Chrysler 55HP - Ignition Upgrade

[Litetwin4]

Can anyone tell me if the later model Force CDI ignitions (30 - 55hp) can be adapted to the older Chrysler 55hp outboards.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Chrysler 55HP - Ignition Upgrade

If it is an ignition from a Force 50 that still was 3.187 bore and NOT mercury ignition it can be retrofit. It will take a bit of work and possibly some drilling but if you want to badly enough it can be done.

HOWEVER: If it is an ignition from the later 90s when Mercury changed to a 3.375 bore and Mercury ignition, the flywheel taper is different and you would need to disassemble the engine to put in the correct crankshaft.

Too much fuss for me: If the engine is running I would just stay with stock.

 

[tater76]

Re: Chrysler 55HP - Ignition Upgrade

You can update it to the 85-87 ignition easily, its a straight swap. I did it, but did not notice any gain. As Frank said, the newer cd ignition isn't really worth it on this motor. That is unless you already have all the parts on hand, and have the time I also retrofitted a 75hp Chrysler with the magnapower ign to the newer CD ignition from a 89 85hp. It was a PITA, but totally worth it

 

[Litetwin4]

Hello guys I am back. I decided against the electronic ignition upgrade and focused on the existing std point ignition. I cleaned the points and confirmed they were properly set. This made a big improvement in the way the engine ran but it still had an minor intermittent miss at both low and high speed operation. I lived with the miss as I only use the boat occasionally.

This spring I decided to take the boat on a fishing trip so it needed to be right. I performed a full tune up using the original Chrysler timing tools, points and condensers purchased on ebay. I fully disassembled, inspected, lubricated and adjusted all of the hard parts. I also replaced the old points and and condensers. I went the extra mile to make sure everything was square.

After the tune up, the engine ran perfect on the muffs. I lake tested it and it ran great at both low and high speeds... the miss was gone. I was hoping a for a small improvement in top speed but that was not the case. Regardless, I was happy it was running good and I thought I was all set.

I took the boat fishing and it ran ok for the majority of the trip but it developed a miss again. One cylinder was intermittently firing. Check the plugs and one was cleaner than other so I assumed it was due to a fouled plug. I replaced the Champion plugs with NGK plugs however the miss was still present. Checked and found the spark on the bottom cylinder was intermittent. Pulled the flywheel, checked the point gap and it was ok. Pulled the points and they were spotless. (as expected) Re-installed points and timed it again. Lake tested it but the miss was still present.

My question is... can a condenser be intermittent? Maybe the new old stock Chrysler parts are not the way to go.

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[wickware]

Can you verify they are stock points/condenser off Ebay vs a Chrysler Dealer?

 

[Litetwin4]

No Title

Here are pics of the packages that the new parts came out of.

I have also posted pics of the old points and condensers that I removed.

Note the condenser on the right shows signs of leakage.

I assumed this was the cause of the intermittent miss I experienced with the original set of points and condensers.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Typically a condenser will fail by shorting.As it heats up the insulation between the windings breaks down and a short develops. The cylinder will stop firing until you stop the engine, cool down the condenser and restart. Then it will run normally until the condenser heats again.

You did not say if the engine was magneto ignition or points and battery with two coils on the side. In either system look for cracks in the plug boot. In magneto look for frayed wires under the flywheel. In points and battery look for cracks in the coil boots and cracks in the coils themselves. look for corrosion inside the coil towers and on the wire terminal These old engines used a spring wire coil as the plug terminal. With age they rust and break at the wire. Under normal circumstances the gap is so small that the plug will fire normally BUT---pull back the boots and check the terminations.

 

[Litetwin4]

No Title

The engine is model 557 HF with std ignition, alternator and battery. (not a magneto system) In terms of wires under the flywheel, I inspected all of them for loose and or corroded connections. They all checked good but I cleaned all of them anyway and applied dielectric grease.

Next steps... I will check the coils for cracks and replace the plug wires as they are cheap. Thanks for the input, I will let you know what I find out.

Here is a pic of the motors.

The 10 hp kicker has the Magnapower III ignition.and instantly starts every time. It is whisper quiet, sips gas and sings like a sewing machine all day long. The electric start is really nice and the alternator charges the battery when trolling. I could not ask for a better kicker motor.

 

[Litetwin4]

No Title

Frank, I took your advice and checked the coils and plug wires. I think I may have found something, I discovered both coils had large dents in the outer casings. After further inspection, I could see the dents were caused by the coils being out of place when the clamp was tightened down.

The coil for the bottom cylinder (which is the one that was intermittently missing) also displayed a deep crack on the secondary side of the coil. Here are pics...

Pic 1 of the coil which in direct contact with the casting feature on the engine block when I removed the clamp.
Pic 2 of the damage present on the coil.

I am thinking the coil was intermittently arcing to the engine block causing the miss. I like to be thorough but these coils are really expensive so I am considering taking the cheap route. I am thinking I could seal the crack with 3m Duramix and reuse it. Any input or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Litetwin4]

No Title

Both coils checked out OK so I filled the dents and the crack with 3m Duramix. This stuff is very tough, I have never seen it fail as long as the surface is lightly sanded. Here are pics of the repaired coils before and after install. Note the coils are now properly located behind the casting feature. (circled in red) Cleaned all terminals with wire brush and installed stainless steel nut and lock washers. Replacement plug wires are on the way. I will let you know how it runs after the wires are installed.