Engine turns over but it won't ignite. Like if it were flooded

[Ianlinares]

Back again with a new issue with my 1987 Sea Ray OMC 4.3L V6.
Thursday night I put in a new coil because I noticed the old one had old oil over the top of it and thought it might be going bad. After installing the new coil I started the engine without any problem. It started right up. Since then I changed the impeller and nothing else.
Today Saturday I took it out to the lake. The only thing I added was some more gas to fill it up. Added 91 octane.

Got to the lake and the boat won't start. It turns over but it won't ignite. I thought I flooded it, but its been like 3 hours now and its still the same. Could the new gas mixed with the old gas have caused this?

What should I do next?

 

[SeaDooSam]

Hate to state the obvious but kill switch? My boat will crank but it won't have spark unless kill switch is flicked up

 

[Ianlinares]

No kill switch on this boat.

 

[southkogs]

Double check the coil connection ... I guess I would check spark at the plugs as a first step otherwise.

 

[bruceb58]

Also make sure your shift switch is not engaged.

 

[Ianlinares]

SouthKogs was right it was the spark plugs. I pulled them out they were al black and gunky. I put new plugs in this morning and she turned on straight away.
Should I add something to the fuel to clean out the lines? You think? Maybe Carb cleaner? Fact that they were black and a little gunky can't be a good sign.

 

[bruceb58]

Should I add something to the fuel to clean out the lines? You think? Maybe Carb cleaner? Fact that they were black and a little gunky can't be a good sign.

Nope. They looked like they did because you are running rich for some reason or you are burning oil.

Also, when was the last time you changed your points and set them with a dwell meter?

 

[Ianlinares]

Points? The but has a Electric ignition. It has one of those cam performance ignitions. After getting it running today I took it back to the lake and again it wouldn't start in the water. I might be wrong but I'm a bit more convinced that it not running rich but its starving for fuel. Possibly a bad fuel pump or bad fuel filter. I say this because once I got it back home again tonight I tried starting it on the hose and I got it to start it ran for a couple minutes the it died on its own. I tried a couple more times. Got it started again but after about five minutes it died on its own again. Before it died it was idling nice and sounded great. I haven't gotten to start again.

Thoughts?

 

[boobie]

Are you getting spark at the end of the plug wire where it goes on the plug that will jump at least a 1/4" open air gap when the problem occurs ??

 

[Ianlinares]

It's getting spark as the engine will run for moments at a time

 

[southkogs]

How about fuel flow? All good?

 

[bruceb58]

Points? The but has a Electric ignition.

Another thing... Does your ESA work anymore with that added electronic ignition. Once you get this all figured out, you need to look into that.

 

[Ianlinares]

I think fuel flow is the underlying issue here. I am going to syphon out the old gas and clean the fuel lines this week. I ordered a new fuel filter, and I will try just cleaning the fuel pump first. Hopefully I don't have to replace it.

How does the shift assist come into play? Does the ignition affect the ESA? The ESA switches look fine. No idea if they are failing at all.

 

[bruceb58]

When you get it running, depress the shift switch and see if the engine stumbles. The shift switch connects to the ESA and then the ESA pulses the ground on the coil. Typically, it won't work with an electronic ignition. The good news is that you can buy a CDI ESA that works with electronic ignitions.

The ESA needs to be working to get the drive out of gear. You will only notice the hard shifting when you are in the water.

 

[jerryjerry05]

What kind of coil did you install?
They make 2 kinds, one has an internal resistor the other no.
​If you add a coil with no resistor your giving 12v to a system that needs 9v.

 

[Ianlinares]

Thanks Jerry the coil I added was
Crane Cams 730-0060 PS60 Performance

 

[jerryjerry05]

It should have a description someplace?
If not??
​From what I see on the net it doesn't have resistor built in???
​Test meter. set on DC voltage.
Ground the black and the red lead to the coil.
​The power in should be battery voltage 12-13v the power out of the coil should be 8-9v.
​You might need a ballast resistor before the coil??

 

[bruceb58]

Unless someone took it out, there should be a ballast wire still in there. Next time you have the engine running, measure the voltage at the input to the coil. It should be less than what the alternator is putting out which is 13.5V.

You also need to look at what the electronic ignition system needs. Some of those have you remove the resistor wire.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Some times the wire/resistor goes bad.
Like Bruce suggested measure the voltage IN and out of the coil.

Have to ask this?? You hook it up right?

Also once the key's been on a while, you can try touching it.
If it so hot you can't keep your fingers on it then it's getting too much power or it's bad internally.

 

[bruceb58]

You can't measure the voltage coming out of a coil. You can only measure the voltage at the input.