# No Spark 1997 40hp evinrude



## Shmelton (Feb 17, 2019)

So I went to the lake Friday, backed the boat in, and it wouldn’t start. I got the boat over to the dock, and figured out I had no spark. I took her home, and tried diagnosing the problem.

1st I figured since neither cylinder had no spark to disconnect the kill switch, and see if that helped, it still wouldn’t crank. I did some inter web trolling, to try to get a direction I wanted to head. Everything I read suggests power pack or stator. 

So yesterday I checked the kill switch, by breaking the yellow and black wire, still no spark. I checked spark by putting a test light in the spark plug socket, nothing on either. Put spark plug to the power head nothing on either. 

I put the plugs back in connected spark plug wires, and while I was deep in thought on what the problem could be, my 4 yr old, who is playing in the boat insists he can fix it. Well he whines and whines until he can help like 4 yr olds do. I play into it and ask him how to fix it, and he says”let me turn the key” so I let him, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t start! 

Well I started it several times through out the day. All seemed good. Well this morning I decided to go fishing, and decided I’d check it to see if it would start before I headed out, and again nothing?

Any ideas on where to begin? 




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## GYPSY400 (Feb 17, 2019)

Start by buying a proper spark tester... you can't check spark with a test light!
You will also need a multi meter to check electrìcal circuits.. sounds like something is loose

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## Pappy (Feb 17, 2019)

You have intermittent spark.
You will need a DVOM for this test. 
First, verify you have no spark at the time the test is performed. 
Disconnect the black/yellow at the powerhead.
With the key in the ON position and the meter in the OHMS setting check continuity between the black yellow and ground. You should have no continuity. 
If you have continuity you have an issue somewhere in the boat harness, powerhead harness or the key switch itself. Check for rodent damage/frayed wires anywhere in the boat harness first. 
The black/yellow carries up to 300V and if you have an aftermarket key switch there is a chance the Black/yellow will carbon track to the neighboring ground terminal and give you this issue. The OEM key switch should have a raised/isolated terminal for this wire...aftermarket nope. 
Not saying this is it but when you have a spark/no spark condition you have to look.


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## Shmelton (Feb 20, 2019)

Thanks Pappy, it’s been raining since Friday. I bought a spark tester, and I’m gonna start going thru her tomorrow, once it clears out. They striper run is about to start, and I gotta get after em.


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## Shmelton (Feb 27, 2019)

So after bypassing the kill switch checking the ignition, testing for continuity at every plug all the way to the power pack I cut the black/yellow wire just before the power pack with enough room to splice back together of course, and it fired right up. It would not turn off without choking it down. What does this mean if anything? Is the power pack bad or does that mean, that the kill switch wire is grounding out between the power pack and the switch? 

I’m using a digital meter that would occasionally read -1 ohms to .001 ohms and go back to 0 when checking for resistance throughout the circuit. 

None of the wires look frayed except where the previous owner screwed back insulation on the black/yellow, and they yellow/red to install an aftermarket kill switch. I cleaned that up but didn’t help. I hate DC electricity.


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## Pappy (Feb 27, 2019)

?????
What that means is exactly what I outlined in my above post! Why on Earth would you cut a wire to check it??
No....the powerpack is not bad. 
Yes...with a reading of 0 or even close you have continuity (again) as outlined in my above post. 
If you have continuity between the black/yellow and ground the engine will not run! 
With the black/yellow disconnected you have no way to shut the engine off...that is why you had to use the primer to shut it down. 
You did not indicate which side of the black/yellow checked to ground. Powerpack side or the other side. 
The key switch grounds the black/yellow to shut the ignition off. Please tell me you did not have the key turned off and all the harnesses hooked up when you did the test?


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## Shmelton (Feb 28, 2019)

I cut the wire on the other side of the connector to the power pack, mostly out of frustration, but it was reading continuity from the power pack plug to ground. It read 4.0 from what I remember, and thought 0.00 on a digital meter meant no continuity. I’m guessing -1 means no continuity? I can easily splice the wire back together and heat shrink it. It’s no problem at all. If 0.00 is showing continuity then I’m reading 0.0 from the the ignition to the 1st plug in the wiring harness. I pulled the ignition switch like you said, and there is no corrosion. It was actually antiox’d pretty well. Maybe it’s inside the ignition switch? I’m going to get an analog meter today and recheck everything. Not sure if I trust my digital meter. It was reading continuity when I wasn’t touching anything just before I put it up.

Yes the key was on. 


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## Pappy (Feb 28, 2019)

First off I would suggest you learn how to use a multi-meter (DVOM). Doing all of your tests without this basic knowledge is useless. A meter, on OHMS, is always checked before testing anything by connecting the two leads and verifying the meter goes to zero or very close. Usually when there is no connection the meter will say something like OL (open lead). 
Am sure there are YouTube vids on the basics of one. See what you can find.


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## Shmelton (Feb 28, 2019)

As suspected the meter I was using was shot. I have to send it back to Ideal for warranty repair. When I tested for continuity by touching the leads together it read varying #’s. That is why I assumed with a digital meter 0 meant no continuity. I have rarely measured ohms in the past. I read amperage and voltage on the AC side regularly. When I tested between the power pack and the closest plug it read 4.1, that’s why I thought the power pack was bad. Nothing heat shrink and a furel won’t fix. I know my thinking was backasswards, but it happens. I’ll get it figured out, live and learn. 


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## Pappy (Feb 28, 2019)

Okay then......
When you get your meter figured out or replaced go back to my post, read it again, and understand it before you check the circuit. You will be checking the complete harness minus the powerpack. I do not support shade-tree so no more cutting wires!


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## Shmelton (Mar 1, 2019)

I figured it out last night, or at least I think I did. One of the female connectors had some corrosion between the yellow/red and the black/yellow. I discovered it when I pulled the orange insulator out to see if I could disassemble the plug. Not sure how it happened, but I cleaned it out and put some antiox on it. Wires are done being cut. Thanks for your help.



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## Pappy (Mar 2, 2019)

The yellow/red is your start wire. When the key switch is turned to the start position current flows down this wire to the starter solenoid. 
Good that you cleaned the corrosion but..............this wire does not supply any kind of ground path for the black/yellow lead. Keep looking. 
Also, had you been using your DVOM you could have checked for continuity between these two wires.


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## Shmelton (Mar 21, 2019)

So the problem started back up, again. I checked for continuity, between the black/yellow, and ground, and there is none. I am using a new meter I trust at this point. 

I broke out the service manual, and am working through the trouble shooting process. I have found that the dual ignition coil is bad, at least the top half. I have continuity between the primary and secondary leads on the bottom half but not the top, so I guess I need a new coil. I’m still not sure why my spark tester isn’t showing spark on the bottom plug, but this is a start, I guess. 

What else do I need to dig into, or do I just replace the coil and see if that fixes her?




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## Pappy (Mar 23, 2019)

So let me get this right....
The problem has now changed from intermittent no ignition to a no ignition on one cylinder??
You are saying the top half of the coil is bad but you're not sure why you don't have spark on the bottom cylinder?? 
Am a bit confused here........

You can change the primary wires from bottom to top and change the secondary wires from bottom to top to verify the coil is bad.


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## Shmelton (Mar 25, 2019)

I didn’t have spark on either cylinder. When I checked the coil the top set of studs had no continuity. The bottom set did. The back of the coil was swollen and really worn looking so I went ahead and replaced it. Still no spark, no voltage on the primary leads from the power pack. There are about 30v going to the power pack. I guess my next step is to pull the flywheel? I’m kinda at a loss, but the marina is running 3-4 weeks on repairs, and i need to get it on the water, while the hybrids are running.


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## Pappy (Mar 25, 2019)

If you still don't have spark on either cylinder (in other words the original problem) why did you write the confusing statement about the coil?
The voltage going to the powerpack (if that is even what you checked) cannot be checked with a DVOM. It is AC voltage and needs to be checked with a peak reading voltmeter. Not only that but voltage has to be checked and verified for timer base output as well as charge coil output.....two separate voltages and two separate values for each. 
Neither of these have a habit or history of coming and going with their output capability. 
Remember the post about the supposed grounded black/yellow lead on page one? Read it again and understand what I am telling you!


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## Shmelton (Mar 26, 2019)

I have no continuity between black/yellow and ground. I have grounded to the boat, and to the powerhead. 


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## Pappy (Mar 26, 2019)

One lead of the meter has to be on the negative side of the battery or the metal on the powerhead. 
The other lead on the meter has to go on the powerhead harness side of the Black/yellow with the key switch in the on position and engine not running. NOT the powerpack side of the black/yellow if you have it disconnected there. 
Again, this has to be checked when the engine is having the problem, not when it is is running. 
When I am absolutely sure you are checking this as I outline we will proceed. Please be clear in your future posts as to what you are doing and exactly how. None of us here are mind readers.......


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## Shmelton (Mar 27, 2019)

Pappy said:


> One lead of the meter has to be on the negative side of the battery or the metal on the powerhead.
> The other lead on the meter has to go on the powerhead harness side of the Black/yellow with the key switch in the on position and engine not running. NOT the powerpack side of the black/yellow if you have it disconnected there.
> Again, this has to be checked when the engine is having the problem, not when it is is running.
> When I am absolutely sure you are checking this as I outline we will proceed. Please be clear in your future posts as to what you are doing and exactly how. None of us here are mind readers.......



I have done exactly this. There is no continuity between the black/yellow and neg terminal, nor black/yellow and bare metal on the powerhead. The key is in the on position. The engine is not running.


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## Pappy (Mar 28, 2019)

Since you have no way to check the charge coil output accurately going to the pack or the output coming out of the pack you may want to consider a power pack. 
This is based solely on what you are telling me. I hate to make guesses even if this is an educated one. 
This would take me less than 5 minutes to check and be sure if it were in front of me.


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## Shmelton (Mar 29, 2019)

A marine mechanic that my family uses is checking this for me the 1st of next week. I’m just going to let him figure it out. He can have the boat on the water by the weekend. I appreciate all of your help, sorry for my confusing posts. I will let you know the diagnosis.


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