1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

[ebrown999]

I am trying to resurect said boat motor. Engine is relatively clean with only minor moisture corrosion on the aluminum (white fluffy stuff). The wire housings are not dry and cracked. Compression is excellent (110 and 115 psi respectively) and the starter works great. I do not have an ignition key but I have wired around the key kill switch to provide power. When I turn it over (from the key switch) I have no spark. I am using a snap on spark checker that I know works. Where should I start??? The wiring setup has a big grey box in the back with a small black box and what looks like a ford ignition switch along with a couple of fuses which are not blown. The spark plugs need to be changed but that should not affect the unit getting spark to the nasty old spark plugs, right?

 

[F_R]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

So, you are not able to turn the key switch on? Look on the motor and you will see two thin black wires coming from the armature plate under the flywheel. One goes to a vacuum cut-out switch. The other one has a connection to a black wire that eventually goes all the way forward to the key switch. Disconnect that one and see if you then have spark. The option to all this is to disconnect one of the black wires from the key switch, whichever is easier for you.

What bothers me is your comment about wiring around the switch to provide power. Yes, power is required at the Acc terminal for the shift and idiot lights, but do NOT apply any power to the ignition (black) terminals or you will blow up the coils.

 

[ebrown999]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

Thank you, F_R, I will try that. No I did not wire power to anything but the ACC set. Same thing I did to my race car to eliminate the need for a key. Power to the black and white wires, not sure what that would do but power to the ground wire would ruin the battery and/or the coils. Using a jump wire to the acc set provides power like the key normally would but since I have no key, I cannot turn the switch. This is my neighbor's boat and he is going to give me the outboard if I can get it running.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

Motor will run with the main harness plug unplugged you will have to jump to starter and then choke to stop.Or you could just hand crank to check spark. Just to clear up; ignition circuit shorts to grnd to stop and circuit is open to run.

 

[ebrown999]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

Update for ya. I unplugged the little black wire which had no affect but when I unplugged the entire harness, I got spark. Now I am having problem with the selenoid. When I put the positive cable to the battery, the starter continuously ran. I removed the positive wire from the battery, tapped the selenoid and now the starter isn't turning when I put the positive wire to the battery. Now, nothing happens when I jump the starter terminals at the selenoid. I'm going to let it set for a little bit and check it again.

I have a question regarding the fuel lines as well. I don't have a boat fuel tank with the fancy little connecter thingy. Can I simply hook a longer fuel line up and drop it into a gas can for now just to test the motor?

Also, which spark plugs should I get as a replacement?

 

[ebrown999]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

Well no response to my last question so I am going to add a reply. I no longer have spark for some reason. I replaced the spark plugs to no avail. My next step, I guess, would be to pull the flywheel and replace the coils and points. My question now is whether this is even worth the money at this point? perhaps a newer motor from the 70's or 80's would be more appropriate to spend good money on??? I am willing to spend a few hundred dollars on something worthwhile but I don't like throwing money down a rat hole.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

Points, condensers and coils for that motor are not too expensive. You can start with inspecting the coils. If they look OK and have no cracks or shorts and continuity is OK, you might clean up the points and replace the condensers. That will cost you about $10 plus your labor. You may price out the coils, they are abailable many places aftermarket as are point sets and condensers.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

Your outboard, assuming it isn't an electric shift model, is just as reliable as the later ones.

By messing about with the ignition switch wiring without knowing exactly what you were doing, you may well have sent 12 volts through the coils, ruining them.

Go buy a new ignition switch, taking your old one with you to make sure you get a matching switch. Label the wires so you'll know which one goes on which terminal.

If the engine ran with the wiring harness unplugged, then the coils, etc. may be OK, or they may still have failed if you sent 12v through them.

You desperately need a manual for your engine, which will include a wiring diagram and instructions on how to figure out what is wrong.

You can rebuild the entire magneto for around $100, so all is not lost if you blew the coils or if they're bad for other reasons.

Read some of the threads on Big Twins here on iboats. Just about everything about them has been covered multiple times.

If your engine has good compression, it can be fixed up to be at least as reliable as the 70s-80s outboards. But, you have to take the process step-by-step and do nothing without being sure of what you're doing and why.

Odds are a later model will still require some work on your part, so you might as well fix the one you have. Unless it's an electric shift model. In that case, I'd suggest looking for another engine, since parts are not available or are extremely expensive, and the controls, now 40 something years old, are likely to be unreliable.

 

[ebrown999]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

the unit is a selectric so I assume electric switch. I do own a set of electric switch controls from a starflight 100 which are in VERY good condition. Very clean, all the buttons work everything slides freely, etc. Would those work?

Also, regarding spark. I am using a spark tester and getting no orange light. but when I turn the engine over using jumper cables straight to the starter, I get a heck of a shock if my fingers are near the metal portion. Any ideas?

In regards to the electric switch, I wired a jumper from the battery post to the acc side of the switch which is the same as turning the key "on". That is all I did. I disconnected the black wire w/ white tracer before I did this so there is no way I sent an unadulterated shock through the system.

 

[ebrown999]

Re: 1964 Evinrude Lark VI - no spark

I'm going to look at a 50hp merc today so likely I am giving up on this project. Thanks for all your help and I hope I can find some useful info on what to look for when looking at a used boat motor.