FunInDuhSun
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2010
- Messages
- 488
34’ twin Crusader 270 inboards. Spent the day anchored at a popular spot. No issues getting there, but as I was leaving the marina the starboard engine stalled. No biggie, probably the idle set a bit low. She started right back up.
9 hours later preparing to leave, starboard engine cranked but would not start. Checked to confirm neutral, carb for fuel, even tried a shot of ether- no good. Called my (mechanic) friend and he came over to take a look. We found a tiny crack in the distributor cap so he wrapped tape around it, still no go. He then looked at the Pertronix ignition but didn’t find anything amiss. I had a spare coil onboard so we decided to swap it out/ but as he disconnected the first wire, he paused and said “wait a minute, maybe it’s your tach”, so he simply removed the white wire from the coil and had me turn the key. To our surprise, the engine roared to life immediately!
The trip back was fine, no problem as I used my ears to sync the engines.
Who would’ve thought a bad tach could prevent the engine from running? My friend said he had only heard about it but never saw it happen- until now. He earned a dinner and a nice cash tip from me!
9 hours later preparing to leave, starboard engine cranked but would not start. Checked to confirm neutral, carb for fuel, even tried a shot of ether- no good. Called my (mechanic) friend and he came over to take a look. We found a tiny crack in the distributor cap so he wrapped tape around it, still no go. He then looked at the Pertronix ignition but didn’t find anything amiss. I had a spare coil onboard so we decided to swap it out/ but as he disconnected the first wire, he paused and said “wait a minute, maybe it’s your tach”, so he simply removed the white wire from the coil and had me turn the key. To our surprise, the engine roared to life immediately!
The trip back was fine, no problem as I used my ears to sync the engines.
Who would’ve thought a bad tach could prevent the engine from running? My friend said he had only heard about it but never saw it happen- until now. He earned a dinner and a nice cash tip from me!
