I learned a few new things this week and I thought I would share some of the experience.<br /><br />My 84 force 124 developed a misfire above idle. The faster you go, the worse the misfire. At first I thought is was fuel and I switched to a portable tank but the problem persisted. <br /><br />After checking the plugs and doing a compression and spark test I found everything normal. So, next step is test the stator, trigger and coil packs.<br /><br />I've worked for years on automotive engines but this was the first time getting this deep on this motor. The instructions I found specified a DVA meter. For those of you that don't know (I didn't know), a DVA meter measures peak voltage in a pulse generated system. A regular multi meter measures RMS voltage which is average across the peaks. This link give a good explanation of the voltage differences.<br /><br /> http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/acdc.htm <br /><br />So, being the smartass I am, I decided to use a regular multimeter and use the formula on the link to convert it. Didn't hurt anything but didn't work either.<br /><br />Stevens electronics makes a DVA meter that costs $225. What I found on their web site is an adaptor for a regular multi meter that measures peak and it only costs $46. I spoke to them and they assure me it will produce the same results and they will sell it to me directly.<br /><br /> http://www.stevensinstrument.com/peak_dva.htm <br /><br />Turns out my problem was a wire grounding against the block due to being pinched behind the power pack but I learned a tremendous amount.<br /><br />Finding a low cost way to read DVA was invaluable.<br /><br />I hope this helps someone else along the way.<br /><br />Jeff
. I also have 2 stevens CD-77 and 2 ferret instruments eliminator tachs and a couple of standard DVM's. but one of the handiest gadgets is a Kv tester.