motor won't start

[krazylegs]

Good afternoon/morning to everyone. Here's the skinny

I have a ford 302 V8 (1978) with a Volvo Penta 270 outdrive.

I recently couldn't hardly get my motor to start. I took it to a marine mechanic and he stated that it would cost about $500 for a tune up. He had found that I had the wrong rotor for the distributor cap, and that the distributor cap itself was loose. He also found that the cap, was really beat up and the points were corroded. I did the tune up myself and installed a new cap, rotor, points (.019 feeler gauge setting) and condensor. Now the boat wont start at all. It will turn over fine and really strong (new marine battery) but nothing at all is happening or even attempting to happen. I thought that it would have been the coil, so I had the coil checked at Auto zone, and it passed their test; but when my brother took off the coil wire from the distributor cap and placed it close to a ground he didn't see a spark, now it was in the brightness of day, but he didn't even here the snapping sound either.

So, I come to everyone on a bent knee begging for advise. I have never once in 3 years had a "none issue" with this POS boat. I have replaced the impeller, water pump (just last week) thermostat (boat kept overheating) alternator, battery (3x's) complete tune up with plugs and wires as well as the other afore mentioned cap, rotor, etc.., seals in the outdrive, both billows in the outdrive. I'm running out of patience fast. I have done everything that a man can. I know that I don't know a lot about boats, but I've also given up my 2 car garage and have stored it there 365 days out of the year, so it's protected from the elements, I've also winterized it for the past 3 years. re-done the appolstery (sp?) new seats and a kicken new stereo system that we have yet to use because it's never on the water long enough. I've taken it out 11 times (in three years) and I've been stuck paddling back 9 of them. I'm trying to do the right things, I don't rig anything at all. I even re-did the fuel lines for stainless steel with a $75 marine fuel filtration system and I run 92 octane with Lucas fuel injector cleaner with every fill up (there hasn't been many).

Sorry, to ramble on; but now ALL of my friends say that the boat is cursed and refuse to go out in it, out of fear that they will get stuck and have to paddle back to the dock. Now, even I'm starting to believe them. Please help if you can. Krazylegs

 

[Maclin]

Re: motor won't start

Assuming you now have the correct cap and rotor and they are installed correctly, and that you used a new set of points and condenser for your tuneup, I have to ask if you know how to set the points, then how to check the dwell after that to see if they are set correctly.

The points gap is set when the points rubbing block is at the very middle of a distributor cam lobe peak at the point where they would be pushed to their maximum open position, and not in the "valley" when they would be closed. The .019 gap is a starting point. After the gap is set and all wiring is correct reinstall the rotor and cap and check the dwell. Dwell is checked with a dwell meter while the engine is cranking or running. If the dwell is in spec then it is time to set the static timing, that can only be done with engine running.

If it does not start then check voltage with the key on at the positive coil terminal. Then check the same terminal while the engine is cranking. With just the key on it should show 9v or so. While cranking it should be closer to 12v.

 

[Maclin]

Re: motor won't start

Look thru this page of links for more help...:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=468654


I also think posting this in the Volvo forum would be ok.

 

[krazylegs]

Re: motor won't start

First off- thank you for the help. My brother had completed many tune ups with points and he was careful to set the points correctly. I will get a volt meter and check the voltage from the coil next. I'm not sure how to check the dwell- I have always assumed (not the smartest thing) that the dwell was set previously. Does the dwell ever change, is that why it needs to be checked? What should the dwell meter read? I have honestly never heard of static timing so I wouldn't have any idea on how to check those. I will go through the forums and try to find out though. Thanks again for your help. Krazy

 

[Don S]

Re: motor won't start

Moved to the Volvo forum.

In the link above, look at item 11 for Volvo info, look at 17 and 18 for point specific information about dwell and timing.

 

[krazylegs]

Re: motor won't start

Thank you Don, I should also add that the distributor is an aftermarket Prestolite- and the motor is a Ford 302- I'm not sure if the information contained in the above link is going to cover the Ford 302 motor with a POS aftermarket distributor. I'm going to keep looking around in the links provided. Thank you for your help. Krazylegs

 

[Maclin]

Re: motor won't start

Setting the points gap is a starting point, what you really want is proper dwell percent or degrees. Dwell is what allows the coil to build up spark potential.

The definition of contact (points) ignition dwell is: ?the number of degrees of distributor rotation with the contacts in the closed position?.

So, measuring dwell tells you if the points are gapped correctly or not. If an engine tuner has tuned up points systems and not been checking dwell then optimum performance may or may not have been obtained from the tuneup.

Once the dwell percent or degrees is within spec then the static timing can be checked and adjusted if needed.

As points deteriorate dwell changes in proportion.

 

[Don S]

Re: motor won't start

Thank you Don, I should also add that the distributor is an aftermarket Prestolite- and the motor is a Ford 302- I'm not sure if the information contained in the above link is going to cover the Ford 302 motor with a POS aftermarket distributor. I'm going to keep looking around in the links provided. Thank you for your help. Krazylegs

The information above, especially in items 17 and 18 is just generic points information, and Volvo used Prestolite distributors in those old Ford engines. The Ford distributors are not marine rated.
http://www.volvopentastore.com/Dist...on_id.864761959--store_id.366--view_id.771056

PS: The Ford 302's were called AQ190 engines in Volvo model numbers.

 

[krazylegs]

Re: motor won't start

This is all great information! I thank everyone so much. I will research how to check the dwell and once it gets started (hopefully) I can borrow my nieghbors timing light.

 

[krazylegs]

Re: motor won't start

To all who are possibly following this thread (if any) I also replaced the "good coil" just in case and also replaced the ignition relay. Still no hint of firing up. I had my brother test everything with a multimeter and found that everything looked good (12.5 volts). So, I have since thrown in the towel and had my brother tow it to a marine mechanic. I'll post the results here as soon as I get them. I wanted to thank everyone for their help as well.