Atomic 4 intermitent quits

[mpoulin]

Hello all,

First time poster with a question for troubleshooting my A4 1968 in an Alberg 30.

Here goes:

The A4 starts easily all the time (prime, choke and one push of starter button) and runs smoothly at all times, no missfires, no sputtering etc. and all seems fine (oil pressure steady, Temps around 140-150). Everyone says it purrs like a kitten!

But, after a while (every 45 to 1.5 hours or so, sometimes longer, sometimes sooner) it just stops dead. No hesitation, no coughing, it just quits. I just have to wait a bit (5 minutes or so) and it will start easily and run easily as described above.

I bought the boat in 2014 and it was on the hard for that year. The motor just ran for winterizing and spring start-up (using the steps found here! so useful). It has fresh oil but has gas over a year old (which PO told me was conditionned).

I personally suspect the fuel but otherwise I am at a loss given the A4 works so well. So I pass it on to the collective knowledge and wisdom of this great forum! What would you do to troubleshoot this?

Cheers,

Maurice

[JOHN COOKSON]

Maurice
First off a big welcome to the forum.
And first question:
Do you have points or an EI? (electonic ignition)

TRUE GRIT

[mpoulin]

Hello again,

Thanks for the welcome! A few more details to mention:

The A4 is pretty well original, so distributor, points and plugs, not EI, raw water cooled, a newer balmar alternator. I run it at about 1000-1100 rpm and it holds its temp, oil pressure and charging steady and pushes the boat well.

I have some records showing the engine was getting serviced regularly. I also have a set of plugs, gas filter and distributor parts with a note stating removed working in 2009. So might be time to refresh these essentials.

Hope this helps,
Maurice

[Al Schober]

Maurice,
Sounds very similar to a problem I had some time back. Cured it by replacing the spark coil.
Seems some coils are quite sensitive to heat. Some forum folks have taken the steps of installing a heat shield between the block and the coil, or of moving the coil off the block completely.
Make sure your new coil matches your electrical system - ie: whether or not you have a ballast resistor. Most A4 installations don't use a ballast resistor and hence use a coil with an internal resistor.

[edwardc]

+1 Al.

I agree. It sounds like a classic bad coil problem.

Maurice, where are you located? There is a quite active Alberg 30 association here on the Chesapeake Bay.

[CalebD]

+2 on overheating ignition coil.
Symptoms point to this exactly. There are some long discussions on the forum on this issue.

[JOHN COOKSON]

If you have an oil filled coil it should be good indefinitely unless there is an obvious problem such as leaking oil.
Before you replace the coil give us a voltage reading at coil + with the engine in gear at cruise RPM.
Also what is the dwell reading with the points properly gapped?

TRUE GRIT

[mpoulin]

hello all,

Thanks for the quick replies! So coil would be the possible culprit, that's easy enough. I'll see if I can relocate easily on a bulkhead and go from there!

I had in mind to replace distributor and plugs in the fall, so if a relocation does not help or the readings are off, I may as well change the coil too (matched to my electrical, good tip)

I`ll attempt to get the voltage reading at coil + (a bit hard to reach) next time I`m out. Can I test dwell with a multi-meter? I confess I had to look up dwell angle in google so I understand the principle of it... but I don't own a dwell meter just a multi meter!

I am sailing on the Ottawa River in Ontario Canada but I have been browsing the Alberg 30 association website extensively... along with this site.

Many thanks you guys are great, I`ll be back with readings.

Cheers,

Maurice

[Al Schober]

Maurice,
I'd say that most multimeters will not do dwell - I know mine won't. Personally, I use an old (like me) Heathkit dwell/tachometer. Check you local auto parts supply place to see what they have - things have changed a lot since I put the Heathkit together. Suspect you can get a dwell/tack for less than $20.
If you get the point gap good, the dwell will be good unless the distributor cam is worn. If that's the case, it's a good excuse to go EI. Personally, I set the gap then adjust the advanced by rotating the distributor slightly while the engine is under load. If you do this under way, have someone else aboard to do the steering!
Moving your coil to a bulkhead may solve your problem. You'll need longer leads to the distributor for the high voltage and the coil negative. Interestingly, the case of the coil doesn't need grounding - ground path for the spark is through the condenser.

[JOHN COOKSON]

I'll see if I can relocate easily on a bulkhead and go from there!
so if a relocation does not help or the readings are off, I may as well change the coil too (matched to my electrical, good tip)
Maurice

If you relocate the coil to the bulkhead do it with your eyes open.
If you are pushing too many amps through the coil in too short of a period of time relocating the coil will not help because the problem is happening inside the coil not external to it.

TRUE GRIT

[Loki9]

If you relocate the coil to the bulkhead do it with your eyes open.
If you are pushing too many amps through the coil in too short of a period of time relocating the coil will not help because the problem is happening inside the coil not external to it.

TRUE GRIT

Also, if the coil has failed due to over heating moving it to the bulkhead will not repair it. A heat damaged coil needs to be replaced.

[Bingy]

Have been having somewhat of the same issues.
My boat came equipped with a electric fuel pump attached to the motor.
Relocated to bulkhead and appears to have solved my problem.

[ARA]

Mine was quite similar. Started and ran all the time. Every couple times out it would stall dead after motoring for 20 min down the channel. Turn the key immediately, and nothing. 1-2 min later it fires right up again.

Mine was corrosion between the positive wire and battery end connector. I found it by wiggling wires at the dock 1 at a time until it stalled. I trimmed .5" off the wire, sanded the connector inside and out and reinstalled. 4 weeks now with no problems.

Thanks to everyone on this forum, I've learned to check the simple stuff first.

[JOHN COOKSON]

Mine was corrosion between the positive wire and battery end connector. I found it by wiggling wires at the dock 1 at a time until it stalled. I trimmed .5" off the wire, sanded the connector inside and out and reinstalled. 4 weeks now with no problems.
.

Anytime you have trouble with an electric or electronic device check the device itself and the associated electric circuit.
I got so sick and tired of "checking the circuit" I finally rewired my boat and engine. That took care of that. Now I know my "circuits" are good.

TRUE GRIT

[roadnsky]

Mine was quite similar. Started and ran all the time. Every couple times out it would stall dead after motoring for 20 min down the channel. Turn the key immediately, and nothing. 1-2 min later it fires right up again.

Mine was corrosion between the positive wire and battery end connector. I found it by wiggling wires at the dock 1 at a time until it stalled. I trimmed .5" off the wire, sanded the connector inside and out and reinstalled. 4 weeks now with no problems.

Read Don's post #6 in this thread...

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9346&highlight