Desperate Need of help with power pack - ignition on old 68 100 HP Starflite

[WA-Newb]

My brain is seriously going in circles now and instead of getting more comfortable with my motor I am actually getting more confused and frustrated....really need to find one old school Evinrude guy that know his stuff for this one.

Preface...
Bought the boat and motor from a guy who didn't know much (if anything) about outboards.
He fried the power pack he said and bought a new one for almost $300...he wired up the controls but never even got them mounted and then sold the boat to me.

I know NOTHING (well now I am learning a bit) about outboards etc.
I mounted the controls, changed the lower unit oil, semi mounted the steering cable and got the boat running but it wouldn't go fast and kind of shook a bit when trying to give it full throttle.
At low speeds though it seemed to run ok.

I posted the video of what was happening on youtube and linked it to some forum threads.
Had one Evinrude tech contact me via youtube and say he is almost 100% sure it is ignition related and to check for bad wires....I did..and found a few that had cracked shields and some grounds that looked like they needed some cleaning.

I replaced, shortened, added new clips one at a time so I knew I couldn't screw anything up...was very careful not to move or change any wires.

Biggest changes I did with wires.


Current big problem....
After doing the wire fix I went to test it out and nothing..no spark....AND now the pulse pack / or coil (not sure what's the right term)....the black box that the Power Pack hooks into and has the coil wire coming out...well that thing is now making a ticking noise with the key on and the auto choke is moving a little bit along with the ticking. It was not making this noise nor was the choke solenoid twitching before I did the wire "fix". And it started easily so of course it had spark.

Here's the bigger problem....
I have no clue as to whether this unit was A) installed correctly or B) is even the right power pack since I cannot find the serial number ANYWHERE on the web to cross reference it.
On the Power pack it says: OMC 32157 Wabash. I am pretty good at finding things online but this one has me stumped...if I could find it then I could perhaps read the instructions...troubleshooting etc.

When I just looked for it again I did see the CDI Ignition website and read the instructions for their products:
http://www.cdielectronics.com/InstallSheet/113-8362.pdf
What stood out to me is number 4 which says...
4. Remove any clipper modules, surge suppressors or safety circuits. WARNING! Failure to do so could void CD
warranty.

I do not know what if any of this my motor has or is plugged in still etc.

ALSO...there is a round plug (harness) with a metal wire keeper in between my power pack and coil...(the CDI product doesn't have this) and the red wire coming out of it (or going to it) is getting real hot and appears to have almost melted at some point. It's in bad shape to say the least.
I did notice that when I wiggle this wire I get electric noise in the coil...almost like the wire is bad inside and when I wiggle it sometimes it makes contact.
I would just replace this wire right now except it's part of the connector and without knowing the part name / brand etc.
I am out of luck there.



I even went to the local shops and they don't seem to want to work on this since it's so old...one may have a look but it will be weeks before he gets to it. I really, really need help figuring this stuff out and if someone really knows this stuff and wants me to send them some beer money for their troubles then I am even open to that. I can't really afford to hire someone but I can't afford to ruin this or have it be yard art either.

One last thing...the only other thing that was done at all besides the fixing / shortening of some wires is I used a new huge battery that I recently got. Was told that wouldn't harm it since it's 12volt and tried my old battery afterwards and got same result.

Links below are for reference for this topic:
CDI Power Pack cross reference:
http://www.cdielectronics.com/downloads/CRPL.pdf

The CDI Power Pack replacement for my motor: (not the one I have as noted above)
http://www.cdielectronics.com/AppGuide.aspx

Installation guide for CDI power pack above:
http://www.cdielectronics.com/InstallSheet/113-8362.pdf

Link to parts diagram for my motor:
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/j...nufacturer=Evinrude&section=Distributor+Group

Another user here who had same problem but never got it resolved that I know of:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=214016

Good ignition and electrical help and diagnostic procedures...wire colors etc:
http://www.ebasicpower.com/downloads/cditech/CDI-Troubleshooting_Guide-JOHNSON-EVINRUDE.pdf
NOTE: My motor had the symptoms of this which was listed on the above page....

Engines with S.L.O.W. Features: If the customer is complaining that the engine won’t rev up and shakes real bad,
the S.L.O.W. function could be activating. If the engine is NOT overheating, a temperature sensor or VRO sensor
failing early can cause this problem. Disconnect the TAN wires at the power pack and retest. If the engine performs
normally, reconnect the tan wires one at a time until the problem recurs, then replace the last sensor you connected.
Make sure that all of the TAN wires are located as far as possible from the spark plug wires. Also check the
blocking diode in the engine harness.

Another link to troubleshooting ignition and electrical...looks different then one above:
http://issuu.com/cdielectronics/doc...t.xml&backgroundColor=000000&showFlipBtn=true

Someone asking a question about spark on a motor similar to mine with a good informative answer:
http://www.justanswer.com/boat/21ipy-not-getting-spark-spark-plugs-metered-wiring-purple-12v.html

Ignition switch wiring colors:
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/ignitionSwitch.html

Link to my youtube video showing the motor cutting out at full throttle:
http://youtu.be/fprXUJkdmGE

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: Desperate Need of help with power pack - ignition on old 68 100 HP Starflite

Just thought of one more thing I changed...
On top of the motor there was a lifting bracket mounted which is what the two wires used to be grounded to (in above photo).

I left that thing off just so I could see under the flywheel easier....so now the wires are grounded directly to the motor instead of this bracket.

I cannot imagine this causing any difference but since I believe the motor is aluminum and the bracket is probably steel I thought I would throw this in here just in case.

Anyone know if there is a proper way of hooking up ignition system ground wires on these older outboards? Or will any old bolt do?

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: Desperate Need of help with power pack - ignition on old 68 100 HP Starflite

Pacing around and came up with an idea so wanted to ask this instead of just trying it...

Possible Theory...
I did unplug the wire clip that connects to the power pack and it has a very bad red wire that goes into it.
I am thinking that may be the power lead and when I pulled the connection apart what little connection was left of the old burned red wire may have finally failed all together or got too weak to get enough juice to spark.

Since the wire is part of the clip / harness I can't just replace it I thought...but what if I cut it before the connection and added a new wire to my positive feed like pictured below?

 

[Daviet]

Re: Desperate Need of help with power pack - ignition on old 68 100 HP Starflite

Do you have a factory manual for your engine, it would have a wiring schematic in it to help you with your wiring, it would also have a troubleshooting section to help find your problems. You can bypass the connector to repair the wiring.

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: Desperate Need of help with power pack - ignition on old 68 100 HP Starflite

Yes I do have a manual....the problem I was / am having is not knowing what has changed with this motors ignition system since I could not find the installation manual for the recently replaced Power Pack (previous owner installed it)...reading the install manual for other brands of packs made me worried that some things needed to be removed or unplugged from this motor for the new power pack to work.

So basically I don't even know if this ignition system is standard (stock) or upgraded...I know the coil does not look like the one in the manual and I can not find the right power pack online to get info on it.

I am going to try and track down the previous owner tomorrow to see what I can find out...if it's all stock then yes the manual can help me.

Thanks for the reply...I will go ahead and bypass the connector now and add a new wire to see if that helps.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Desperate Need of help with power pack - ignition on old 68 100 HP Starflite

Possible wrong rotor button as if the original pack was replaced with the phase II pack you had to change the rotor button that came with the Phase II pack, if not timing is going to be goofy

 

[WA-Newb]

Re: Desperate Need of help with power pack - ignition on old 68 100 HP Starflite

Finally went and tracked down the previous owner and YAY! he had the install sheet and info for the power pack.
Now I am back in business finally.

Looks like he bought a NOS power pack off Ebay and a new coil since he had hooked up the wrong wires and blew the coil he had.

I am still not sure if this means the motor has been updated or not though...the coil does not look like the one in the manual, maybe that doesn't matter but the install for the power pack says to make sure I have the right trigger wheel....I will be trying to figure this one after I get the power pack troubleshooting done.

Anyone know what the trigger wheel does or what symptoms may arise if the wrong one is in there?

 

[boobie]

Re: Desperate Need of help with power pack - ignition on old 68 100 HP Starflite

I just got the sound working on my scumputer and finally listened to both of the videos. It was defineatley an ignition miss which I've heard many time before. The new style trigger rotor has a wider gap between the poles. With the old one it could also cause a high speed miss. Been there. Good Luck.