spark, no spark

[shenanigans]

i need some help

when i first bought my boat it would shut itself down once in a while and would start right away. slowly it would get harder and harder to restart. so in june i replaced all the ignition part,s point,s condenser rotor cap plug,s wire,s and coil. i even checked the timing. went away for three week,s and only had one shutdown in that time, but it would not start for several hour,s. when i got back decided to re check timing and it was fine. the motor would not start at all now.had it running for three day,s in arow and it would start at any time.now all i get is some spark when turning it over on the starter and then it disappear,s. what is going on here. intermitten spark!!! where do i go from here!! i have checked the point gap, all is fine i have looked at the cap and rotor and even replaced all the new part,s with the old. same thing no start. i keep pulling the plug,s to see if there is spark and yes i do have spark but after a few revolution,s on the starter it quit,s????? very frustating. i don,t know where to go from here.

tom

[Don Moyer]

Tom,

You may have a faulty connection somewhere in the primary ignition circuit within your boat itself (rather common in Catalina 30's). I suggest you install a small jumper wire between the big battery cable on the starter solenoid and the positive terminal of the coil, and see if the problem goes away. You cannot leave this wire installed permanently, since it will burn out the coil. Installing the jumper wire is exactly the same thing as turning on your ignition switch.

Don