Topic: ’91 Chrysler Force 15 hp, no spark – Antique Outboard Motor Club,Inc

This topic has 14 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 2 years ago by crosbyman.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 15 total)

1 2 →

Author

Posts
April 10, 2023 at 12:51 pm #275033
FKACalan
Hi all;

My latest project boat came with a very clean Chrysler Force 15 hp. ’91, so made before Force was bought by Merc I think. Looks like it has very low hours. It had zero spark on either cylinder when tested.

Folks online seemed to consistently report that the coils went bad, even sitting. One tested obviously bad on the bench. Had some smoke residue; not surprised. So I replaced them with a CDI unit from CDI electronics. Still zero spark on either.

I think I installed it all correctly. It was simple, the directions were clear, and it all seemed to come together well.

I disconnected the stop and lanyard kill switches; no difference. Compression is good and even.

Thoroughly cleaned the ground connection, which wasn’t loose, corroded, or dirty. No change.

How best to test, and isolate? Any ideas and all suggestions welcome.

Also update; when I hook up the wire from the new coil / trigger assembly to a grounded multi-meter, it reads -.13. Why would I detect any voltage on a pull start motor that I ain’t pullin’ on? I don’t love high tech. When I pulled the rope twice, it changed to -.16, and stayed there. Huh?

Many thanks!

Alan
April 11, 2023 at 5:43 am #275053
billw
Participant
US Member
It’s hard to tell where your wires are going and what colors they are, even though the picture itself seems clear enough. From the vantage point of your picture, the colors don’t seem to make sense or match the directions that CDI has allowed us to see, online. (See link below.) Still, it seems like there is something off with the way it is hooked up under the flywheel….Are the white and gray wires the OEM kill switch wires, even though CDI says they should be brown? If so, those, at least, make sense. If your white and gray wires feed the dual coil pack, then one of them is grounded….

https://www.cdielectronics.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=cdi_spget&spurl=https://sharepoint.cdielectronics.com/Controlled%20Documents/Installation%20Sheets/IS-116-2379K%202.pdf

Those BIM units were the worst. They hardly ever worked, by the time they showed up at our shop. At the time, there was no CDI solution to the problem, either. They ran nicely, when they did have fire, though.

Long live American manufacturing!

1 user thanked author for this post.

FKACalan
April 11, 2023 at 10:27 pm #275082
FKACalan
Thank you very much for your time. The pic isn’t very clear, and I tried to tuck and route the wires as far from the crank as possible making it even harder to see.

I tried to attach clearer pics. One should show the black w/ yellow stripe going to the kill switch, with the plastic isolation washers. I could not find any connectivity between any of the three connectors and the grounded plate w/ the multi-meter. No evidence of short to ground there. Directions say it’s brown, but mine’s gray and I see it go back to the press button “off” switch and lanyard kill switch.

Another pic will show the two plain black wires from the coil/triggers attach to the black ground wire where they all screw into the plate. Plate grounds into a fuel pump bolt. Directions say brown; mine’s clearly black.

Last shows the coil assembly wires exit the plate. Directions say green, mine are white w/ green strip. Sigh.

So, Bill W; are you letting me know these are junk, or that the last ones were? ‘Cause for $230 I have expectations. I do see the web and phone support numbers on the directions. I’ll call them, unless you or someone can point out what I did wrong, (which would be most appreciated).

Appreciated;

Alan
April 12, 2023 at 5:53 am #275090
billw
Participant
US Member
Coffee is almost done and it’s time to go to work. I would like to study the wiring further, when I have some more time. Too bad they don’t seem to show a block diagram for the wiring. A lot can get lost in worded directions, especially when they haven’t even got the color codes down pat. However, I just wanted to let you know that what I meant was that the original BIM ignition was junk. I have never dealt with a CDI conversion for these particular engines. When I used to work on them more, the CDI conversion was not yet available, at least that I was aware of. Usually, CDI stuff in general has been good for me, though.

Long live American manufacturing!

1 user thanked author for this post.

FKACalan
April 12, 2023 at 1:42 pm #275099
seakaye12
Participant
US Member
Curious; what does BIM stand for?
April 13, 2023 at 12:05 pm #275123
Mumbles
Participant
seakaye12 wrote:

BIM units

Battery Ignition Module?

1 user thanked author for this post.

FKACalan
April 13, 2023 at 2:21 pm #275124
elgin2
Participant
US Member
I have a 20hp Chrysler that won’t fire unless the points look like chrome.

1 user thanked author for this post.

FKACalan
April 13, 2023 at 9:49 pm #275133
FKACalan
I bet one nickel on, “Bosch Ignition Module”. I wasn’t able to find this term NOT associated w/ Bosch, but I didn’t try very hard.

So, nobody sees any huge mistakes I made, right? I’ll call the manufacturer tomorrow unless someone sees something amiss.

This system replaces one that had no breaker points to begin with, so shining up points won’t be an option. I wish.

I’ll report back if / when I get answers.

Many thanks;

Alan
April 16, 2023 at 7:08 pm #275196
billw
Participant
US Member
Sorry, I had to look up what BIM meant. I had forgotten. It is “Breakerless Inductive Magneto.” Maybe “Bad ignition Module” would be better.

Long live American manufacturing!

2 users thanked author for this post.

FKACalan, Mumbles
April 17, 2023 at 10:14 am #275223
seakaye12
Participant
US Member
billw wrote:

Sorry, I had to look up what BIM meant. I had forgotten. It is “Breakerless Inductive Magneto.” Maybe “Bad ignition Module” would be better.

Ah; Thanks Bill! I spent a while looking around and could NOT find that. I wonder who the manufacturer was?
Author

Posts