1971 evinrude cd ignition system help

[clearwatguy]

my motor is a 1972 starflight 125 hp but someone changed the crank out with that of a 1971 100 horse, along with that they also switched the ignition system to the dual point 1971 100 horse system. after i got conformation on why it had points and did some research on the crank and got it all figured out i set the points etc as if it were a 71 100hp and it ran GREAT on the muffs. it WAS very hard to get started the first time. after it started that initial time it started like new the rest of the day. i DID notice with a spark tester on number one wire it would only spark when you let go of the starter. in other words it would be cranking along and no spark but when you let go of the key and let it rotate back from start to run you would get a single large blue spark on the testers window. that was at home on the muffs, i found a little shot of fuel mix down her throat made starting the first time of the day a lot easier and after that first time shot of fuel it would start easy on its own (thinking weak fuel pump) well i took her out on the lake and we pretty much ran the battery dead at the launch trying to get it started. i fired up the kicker and we slowly went into the bay and fished and as we fished i was thinking about why my motor wouldnt start again. got a brain child pulled the hood off, opened the throttle and gave it 2 shots of gas/oil mix hit the starter and the battery was dead so i got the emergency start rope pulled it and it fired right up and ran perfectly for 20 minutes then it stalled as if somone flipped off the key, no sputtering she just shut down. popped the hood and got the spark tester, no spark. im thinking one of these things either the battery was too low to continue running the motor (not sure if that matters) the coil went bad, or the godforsaken pulse pack died does anyone have a way i can check it or any ideas? i dont have a neon check light but i do have a high end multimeter

 

[F_R]

Re: 1971 evinrude cd ignition system help

A low battery does matter.

Use your multimeter to check the input voltage to the amplifier while cranking.

What did you set the points at? Should be .009-.010"

Do you have the choke set on automatic? That is pulled half way out. If you push it all the way in (choke off), it will be virtually impossible to cold-start.

 

[clearwatguy]

Re: 1971 evinrude cd ignition system help

A low battery does matter.

Use your multimeter to check the input voltage to the amplifier while cranking.

What did you set the points at? Should be .009-.010"

Do you have the choke set on automatic? That is pulled half way out. If you push it all the way in (choke off), it will be virtually impossible to cold-start.

Hello F_R

you and tahsdaddy actually helped me a lot last year getting it running!

i set the points to .010 as the seloc book recomends for reused points. i also sanded them and then cleaned them with carb and choke cleaner.

the points were way off and each set was set at a different gap, which is probably why it smoked, missed and sputtered so badly all this time, and when i say bad i mean BAD it would miss so bad at idle it looked like it was hanging off the boat shaking its head as if to say ummmm NO! just to give background it ran very poorly, loud and blatty at low speeds and smoked awful, it missed throughout the range but ALWAYS started easy. first start of the day required a touch of the choke toggle and that was it for the whole day. thats how its been since i got it running last season.

this is what i did before the hard starting issues started. i reset the points, changed the cap and rotor and the stator (the old stator had been chewed up looked like the fly wheel had come loose under way on the previous owner and torn into the coils.) i changed the stator because it was not charging, now the few minutes it ran it was charging btw. now on the muffs it cranked and cranked without any indication of life no pops no smoke nothing i gave it a spritz of fuel down each carb at wot and then hit the start switch and it fired up and idled on the muffs with no missing at all and much less smoke than it used to. i shut it down and restarted 12 times and bam started and ran perfectly each time so i figured ok its done i put the hood on. next day i get to the lake and it wouldnt start cranked but no indication of life (again) and i cranked it so much the battery went dead the starter slowed down and then wouldnt hardly turn the engine, i never thought about hitting it with a slug of gas again till later in the day (we went out on the kicker motor to fish a couple hours) and it hit me give it a squirt of fuel and i did but the battery was dead so used the emergency pull start cord and it took right off and ran the best its ever run! very little smoke, it idled with NO miss and the top end was AMAZING then under wot it just shut off!! i hit the starter and it cranked a few times before depleting the battery again. and thats where i am lol came home on the old seaking kicker moter

 

[clearwatguy]

Re: 1971 evinrude cd ignition system help

I have 12 volts to the pulse pack from terminal 8 with the key on and it drops to about 8 volts while cranking, that seems like high draw from the starter to me but not sure (will check the seloc) i have a spare starter so if thats it then no problem i can swap it but if i pull start it with the key on im getting 12 volts with no change, and no spark.

 

[clearwatguy]

Re: 1971 evinrude cd ignition system help

yep had enough lol this thing is just too old to mess with anymore and nobody seems to know anything about it (not you guys i mean like marine mechanics in my area) cant find parts and when you do they are very expensive. i have a chance to buy an 1989 force 125 that runs good with all the controls and a pair of mercury 200 20 horse kickers (both run but one has cracked lower end) all 3 motors for 725.00. how do you guys feel about the 89 force 125? do they have a good history? are they heavier than the old 70s evinrude 125? compared to my evinrude 125 it looks like a much bigger machine?

 

[clearwatguy]

Re: 1971 evinrude cd ignition system help

Im going to buy the force but i decided to give this old rude one last try i went to autozone and bought an msd blaster coil, a heavy duty condenser and an msd ballast resistor, ripped off the god$#%%#%#$ fu#$%#$%# peice of s#%%#$% freak of nature pulse pack and coil. hooked up the auto stuff dipped the motor into my storage box tank put the muffs on hit the key and it started right up and idled perfectly i filled the tank and gave it a little throtle and it ran smooth all the way up to mid range i shut it down hit the key bam right back to life. i put the power by MSD sticker on its hood and have decided to use the pulse pack for a chock block for the trailer. going to lake test friday ill video and post on youtube

 

[clearwatguy]

Re: 1971 evinrude cd ignition system help

the automotive setup lasted about 20 minutes and the points fried. i mean fried as in melted the rubbing blocks off and the metal parts were blue.

i noticed there were little holes in the "cam" for the points and i went to the shop and pulled the other "blown 72 125 starflights" flywheel off it still has the sensor setup. low and behold those holes are for the brass sensor trigger thing well i took its whole timing plate, pulse pack etc off and by god they fit my motor! whoever had this for reasons unknown got rid of the sensor setup and put points on it and had the rubbing block set so it would open and close the dual points (looks like they used a files on the crank to make flat spots) it worked for a while but never worked right. well we just got back in from the lake and all i can say is wow... this thing ran perfectly! idles good, starts good and hauled ***!

to anyone thinking of doing the auto setup DONT it doesnt work it would run and idle but would not run out at any rpm and then it all melted down anyway

 

[toey77]

Re: 1971 evinrude cd ignition system help

just read this post.. my 71 100hp has electronic ignition so why the hell did yours have points in it? from what i have read you have electronic ignition back on it??
very