1997 Speedster No Spark on Starboard Engine

[ollieman80]

97 Speedster was running great, my son did a spin and the starboard engine died and would not restart. The other engine starts and runs great. The starboard engine cranks over easily enough and seems to have good compression via "the thumb test". I grounded a plug from the starboard engine to the the head and could not see any visible spark even at night. I like to check the simple things first. So where are all the fuses that I need to check? I know of the ones under the console, are there any more? Thanks in advance.

Ollieman80

 

[Dr Honda]

First... the "Thumb" test isn't valid. The engine could have 120 psi, but that's not enough to run in the water. BUT... since it doesn't have a spark... it probably doesn't matter.

There isn't a fuse for the ignition. You have 720 engines, so it's self contained, and simple. There is a power coil in the mag, and a wire goes from it to the ignition coil. The ignition coil has the CDI built into it.

SO... basically, you have 2 parts, and one wire. (obviously, you have the spark plugs and high tension, spark plug wires)

OK... open the power box in the boat for the bad engine. You will find the ignition coil. Follow the wire out of it, and you will see it split. One wire goes to the MPEM (this is how it kills the engine) and the other goes to the mag housing. To start, disconnect the wire going to the MPEM, and check for a spark.

If you get a spark, your MPEM may be bad. If you don't get a spark, then check the power coil for an open or a short. If that checks out... then your ignition coil/CDI has gone bad.

Good luck :cheers:

 

[ollieman80]

Dr. Honda,

Thanks for the reply, I was traveling for work and just had a chance to work on the boat. I disconected the wire from the ignition coil to the MPEM after it splits like you said and still do not have any spark. How do I go about checking the power coil? Again thanks for the reply and help, I really appreciate it!

Ollieman80

 

[Dr Honda]

Get a multy meter, and disconnect the wire from the Mag to the CDI/ignition coil. Use the meter on the coil in the MAG housing. You should see some resistance. (I don't remember how much off the top of my head) If it's open, or shorted... that's bad.

If the coil seems OK... take the CDI from the good engine, and hook it to the bad engine to see if you get a spark from that MAG coil.

 

[ollieman80]

Dr.
Thanks for the reply. Do I have to open the mag cover to do this check? I ask because it looks like I will have to disconnect the engine and remove it or at least slide it back to get access to it? Is this the case, or is it possible to get in there and effectively do anything to it without doing the steps I talked about before? Again, thanks for your help!

Ollieman80

 

[gcha1727]

checking pickup coil

I recently checked my pickup coil in the mag housing. Im not sure what motor you have but mine is the 787. The 787 motor has a 6pin dooosh connecter on the mag cover. If I remember correctly the pickup coil wires went through pins 1 and 2 on the doooosh connector. Normal resistance is from 190-300 ohms. (im pretty sure) I remember having 247 ohms on mine and it was good. As dr honda said, with a multimeter check resistance.

 

[ollieman80]

Thanks for everyone's help so far. It looks I have a bad Mag Coil. The bad engine has no resistance on the coil and the good engine has around 60ohms. So that leads to another question, where is the best place to get one? I also would like to know if I indeed need to remove or at least slide the engine back to access the mag. Is there a thread on here that describes that process? I am pretty handy with a wrench, I just don't want to do 30 steps in the removal if I can get by with 10. Thanks again for all your help!

 

[ollieman80]

Thanks for everyone's help so far. I didn't get an answer to my last question, so I thought I would ask it again. Do you have to remove the engine completely or just pull the pump and slide it back to access the mag?
Thanks,

 

[gcha1727]

removing mag cover

I was able to remove the cover. I have the 787 motor. try to make a platform to lay on if possible.I think they were 10 mils. I needed a wrench and sockets. I did remove one motor mount. the one on the cover that you are removing. After that i picked up on the motor and slipped a board under motor to help prop it up. Not too much maybe an inch or so...just enough to help get to the hard to reach bolts on bottom... small mirror and light will be helpful. after removing coil you may want to check it again...hope this helps you

 

[gcha1727]

also there is a couple allens holding the oil pump. Im not sure if it has to come off...but I got mine off and out of the way before starting

 

[Dr Honda]

You may have to loosen the engine mounts... but it doesn't have to come the entire way out to get the cover off.

 

[ollieman80]

Hello, Ok, I have the magneto disassembled. The flywheel was difficult to remove to say the least! I retested the lightihg coil > in the boat it read open, on the bench it reads .3 ohms. This is still way below the 60 ohms that other one tested at, so I am going to replace it. While I have this open should I replace the charging coil as well and anything else that you guys feel is needed? I really don't want to do ths again. This also a good time to clean the carbs while waiting on parts to arrive. The boat ran awesome before the no spark issue so I don't think they need rebuilt, just cleaned. Any answers and advice on the issues I listed will be welcome!

Thanks,

Ollieman80

 

[ollieman80]

I have another question as well. Is there anything else I can use in place of the crimp rings on the spline boot? I do not have the crimp tool and do not know where to find one. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Dr Honda]

There is no reason to replace the charging coils if they are working, and are free of physical damage.


Spline boot??? are you talking about the boot from the PTO to the drive shaft? If you are... yes, just use a zip tie.

The "Okeeter" clamps are good for manufacturing (fast, and pre-set to a size) but they are useless in a home shop. BUT... since that part is spinning, you can't use a regular hose clamp because the screw will throw it off balance. Since there is no stress on that boot (just holding grease) a zip tie is perfect.

 

[ollieman80]

Hello Again,
I got the new lighting coil and just for giggles I tested it with a multi meter before I installed it, it tested the same as the one I took out .3 ohms. I rechecked the coil in the good motor in the boat and it read .3 ohms, at this point I am starting to wonder if the lighting coil is really bad. So I started over, turns out I was testing the charging coil earlier when I was getting 60 ohms on the good motor (testing through the doosh connector is tricky). I got out a magnifying glass and started looking over the charging coil from the bad motor, turns out there is some corrosion and heat damage under the insulaton where it is soldered to the coil. There is also a broken wire coming off of the first terminal of the coil, I should have looked at it closer when I first took it apart! Obviosly I am going to replace this coil as well now. My question is this: what do each of the coils do? I have seen them referred to with different names depending on what parts lookup service you use. Does the charging coil help generate spark or the lighting coil? Thanks for all of your help so far, I am really looking forward to getting this thing running again. BTW 97 Speedster 720 motors.

 

[ollieman80]

Hello All,
Just wanted to give an update on my Speedster. After pulling the motor, replacing both of the coils in the magneto, (which do not come with leads attached to them, which means you have to solder them yourself), cleaning both carbs caused it seemed like the right thing to do, replacing PTO boot, and various gaskets it runs great! In fact it runs better than before the no spark issue, I'm sure cleaning the carbs helped with that. All told I have about $300.00 in parts and a few hours of labor in it. Beats the heck out of the $600.00 to $750.00 estimate the dealer gave me. There is nothing wrong with paying for repairs if you have to, but there is great satisfaction in doing it yourself!
Thanks,
Ollieman80

 

[rwindy24@aol.com]

where did you get your parts?

hi
i need charging coils for 95 speedster, where did you get yours?
Thanks

 

[ollieman80]

You can get them from the parts finder on this web page.

Ollieman80