1986 85hp ignition ?'s

[horiconducker]

Thanks in advance for any advice, this may get a little long winded. My dad has a 1986 85hp force on a pontoon , was put away last fall running great. He went to put it in the water for the first time this year over the 4th of july and it would not start, no spark on any cylinders. I was not up north with him, and he didn't have an ohm meter or anything, but i walked him through the cdi electronics troubleshooting guide to rule out a bad ignition switch, kill switch and rectifier, but of course none of the easy stuff panned out, still had no spark. He ended up taking it in to shop to have it looked at. The shop told him the stator was for sure bad, they also said when the stator goes out it usually takes out the power packs too. He was told by the shop there is no way to test power packs untill stator is replaced. Shop said its not worth sticking the money into the motor to fix it, so my dad went and picked it up not fixed. My question is how common is it when the stator goes take out the power packs too on these motors? Is there a way to test the power packs with a bad stator? Dad called me wondering what he should do with the motor, if he should part it out or just throw it in a dumpster.I agree motor is probably not worth a new stator and 2 power packs, but it would probably be worth a new stator if that was all it needed.I am mechanically inclinded and could replace the stator myself, I've done it on other outboards and i have the tools to do it. thanks for any advice, ducker

 

[Jiggz]

First, you need to take ohm readings on the stator yourself. There are two different ckts in the stator, one is the power ckt and the other is the charging ckt. The power ckt is your main concern which are the pairs of blue and yellow wires that connects to the CD units. Resistance between each pair is 680-800 ohm. If readings are correct, then you connect everything back together except for the two white wires coming off the CD units connecting to the terminal board. Put electrical tape on the leads of these two white wires (these are the kill wires for the motors. when grounded will stop the motor) to prevent touching ground. Connect the cooling water just in case it starts. If it starts, shut it down by ground the white wires to ground or engine block. DO NOT TOUCH THE BARE WIRE AS IT HAS POWER AND WILL SHOCK YOU when engine is running or cranking.

You will need a second set of hands to help you on the next step unless you have a remote starter. Crank over the motor while reading voltage output from the stator's blue & yellow wires. This should be AC voltage and should be no less than 180 peak. Since most commercial voltmeters reads rms your reading should be somewhere 120~130 VAC (depending on meter's calibration). Test the other set of blue and yellow wires and it should read the same.

Next is to test the CD units. However, you will need a DVA to do it because it is such a quick (basically an electrical spike) signal that a regular voltmeter is unable to read. With a DVA the output should be at least 150V+ (peak). Do the same with the other outputs and other CD units.

If all readings are correct, Disconnect the charging wire from the rectifier for now (green/yellow wires) and tape them off. Next try doing a spark test on the spark plugs using an in-line spark tester. If all of the above test is positive, then you should have sparks on each spark plug. If not switch around the ignition coils especially one that is known to be working. Let us know if you need a wiring diagram for the above. Goodluck.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Your father should go back to the place that told him about the packs going when the stator goes and PUNCH him in the throat.
They just want to screw him out of a few hundred$$$. Such BS.
Look under the flywheel and see if the magnets turning with the flywheel.

You can find a stator for cheap if you look.
I've bought used for $50.
The 86 had the plug in connectors on most f their motors. Make sure the connections are good.
In 86 they started using a kill switch on the Forces. Make sure it's not bad(if it's there).
Check the key in the flywheel. It can slip just turning the motor off.

 

[horiconducker]

thanks for the quick replies, I will do the tests and checks you guys have stated, it just might be a few weeks before i can get back up north to the motor. Ill post back my findings. thanks again ducker.

 

[SkiDad]

Most likely just the stator

 

[jerryjerry05]

Outboard ignition . com has procedures to test the motors electrical.
Not all info or "help" is correct.
Do the tests before you buy any parts.