Troubleshoot Your Outboard Ignition Problems
If you just dropped in you might need to go back to the beginning of spark test.
Before going any further you need to remove remaining plug wires and ground them directly to the block.
Some short pieces of wire will do fine.
This is necessary to prevent the motor from starting up while checking it!
Have your assistant at the switch to spin the motor(or yank on pull cord on smaller motors) while you look for a strong spark jumping across the 1/4 to 1/2 gap between screwdriver and block. Repeat this procedure for each cylinder.
When holding the screwdriver improperly a really good shock means about the same thing as a good spark, but only on that cylinder!
If you observed no spark at any cylinder your next step should probably be The key switch elimination test: click here.
If what you got was spark at some cylinders but not all cylinders, you need to check the individual parts that make up your ignition such as coils, power packs or switch-boxes, stators and triggers etc. Click her for some ohm-meter tests on separate ignition components.
By running motor with timing light on different cylinders and looking at light you can often determine if the miss is ignition or fuel.
If all that seems overwhelming look around the site and subscribe to my free newsletter and I'll try to make it easy to understand.
For exact specifications and details concerning your particular engine you should refer to a manual that covers your motor.
Your local public library should have most manuals in the reference or technical sections and usually provide access to a copy machine.
You can click here to purchase a manual on-line.
If you haven't stopped by you library in a while though, try it, you'll be surprised what's new over there..... And it's quiet too! :-)
A public library is the most enduring of memorials, the trustiest monument for the preservation of an event or a name or an affection; for it, and it only, is respected by wars and revolutions, and survives them.
- Letter to the Millicent [Rogers] Library, 2/22/1894-Mark Twain
Another alternative is hand cranking most outboards with the emergency starter rope which should be in a pouch under your engine cover. Wrap that pull rope around flywheel like old time motors and pull it. Depending on year model, you also have to use the hand-choke lever on engine or manual fuel enricher lever on newer motors. Take a look at some good first checks when any boat problems show up.
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