1978 evinrude 140 died at the lake

[switzer140]

Ok well everything was going good out on the lake today probably the hardest i have ran the boat this year. We were out for 5 hours or so tubing, skiing, and boating non stop. I dropped a few passengers off at the dock and my son and i were out cruising around the lake when the engine started sputtering like it was loosing power i put it in neutral and it died. Would not restart. We sat there adrift for quite a while till i could flag someone down to tow me back. Once we got back i checked everything over it seemed to be there was no spark. it was definitely getting fuel and the bulb was still firm but no fire. we tried to check to see if it was getting spark at the plug by 1. holding a screwdriver in the boot and holding near the block, nothing. pulled a plug grounded on the block and nothing. So we let it sit and grilled some food. came back about 1 1/2-2 hrs later and it fired right up let run for about 10 min and seemed to run fine once again. I didnt take it back out as it was starting to get late and almost everyone else was gone so if i got stranded i wouldn't have a way back. I was kind of disappointed that it restarted because i think it is going to be harder to tell what is wrong, and i don't want to be stuck in the middle of the lake again. Any ideas on what i can test or do to figure out what went wrong? It has 2 brand new cdi's and new plugs in it before i took it out today.

 

[SilverSS07]

Did you check all the plugs for spark?

 

[switzer140]

2 of the 4 one on each side

 

[Cap'nHandy]

Hmmm. Heat related it seems. I suspect timer base or stator. - Please clarify. No spark on ANY, or on only 2 cylinders?

CDI has a great troubleshooting procedure. As a preventative and preemptive measure, clean all electrical connections, check all voltages, and check your kill wire to make sure there is no voltage present. Dont want to fry the powerpacks. You will need a DMM and a DVA.
Hope that helps.


Blaine

 

[switzer140]

We only checked 2 of the 4 plugs/ wires for spark, none was present on either. I was wondering if the stator could be an issue. In the 2 years i have owned the boat the tachometer has never worked. I believe i read somewhere that a bad stator could cause this also. I dont know if it helps or not but today i took a voltmeter to the battery terminals, with engine off it was reading 13.2 volts and with the engine running at idle on muffs it was reading 13.32 volts so not much difference. Im not sure if it would increase with rpms though? Also what is a DMM and a DVA

 

[switzer140]

i have a fluke digital multimeter, i will have to order a dva adapter for it though i suppose.

 

[emdsapmgr]

You'll want to verify the cranking voltage output on both the timer base and the stator. You'll need a peak-reading voltmeter for this. The CDI website is excellent for ignition troubleshooting: cdielectronics.com