2002 90Ttlra No Spark

[99yam40]

basically it says that if the output of the CDI meets peak voltage spec and you still do not have spark then it has to be in the ignition coils or wiring to them.
the CDI is good

the CDI output does not meet the minimum 130 spec,
charge coils do meet the 60 and 100 minimum spec,
the pulser meets the 5 v minimum spec but 13v is over spec so they say to replace the CDI


it is very confusing to have to look at all of your pics to see the readings you got, but it at least lets me see what the manual says
manuals have been printed wrong before, but I have no idea if this is wrong or not.
maybe Rodbolt or Boscoe can help with if that is correct

[pjhaddock]

You edited your post while I was writing this new one and you covered all of what I wrote below.

Thanks for your input so far. Were you able to see the pictures of the manual I posted?
My flow through it is this...the CDI output calls for 130V minimum, I have 105V (it was slowly climbing but I felt I was about to burn the starter out, took 8-10 seconds to get up to the 105V). I assume this is why I don't have spark? If low it says to test the charge coil, which calls for 55V & 90V which I have 89V & 128V. If this means that it is beyond specification to measure pulser. It calls for 7V and I have 13V. If this means that it is beyond then it says to replace the CDI. This is where I get confused, it quotes a "minimum", but what is considered beyond? Where do you suggest I go from here?

A week and a half ago before I bought the boat we took it out on a solid hour test run and it ran great. Last Sunday I went to take it out and it has no spark. Thankfully I always start my boats before leaving the house to take them out.

[99yam40]

the manual for my C40 states the same thing about replacing the CDI if pulser output is beyond spec

I would see about testing loaded to be sure,

thinking about it being beyond on the pulser means it has enough voltage to do what it should be doing , but the CDI is not putting out what it should be putting out
CDI is bad

CDI is just capasitors the store the charge coil voltage and sends it on to the ignition coils when the pulser tells it to.
good voltages into CDI but bad coming out

you done any welding on the boat or motor?
or reversed battery connections?
something had to make it go out

I wonder if bad ignition coil or unplugging the spark plug wires while running could feed back high voltage spikes and take out the CDI,
I have read it could happen, but never seen it

[pjhaddock]

No I haven't done any welding or anything like that. When I got it home I removed the batteries and ran the cables for the *****ing motor to the center console and got a new deep cycle for that. Did a bunch of cleaning (not the engine). Ran the power and transducer cables for the GPS/fish finder. That's about it. You feel pretty confident that the CDI bit the dust?

[99yam40]

Your manual says so

[pjhaddock]

Thanks for all the help so far yam! I am really nervous about pulling the switch on a $500 part. That would kill me if it doesn't fix the problem. Are there any other things you can think of to check or is the good voltage in (I assume the voltage being double the minimum is good?) with low voltage out pretty cut and dry? Sorry I promise I'm not trying to be a PITA.

[99yam40]

I would take apart all connections clean then make sure grounds are all good too.
then retest

did you test the ignition coils?
did you test the CDI output loaded and unloaded?
whoops looks like they only give CDI output loaded.

I take it the low speed charge coil is what you got the 105v reading on, and you should get close to that back out



wish Rodbolt or other techs would drop in and express their thoughts also to help you make the decision

[pjhaddock]

I'll take apart connections and clean up as best I can and see if there are any changes. I haven't tested the ignition coils cause I just assumed there's no way all 3 of them would die at the same time. I'll try to test them tomorrow though.

The charge coil was 89V between Red & Brown, and 128V between Red & Blue. The 105V was between the black/white wire on the coil output and ground.

I don't completely understand how it all works. Do the ignition coils require 130V minimum in order to activate and do anything at all...or should I be getting SOME spark with the 105V going to them? The voltage was climbing and I stopped at 105V (about 8 seconds I'd guess) cause I was worried about burning up the starter. How long do you suppose the starter could run? It was pretty hot from all the cranking during all the tests.

[99yam40]

manual says not to run it but a few seconds at a time.

if you need that long to build up the voltage how will that fire at every revolution?

[pjhaddock]

So I disconnected and cleaned up all the grounds and connections at the motor and started to retest. I noticed in the manual that it looks like you test the output of the CDI with the ignition coil still plugged in?? I have had them unplugged this whole time when testing... With the ignition coils plugged in to the CDI and no spark plugs I get ZERO output from the CDI on the B/W wires, if I unplug the wire I get the same climbing voltage on the DVA to around 105V. Does this shed any light on anything? I haven't retested the charge & pulser coils, are they supposed to be tested with everything still plugged in as well cause I had those unplugged when I tested them too. Thanks again!

[99yam40]

I believe if you pay attention the charge and pulser have specs for loaded and unloaded.
you can test both ways if you want

[pjhaddock]

Thanks for continuing with me yam! Ok I thought that's what the "open" and "connect" meant. So I still have voltage from those being above spec. But zero from the CDI to any of the coils unless I unplug the coils. Make anything of that or just a bad CDI? The spark plugs don't have to be connected or anything do they?

I also tried testing all of the coils.
Primary calls for .18-.24 ohms resistance, all of mine are zero.
Secondary calls for 3.26k-4.88k, mine are 9.5k, 9.8k, & 10.0k.

Nowhere in the testing of the CDI does it mention anything about checking the coils.

[pjhaddock]

Thanks for continuing with me yam! Ok I thought that's what the "open" and "connect" meant. So I still have voltage from those being above spec. But zero from the CDI to any of the coils unless I unplug the coils. Make anything of that or just a bad CDI? The spark plugs don't have to be connected or anything do they?

I also tried testing all of the coils.
Primary calls for .18-.24 ohms resistance, all of mine are zero.
Secondary calls for 3.26k-4.88k, mine are 9.5k, 9.8k, & 10.0k.

Nowhere in the testing of the CDI does it mention anything about checking the coils though.

[rodbolt17]

what meter/dva are you using?
the charge coils send an A/c voltage to the CDI,there it is rectified and stored in a capacitor. the pulser coil sends an A/C voltage to the CDI. this is the trigger for the SCR that allows the capacitor to discharge into the ign coil primary.
run all tests loaded and unloaded. if charge coil otput is good unloaded but falls loaded what is loading it?
if the caps don't discharge you cant keep charging them.

[99yam40]

from what he wrote the pulser and charge coils are above spec minimum, but the CDI output loaded is 0 and unloaded is still below spec