86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

[PINESOL]

well i had a chance to put some time in on the boat ... to no availe .. she doesnt start .. i put new fuel filters in and new gas , nothing .. so i rebuilt the carb didnt find anything that bad other than a ton of silicone on the base gasket ... straight edge checked the manifold .. its perfect , the carb base .. no problems . appeared to be just a temporary fix ... put it all back together .. still nothing ...so i cleaned up the new points and started checking spark again ...i put a new set of ngk plugs in just to make sure , still nothing . i messed with the timing several different ways , still nothing .. any other ideas ... im thinking new coil .. due to the fact it died when the boat was warmed up and cruisen ... but i do get some spark from the wires when grounded .. could this be due to the hot leads not getting a good enough connection at the battery ? also with the key on i do get a little zap from the point contact .. when it tries to start it back fires from exh. and carb depending on where i have the timing set .. any help ... all tune up stuff is new ..

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

OK, so it is a point/coil/condenser ignition, right? You can check the coil for continuity. Primary to primary should have about 1 ohm resistance. Primary to secondary (coil tower) should have a few hundred ohms resistance. Primary and secondary connections to the coil case should be open. Clean the wire connections on the coil primary.

Make sure the points are clean and square to each other and set the point gap to the recommended gap when wide open. Put a timing light on the #1 spark plug, crank the motor and see what the idle timing is. Set it to 4-6 degrees BTDC, or whatever your manual calls for. If you do not have good spark, replace the condenser. At this point you should have good spark to the plugs, and reasonable ignition timing, and if it won't start, you may have a fuel problem.

 

[Don S]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

The first thing your are going to have to do is check for spark PROPERLY.
Remove the coil wire from the center of the distributor cap. Hold the wire about 1/2" from a clean ground on the block. Crank the engine over. You should have a bright blue spark.
Put in NEW points, condenser, rotor, and cap if they are over a year old. If you have been sanding or filing on the points and they were new. Throw them away and start over.
The contact surface can't have any grease or oil on them. They have to have the proper gap (Checked with a dwell meter) for your engine to run properly.

 

[PINESOL]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

well i just sprung for the pertronix conversion kit and a new coil . i will go that route .. hopefully that'll fix her .. im also replacing all the ground and positive leads .. i will let ya know how it ends up ... thanks for all the suggestions ...

 

[Don S]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

Changing to a Pertronix conversion when your engine DOESN'T run, is about the worst thing you can do.
Now you won't know what is wrong if the problem wasn't the points or condenser.

 

[PINESOL]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

i here ya don ... i will find the problem first before just replacing new parts .. im going to do exactly what chris1956 said and test the coil , then i will do what you said and replace the condenser and points,,,, again ,,,i have another new set . i just remember the volkswagon days and hate points ...
i even dug out my dwell meter to make sure all is right ...i will also make sure there is no corrosion on all the terminals ... i will find the culprit ..

 

[PINESOL]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

well i checked the coil, tests good. replaced points and condenser. new wires cap,rotor and plugs... spark is good to all plugs, verified tdc.. pulled fuel line ..turned it over it pumps fuel just fine.... but still doesnt start... i put a little bit of gas down the throat of the carb, still didnt start. it acts like it wants to.. still nothing... so im assuming time for a new carb.. any other ideas.. also i checked compression, its good in all cylinders. they vary a few psi here and there. sorry i have the numbers at home. but no dead cylinders...
all thats left is carb... am i missing something..?

 

[searay3]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

If spark is verified and gap/timing close it shoud run. If not and comp is good, you definately have a fuel issue. You stated you rebuilt the carb. Done properly it needs complete dissassembly, soaking in cleaner, all passages blown out with compressed air and reassembly using new gaskets/seals. Telltale sign, but no guarantee is the accelerator pump sqirting fuel in the carb throat as you move the throttle forward. If spark/timing/carb is ruled out, you have a tremendous vacuum leak somewhere. The silicone on the carb base makes me wonder if there is a vac leak somewhere and it was used in desperation to solve that issue. Which it would not of course, but thats speculation. Make sure that is a marine carb on there as well.

 

[Don S]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

If you poured a little gas into the carb and it didn't at least fire a couple of times, then it's not a carb problem.
You bypassed the carbs fuel supply when you did that.
Have you checked the plugs? Are they wet with fuel? You could be flooded, at which point adding more gas will just make it worse.

 

[searay3]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

Check the choke operation too.....

 

[drrm123]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

Pull distributor cap off and the the one spark plug and place your finger over the hole have someone to crank till you get a puff of air that pushes your finger off. That should be close to TDC and look at timing marks on balancer and turn around 4degrees BTDC and also very rotor is spining while engine is cranking. Make sure rotor is pointing close to the number 1 spark plug wire and it should start when you put everything back together. The last thing I'd check is to make sure the throttle flaps inside the carb are opening enough for it to idle. If you pour about a teaspoon of gas into carb I'd put a screwdriver or something to hold the choke open too. Since you said you rebuilt the carb I dont know if you moved any adjustment screws.

 

[Robj]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

It sounds like a timing issue to me. I am not familiar with this motor, but was the distributor removed and is it possible that it was replaced incorrectly, out of time?? I would do as drrm123 suggested to make sure it was installed correctly. Also check the wires to make sure that the firing order is correct.

Have a great day,

Rob.

 

[PINESOL]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

By Golly I Found A Problem...... :d
So This Morning Im Triple Checking The Timing. Much To My Amazement The Timing Was Off...huh No Way!,, It Can Mean Only 1 Thing... So I Pull The Distributor Cap Off And Proceed To Just Spin The Dist Shaft. Found Broken Roll Pin For The Drive Gear... Could This Be My Problem....

Lol...

 

[Robj]

Re: 86 Beachcraft 3.0 Needs Help

If the drive gear is out of time with the rest of your distributor, you bet.

Have a great day,

Rob.