Dead electronic igniton?

[quentind]

HI all,

My engine had a really hard time starting or didn’t start, depending on the day over the past couple of weeks. Quick troubleshooting revealed no sparks at the coil.
It is worth noting that my A4 has an Indigo AT4 electronic ignition.

I checked the coil and even replaced it with my spare one. Still no spark. I measure resistances on both coils, they are ok (10kohm / 3.5 ohm). I removed all wires from the coil except the ignition, and when I connect the (-) of the coil to my ground, I get a spark. The coils are fine then I believe.

The issue then seems to be in the electronic ignition, rotor, or cap. I reconnected the electronic ignition to the coil and ground (and kept everything else disconnected as per my coil testing).
Following the electronic ignition manual, I disconnected the Molex plug tapped a screwdriver between the silver and white wires to get a spark, but no spark still. This should trigger a spark.

I removed the electronic ignition wires from the coil and retested it as above. I could still get a spark. I did that multiple times, to make sure my testing procedure was correct but at some points, I got sparks when tapping a screwdriver between the silver and white wires of the electronic ignition.
I bet there was a short, and I must have fixed it, by chance.

I came back to the boat yesterday and again, it didn’t start. Again, I couldn’t get a spark connecting the silver and white wires of the electronic ignition. I tested all wires of the electronic ignition, they all have very low resistance.
At some point, when I put the ignition on with the electronic ignition wired, I got constant big sparks, without touching the silver and white wires of the electronic ignition. Then sparks stopped, and I couldn’t get sparks anymore. I cut the silver and white wires off the Molex plug and connected them together. Still no sparks.

So, my electronic ignition is dead? Or am I missing something?

[joe_db]

It seems dead. That does happen, I had it happen on my A4 and on my outboard. You'll need a new box - might as well get the newer one with the variable dwell.

[W2ET]

my A4 has an Indigo AT4 electronic ignition.

Perhaps you should speak with Indigo.

Bill

[quentind]

Originally Posted by joe_db

It seems dead. That does happen, I had it happen on my A4 and on my outboard. You'll need a new box - might as well get the newer one with the variable dwell.

I ordered a PerTronix 1146A. Hopefully, this will solve the issue.

[joe_db]

I am curious, why do that vs. a new box for the existing system?

[ndutton]

Originally Posted by joe_db

I am curious, why do that vs. a new box for the existing system?

An experience a few years ago might explain why . . . .

For my spare engine I tried a different electronic ignition, a Hot Spark. I installed the correct model for our engine with a little fitment difficulty of the magnetic collar but even so, it was a successful installation. It failed completely within maybe 2 hours of engine run time. A no start episode showed zero spark, reinstalling the points solved the issue within minutes.

Never again and no way would a Hot Spark system ever make it onto my boat.

[indigo]

quentind,

I am sorry to hear that you have had problems with you Indigo AT4 ignition.

Let me first ask if your module has a Red LED on one end of the module? If not, then the module is about 20 years old. If so, it is the perfect tool to use to determine the functionality of the Optical Trigger and Electronic Module. If those two components are functioning properly, the LED will flash on and off when cranking the A4 with power to the Module. When not cranking the A4, the LED will not be on. Flashing of the LED does not provide any information about the coil however, just the Optical Trigger and Module.
If the module does not flash when cranking, I would first make sure that there is battery voltage at the “+” terminal of the coil. There have been any number of instances where wiring/switches have caused intermittent starting/running issues.

In general, your testing has been appropriate. If there has always been a solid 12 VDC supplied to the coil during your testing, then the module may well have failed. Having said that, it has been my experience that if a module fails, it does just that and does not give any intermittent service. We have had very few Module failures over the past 27 years and most of those have been the result of either a close lightening strike or the owner inadvertently leaving the ignition switch on for an extended period of time without the engine running (The new XR3000 Module is “smart” enough to prevent that from happening.)

One comment about trying to generate a spark with the Molex connector apart. You have to make and break contact between the White and Silver wires to generate a spark. If you simply short the two together, no spark will be generated and it may well damage something in the Module, I honestly do not know.

Please know that I am always more than willing to help troubleshoot any of the Indigo products, regardless of age.

Tom Stevens

[joe_db]

Originally Posted by ndutton

An experience a few years ago might explain why . . . .

For my spare engine I tried a different electronic ignition, a Hot Spark. I installed the correct model for our engine with a little fitment difficulty of the magnetic collar but even so, it was a successful installation. It failed completely within maybe 2 hours of engine run time. A no start episode showed zero spark, reinstalling the points solved the issue within minutes.

Never again and no way would a Hot Spark system ever make it onto my boat.

I am missing something - where does Hot Spark come from? I don't think the OP has one now or is getting one, unless that is another name for Pertronix.

All EIs share the same problem vs. points, while points tend to have the boiling frog issue, i.e. you do not notice them gradually getting worse until the engine is about impossible to start, while EIs tend to be perfect until they are 100% dead.

Both my outboard and A4 failures were sudden and abrupt, the engines ran perfectly fine when shut down and then refused to start ever again until the components were replaced.