Help my mechanic went on vacation. 2002 200hp 2 stroke with spark on 1 cylinder

[rs6529]

So here's the scoop. I have a 200 hp 2 stroke. Symptoms are this. Starts and runs, I have to give a little more throttle to keep it idling. When I shift it in gear, it will die. Basically I have to throttle up then shift it into gear hard to keep it running. I have no top speed. The first issue was that it was surging while 3/4 throttle.

My mechanic tested and determined that I only had spark on 2 cylinders. He later tested and I only had spark on 1 cylinder. He was 90% sure it was the trigger. $125 dollars later and have the same issue. He left for vacation, and suspects maybe a coil.

Any thoughts or experiences before I start buying all new coils and a stator etc.

Thanks for any help.

 

[tommarvin]

This post assumes your fuel system is perfectly clean and your carbs are as clean as all the you tube carb cleaning videos right? promise,you would bet your life on it right? You wouldn't why not?
When you dont have spark on two cylinders you start testing ignition parts never guess and start throwing $ at your motor.always test first buy the Mercury manual and control your boating/ motors destiny.
surging is a classic dirtycarbs/ fuel system classic post.
When you shift in gear and the motor dies on a four stroke EFI its idle air control, dirty plugged filter/IAC valve, on a two stroke it just another dirty plugged carbs post.Always remove the welch plug. thats where the idle air/gas comes through.
You can do some tests with a multi meter,dva the manual walks you through it all.

 

[rs6529]

Ok so the fuel..sorry I did not mention. I have been using non-ethanol and quick silver oil mix. The carbs were cleaned approx. 6 months ago. I replaced all fuel filters when the issue started. Yes I know the carbs could still have picked up something. The surging has stopped. I am not ruling out carbs because I have been there before. Since the mechanic had started testing ignition I assumed it was probably going to be one of those components. I normally never assume anything but I thought the mechanic would have some idea. Anywho I will get to the carbs shortly and clean them again. I am not real sure how fuel would or lack of fuel if the carb is clogged would cause no spark. I am most def. no expert either. Thanks for the response.

 

[jdaghir]

I'm not an expert, but I believe fuel, or lack thereof, has no effect on spark. You may or may not be having fuel issues, which may or may not be causing poor running and surging, but spark is soley a function of sufficient engine rpm and properly operating ignition components.

In my limited experience CDI systems are not intuitive and difficult to diagnose if you don't throughly understand how they work. The componets operate together as a system and a failure of one component can appear to be a failure of some other component that is actually fine. You can also have cascading failures - one component fails and takes others with it. Replace a component without understanding the root failure and you may just kill that brand new component.

You and/or your mechanic should download the troubleshooting guide from CDI Electronics (Google it). Follow the diagnostic steps in the guide for your particular motor. Do it in exactly the order they tell you to - don't skip a step or jump around. Be methodical. Record the results of each test (there is a worksheet for that in the guide). You will need a DVA adapter, a multimeter and a spark gap tester. The tests can't be done without them. An inductive tachometer is also helpful to test for sufficient motor rpm.

If you don't have the right tools and don't follow the procedures, you are just guessing, which can get very expensive and frustrating.

Sorry I don't have more specific advice for you.

Good luck.

 

[rs6529]

That's what I was thinking (jdaghir) as far as the fuel issue. Well it will be a little while until I can get to this due to mechanic's out on vacation.

 

[Chris1956]

I doubt you only have spark to 1 or 2 cylinders, because a V6 motor would probably not run on 1 or 2 cylinders. It certainly wouldn't run on 1 or 2 under any load, even an idle load.

I would test the spark myself. I would also test compression as well. IMO,it doesn't make any sense to look at the carbs, until you have spark to all cylinders.

You might find a test for the CDM units as replacing them will be a few hundred $

 

[rs6529]

Chris 1956....When my mechanic tested I looked at his Testing tool, it was showing spark on 2 cylinders. I have a guy coming over this week to take a look at it and point me in the right direction. I will update soon. Yeah, Coils are about $100 a piece.