1976 Evinrude 9.9 ignition -lost a cylinder/troubleshooting

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  • May 24, 2016 at 8:07 am #4343
    PugetSoundBoater
    Participant

      Did this ignition tune up done last month ,barrel tested fine checked timing, perfect both cylinders. Then put in new NGK B7HS spark plugs. Secondary wires that come with the BRP coils are plastic coated ,a bit thin ,fit in the spark plug boot loose,have to really tighten a zip tie around the boot to keep the terminal from rotating in the boot,I’m not impressed. Boat test the next day… Low rpm, I loose a cylinder, I mess up a spark plug terminal? Thinking about all that has been said here about the troublesome"Fire Flash" low tension ignition..I’ve been repeatedly forewarned.
      I troubleshoot today, lower cylinder has no spark. Pull flywheel check the points with timing tool at full throttle, right where I left it ,at the right side of the timing marks for a new points. Check the wiring from the points to the Packard connectors with my ohmeter. Move the throttle looking for a broken wire or short. It’s fine. Barrel test,hard to start,low RPM ,check with timing light , still no lower cylinder spark. Change the visually good spark plugs with same NGK. Check the coil secondary wire and terminal ,ground wire allfine. Look at all my service bulletins, "Wha’d I miss?" Look up the coil ohms specs in the 9.9 service manual. Test the coil with an ohmmeter. The range of the primary is 1.3 ohms +/- .3 ohms. I got .8,..outside of the range. Test a rusty old coil that had worked fine I had replaced with the ohmmeter. It’s right at 1 ohm. Install the old coil on the dead cylinder. Starts right up, check timing. Perfect. Got RPM back. Fire on both cylinders. HUH?
      I get a bad coil!? BRP 0502880. Made in Tiawan. I’ve done complete ignition on 2 of these motors. 4 new coils. My friends 1976 15 hp motor runs great for 10+ hours,2 days out on a boat. Good wiring,ground connection,clean Packard connectors, spark plug wire installed correctly ,etc. Boat test again tommorow, Tommorow I’ll also try Champion UL81C? (Don’t have my notes with me now)
      Is there a better quality coil than these BRP? Get a better secondary wire? Yeah I know.. CDI 2.
      Failure is not an option.

      "Some people want to know how a watch works, others just want to know what time it is"
      Robbie Robertson

      May 24, 2016 at 9:32 am #37052
      billw
      Participant

        US Member

        Sounds like you figured it out, to me. It’s just my humble opinion but it seems like, whenever vendors are changed, to supply parts for obsolete engines, nobody really much cares whether they work or not. In fact, sometimes it seems they want to further discourage you from fixing old stuff, precisely BY supplying you with crap parts. Maybe it’s just my imagination. Anyway, those engines had a slew of ignition aggravations; but coils usually were not too bad, as I remember it….unless they cracked wide open somewhere. If I had the stomach to still work on those engines, which were just another nail in OMC’s coffin, I would be using the old coils until they failed….if they ever would fail.

        Long live American manufacturing!

        May 27, 2016 at 12:36 am #37205
        fleetwin
        Participant

          US Member

          Doesn’t seem like the new coil was too far out of spec for the primary circuit, most ohm meters aren’t terribly accurate down at that range. I agree with Bill, most companies farm this stuff out to vendors and aren’t that concerned. Did you check the new/defective coil against one of the other new coils that is working OK? I don’t have any info on the OMC vs outside vendor coils, but I would not try to change the secondary/plug lead on the coil, these are not meant to be removed from the coil.
          I agree with Bill again, many of these coils can look like crap, be all rusted, even have some cracks, but work just fine. Unfortunately, you can not judge the cracks without using the mercotronic probe test. I’d be interested in seeing what would happen if you reinstalled the new/defective/questionable coil on the other cylinder that was not having problems…..
          Yeah, I know, this goes against what I agreed with in a different post, "never mess with success"! I guess this is why I make so many problems for myself….

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