New Ignition System Parts (tune up)

[Rick_Powers]

Hello,

After reaching 1+ year and 200 hours on a newly rebuilt engine, and having just changed the oil (added MMI!), I decided to replace all the ignition wiring/parts.

1. New coil
2. New electronic ignition inside distributor
3. New distributor cap
4. New distributor rotor
5. New spark wires
6. New spark plugs.

I did all this during my lunch hour from work (my boat is 500 feet from my office...).

Went to start the engine, and it fired up great the first time.

Advise is to be really careful of the orientation of the distributor cap, and the location of plug wires 1-2-4-3.

It was a happy experience.

Opon running the engine under load at the dock, I detected about 200 more rpm at full throttle = more power when I need it.

Maybe fuel efficiency will be better too.

The funny comment is, I bought this boat to become a sailor, and (instead) I've become a marine mechanic.

For the other poster, yes, learn yourself and then NEVER hire a mechanic ever again.

Peace, out.

[sastanley]

whoa!

Hello,

Opon running the engine under load at the dock, I detected about 2000 more rpm at full throttle = more power when I need it.

Rick, I hope you mean 200 RPM - regardless, that is awesome.

I am jealous your boat is so close to the office.

I bought my father's boat with a reported 'almost dead engine' and expected to have to sail it everywhere. I feel the same way you do now, and one of my favorites is grabbing a few beers, some cheese & crackers and taking the wife out for an evening cruise...(hmmm, we just did that on Tuesday!) we don't even take the sailcover off sometimes.

[Rick_Powers]

Meant +200

Yes, typo.

Boat was running at 2000 rpm, and went up to 2200 rpm.

[rigspelt]

Cool, Rick! Good feeling.

[Mark S]

Rick,

2. New electronic ignition inside distributor

Did you replace one electronic ignition with another, or did you dispense with points and condenser and go electronic for the first time? I noticed an enormous improvement in every facet of my engine's running after ditching the points and installing an electronic.

Mark

[Rick_Powers]

Electronic Ignition

Hi Mark,

Interesting question, and I'm glad you asked.

Over a year ago I replaced the original conventional points with the electronic kit, with great results. Easy job.

Just 4 months ago, I had an engine failure (had to drop anchor to avoid being blown into the rocks, but that's another story...always tie the anchor to the boat before deploying the anchor!, etc...).

It turned out after a lot of troubleshooting (here on this forum), that the culprit was the electronic points. This was confirmed by replacing the old (saved!) conventional points and having the engine start right up. A rare case, I am told.

So, to make a short answer long, today I replaced conventional points which were used to replace electronic points which were used to replace conventional points.

WHEW !!!

[Mark S]

It turned out after a lot of troubleshooting (here on this forum), that the culprit was the electronic points. This was confirmed by replacing the old (saved!) conventional points and having the engine start right up. A rare case, I am told.

I remember this. I kept my old plate with points and condenser for just this reason. Thankfully, I haven't had to use them. Did you ever find out the cause of your electronic ignition failure? It would be interesting to determine a failure rate for the unit. Was yours an Ignitor or an Indigo? Mine's an Ignitor.

Mark

[agraziano23]

I'm looking into electronic ignition and I see several optons. A full fledged EI Kit from indigo that replace most of the components including the distributor. I also see in MMI a simple device that changes the points with an optical device, no other chabge sneeded, cost is about $80. I'm curious what you used.

[Rick_Powers]

Electronic Ignition

It was Ignitor unit.

Not optical, but rather magnetic.

[Jesse Delanoy]

The Ignitor unit is magnetic.

I believe the Indigo unit is optical.

Same theory, different triggering mechanism.

[ndutton]

I'm noticing a recurring theme here, that being electronic ignition failures of some sort. Over the past few months I've read of pickup failures, always rescued by the old points assembly and coil failures on those boats with new electronic ignition but with the old coils.

I haven't read any posts of failures of properly maintained points (maintenance here refers to scheduled replacement). I'm not an advocate of either but I have been considering an electronic ignition upgrade. The general trend of these posts has me reconsidering.

On the other hand, I haven't seen anyone make the switch to electronic and feel they made a mistake. Is it that much better that the failures are worth it or is it a hate-to-admit-it situation?

I'm truly on the fence about this but I'm leaning toward the old mantra, "If it works, don't fix it." My dated points ignition has thus far been reliable.

[Rick_Powers]

Electronic vs. conventional points

Note to the forum:

Always keep your old conventional points on-board as a back-up.

[Mark S]

Neil,

I haven't read any posts of failures of properly maintained points (maintenance here refers to scheduled replacement). I'm not an advocate of either but I have been considering an electronic ignition upgrade. The general trend of these posts has me reconsidering.

On the other hand, I haven't seen anyone make the switch to electronic and feel they made a mistake. Is it that much better that the failures are worth it or is it a hate-to-admit-it situation?

The upgrade to electronic ignition is, I think, well worth it. First, you never have to replace and reset points or replace a condenser. Second, the wear and tear on caps and rotors and plugs is drastically reduced. The overall effect of this is to reduce the number of possible points of ignition failure and the frequency of ignition maintenance. No one would think of going back to points and condenser in his car; why do it in a boat?

Unfortunately, like all things electronic, failure is not a matter of degrees -- it is total. The unit functions perfectly until it stops completely. Hence, the need for a backup. I think points and condenser are a good backup for most people because no one wants to spend for a backup electronic unit. Failure of the electronic unit is very rare.

I installed an Ignitor from MMI last spring and I haven't looked back. Tomorrow I expect to winterize and I will examine the plugs when I take them out to squirt MMO into the cylinders. I expect them to look much cleaner than last year's as a result of a season with electronic ignition. I'll check out the cap and rotor when I replace them in the spring and I expect them to be far less burned than last season's. I'll report what I find.

Mark

[67c&ccorv]

In spite of the problems I experiienced with my Ignitor system (they were self-induced due to my incompetence), I will stick with the electronic over the original points-condensor-etc., system hands down.

If I were on an extended cruise with no help close at hand I would make sure I had a complete distributor assembly ready to "plug in" should my primary electronic unit go south.

Cheers!

[Dave Neptune]

Electronic Ign.

Guys, 25 years ago I adapted an Allison racing ignition set to my A-4. It was a photo trigger and capable of running a V-12 to 12,000rpm's u-know like the A-4, ha ha. The unit worked flawlessly and until I ran across Indigo some years ago. I replaced the Allison with the Indigo because the Indigo has an LED indicator on the triggering citcuit which is handy for trouble shooting. I actually left the window/trigger I made on the distributor so I have an extra from Indigo in my parts BOX. I since mounted the same Allison on a dune-buggy and it still gets me across the desert. I have used a photo/optic ignition on dozens of engines since the 80's and never had a failure of the electronics although I lost a window/trigger once on a fast flat bottom involved in a crash.

For my $.02 stick with the electronic whether photo triggered or hall effect, they're sealed and very reliable.

Dave Neptune