Troubleshooting a CD ignition system

[Jim Cate]

We have a Johnson 3.5 two stroke for a spare dinghy motor. Nasty little thing -- noisy, vibrates like hell, uses too much fuel, etc, but it was reliable for many years. Then one day it refused to start. investigation shows zero spark. Did the usual checks, and was left with the thought that either the coil or the CD unit itself has died. Don't have any friends with similar motors to swap parts with, dpn't want to start buying bits at random. It's a bit embarrassing to admit but I don't know how to effectively determine which part is at fault, so I would appreciate any wisdom from the crowd.

Thanks,

Jim

[GILow]

Which year Jim?


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[model 10]

There is certainly no wisdom in this suggestion but lick your fingers and hold on to the wires going TO the coil. It really won't be that bad if the cd unit is puting out, trust me.

[Stu Jackson]

Jim,

Does it have a kill switch on the throttle? I had one with the same symptoms (Evinrude 1990 9.9 hp) and that was the culprit.

[DeepFrz]

I hope this will help.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...94455598,d.aWw

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

I hope this will help.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...94455598,d.aWw

Yup the link DeepFrz posted has it right. Use a multimeter to check the ohms on the coils.

Unfortunately no real way to test the CDI without an expensive machine. You basically rule everything else out, then replace the CDI as the last step.