everything connected and watch it trigger my wire Three separate times in a rotation so tell me All right points working? Because it's sending my ground signal to my trigger wire but somehow I spark doesn't show up when it's supposed to. Since racer one has tapped out seems to me like he does no longer know what is going on he said it was my rotor I bought a new rotor didn't fix the problem. So if nobody wants to help me on here anymore I will stop posting I do appreciate that y'all tried but half the information I was provided was for wrong stuff half the people don't know what they're talking about with this engine and apparently the only guy that does no longer wants to help. So thanks for nothing guys I have spent $750 plus in parts for it to run for 10 f****** seconds all to be told that nobody wants to help me anymore after I change the parts they said it should be so yeah I'm done.