1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

[whitejd12]

Hello,

This is my first post on this site. Thanks. I've started a restoration on a model #18202R or #18203R, (not sure the difference) Evinrude 18hp. As you can see, I've already repainted and redecaled the motor cover.

I thought I had a bigger problem, but think I may have figured it out. I had no spark, so was thinking coil, etc. pulled the flywheel, by looking things looked good.

Then I started looking elsewhere. I noticed one of the wires on the kill switch was frayed down completely to wire, plus some breakage in both wires.

Could that have caused the motor to have no spark? I ordered a new switch assy. When it comes in I'll install it, reinstall flywheel and check spark. Hope that solves the problem. The motor was running last week. what about the coils etc? Should I replace all that ignition stuff anyway, since I got flywheel off, or is that not necessary?

Thanks

Jeff

 

[AlTn]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

the shorting switch does just that...it shorts the points, so, yes any bare spots in them touching the motor can short them out resulting in the loss of spark.. Your armature plate looks very clean and in great shape. The components mounted to it appear "newer" so I wouldn't worry much about them with this piece of advice...any wire that's raised up can possibly be "buzzed" by the underside of the flywheel and the insulation scrapped off. Try to position them so they lay as flat as possible : the condenser wires and coil ground wires in the particular.
Paint and decal work look great. Look under the Top Secret Files/ Universal Magneto for more info.

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

the shorting switch does just that...it shorts the points, so, yes any bare spots in them touching the motor can short them out resulting in the loss of spark.. Your armature plate looks very clean and in great shape. The components mounted to it appear "newer" so I wouldn't worry much about them with this piece of advice...any wire that's raised up can possibly be "buzzed" by the underside of the flywheel and the insulation scrapped off. Try to position them so they lay as flat as possible : the condenser wires and coil ground wires in the particular.
Paint and decal work look great. Look under the Top Secret Files/ Universal Magneto for more info.

Thanks a lot! Is there anything I should do to the "armature plate" before reinstalling the flywhell as far as cleaning it goes? Is it ok to spray a parts cleaner over it or anything, or just leave it alone? After I do a little more research I may have to ask about making sure the "points" are correct. I know nothng about that or what they should be or how to adjust them. Thanks again.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

Hi white. You don't really need to do anything to the armature plate, but you can certainly clean it if you like. I would remove all of the components, then clean the plate and reinstall the components afterwards. Here's a great link that can walk you through an entire ignition rebuild. It's for a slightly different model, but all of the steps are the same.

3 HP Evinrude Lightwin Ignition System Tune-Up 1952-1967

Maintaining Johnson E & FD Serie

1972 Evinrude 18203R 18 hp Outboard Motor Parts

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

Aaarrrggghhh! I think I may have my first "throw a hammer through the wall" moment. At the base of the center post that the flywheel slides down on, I think a little piece of metal is sheared off. Maybe my problem wasn't the kill switch afterall. The little piece of missing metal was inside the groove of the center hole of the flywheel.

This is not good, is it? Any ideas/advice?

Thanks

Jeff

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

OK, did a little research. Found out that is a "key" part # 0120395. So I guess I just gotta dig the old broken one out of the shaft and reinstall the new one?? Any ideas on getting that done? Not as big a problem as I first thought. Whew!

Jeff

 

[Cap'n Chaos]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

Don't mark up the key slot when you remove the old one... the new one will tap into place. Make sure you put it in correctly, there is a small "line" on the key itself that needs to go to the bottom.

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

Great info, thanks. Old one came out fine. Part ordered....now I wait.

 

[Cap'n Chaos]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

When you installed the flywheel nut did you torque that nut to 42-45 ft lbs?

I'm wondering why the key sheared off.....

 

[AlTn]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

the points cam slides up and off the crankshaft over the flywheel key or whatever is left of it. Once it's out of harm's way, I'd try an awl tapped gently behind it in the key way slot to get the remaining piece of the key out. Go back with a new key from the dealer installed as Cap'n suggests.The new key should be installed vertically ie; the top of the key will stick out farther than the bottom with respect to the crankshaft.

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

When you installed the flywheel nut did you torque that nut to 42-45 ft lbs?

I'm wondering why the key sheared off.....

I have just removed the flywheel, I have not yet reinstalled it. Noticed broken key while inspecting armature plate. I've remove all the coils, condensors, points etc and cleaned them, cleaned the armature plate. Now I'll try (and I emphasize "try") to put all the electric parts back and when new key comes, then will reinstall flywheel, (42-45 ft lbs...thanks!) install new kill switch and then recheck spark. I'll be amazed if it all works. Hopefully I can get it done with the help of everyone in this forum. It's EXCELLENT!

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

the points cam slides up and off the crankshaft over the flywheel key or whatever is left of it. Once it's out of harm's way, I'd try an awl tapped gently behind it in the key way slot to get the remaining piece of the key out. Go back with a new key from the dealer installed as Cap'n suggests.The new key should be installed vertically ie; the top of the key will stick out farther than the bottom with respect to the crankshaft.

The old broken key came out fine without having to slide cam up, will new one go in that way as well or will I have to slide cam up??

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

Sorry about all the duplicate posts....I'm still learning how to do this, and I can't figure out how to delete posts.

 

[Cap'n Chaos]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

Take the cam out of the way, it will be much easier, it will make sense when you have the parts and go to install it.

Points were not fun for me... there is some great info in the links from the posts above and in the "top secret files".

In your photo above it looks like there are some gouges in the taper of your flywheel, are they gouges or is it a shadow, hard to tell on my computer....

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

Take the cam out of the way, it will be much easier, it will make sense when you have the parts and go to install it.

Points were not fun for me... there is some great info in the links from the posts above and in the "top secret files".

In your photo above it looks like there are some gouges in the taper of your flywheel, are they gouges or is it a shadow, hard to tell on my computer....

Just checked the taper. Don't see and gouges. There's some scratches going around the inside of the taper, but nothing major and nothing vertical, as far as I can tell.

What should I use to try to slide the cam up, it doesn't seem to wanna move and I don't wanna damage it.

 

[AlTn]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

a plastic scraper,screwdriver,etc..just be gentle and move it to different points on the cam base...you may be able to get your fingers under it and pull if up

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

OK Great, Thanks a lot!!

 

[milliesdad]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

The breaker point cam and the flywheel both can go on one way only. Do not force anything. The cam will fit over the key, as will the flywheel. The cam may take a light tap or two, but do not hammer it. Just tap on it all the way around to seat it. The flywheel should be aligned with the key and let down. Torquing it will seat it. Use a real torque wrench. Might have to rent/borrow at an auto parts store, but do it correctly. When checking spark, use a real spark tester from an auto parts store, too. Should jump a 3/16ths gap with a white-blue snap. (If I'm wrong on the gap, someone please correct me.)

These motors are great when running right. They are even good when they are not running right. And thy take a lot of abuse.

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

The breaker point cam and the flywheel both can go on one way only. Do not force anything. The cam will fit over the key, as will the flywheel. The cam may take a light tap or two, but do not hammer it. Just tap on it all the way around to seat it. The flywheel should be aligned with the key and let down. Torquing it will seat it. Use a real torque wrench. Might have to rent/borrow at an auto parts store, but do it correctly. When checking spark, use a real spark tester from an auto parts store, too. Should jump a 3/16ths gap with a white-blue snap. (If I'm wrong on the gap, someone please correct me.)

These motors are great when running right. They are even good when they are not running right. And thy take a lot of abuse.

Thanks for the info. First, I have to get the cam up a little bit and out of the way in order to install the new flywheel/camshaft key. Then I will do as you said to reseat the cam and flywheel. Thanks again.

 

[whitejd12]

Re: 1972 18hp Evinrude No Spark?

a plastic scraper,screwdriver,etc..just be gentle and move it to different points on the cam base...you may be able to get your fingers under it and pull if up

Thanks, got the cam off, no problem. New key should be here later this week, then I'll start putting it back together.