My boat died. Looking for tips.

[TJDave]

The motor is a Inline 6 Chebby with a mercruiser outdrive.

Was taking the daughter and granddaughters for a ride on the new 3 seater tube when out of the blue, the engine just quit. No sputtering, no loss of power before it happened.....it just died like I turned it off.

Just got towed back to the launch, and got home. I have not checked anything out yet. My initial thought is that the coil gave out on me...It looks like the original 1973 model. I will pull a plug and see if I have any spark. Then take the coil in and have it tested.

Does it sound to anyone like that may be the problem? Would a coil go bad and just up and quit like that while it is running?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have three young women that are a bit upset with me right now. Life is hell!

Thanx, Dave.

[Lurch]

Sounds electrical. Check for spark, it's old enough it probably has points so take a look at those. Check for loose connections and corrosion on all the connections. If that doesn't work just give it to me and go buy a new one

[Danny]

I'd have to say it's safe to say it's an electrical problem. I can't believe you haven't checked for spark yet.

You might check the distributor as well, you know...moisture and electrical issues.

With that all said I had a 351 in a truck once that had a problem like that. I fought it for several years....never did figure it out. I even let a mecananic have it to drive for a month. It never did it to him. I eventually sold it to some unsuspecting schlep.

[TJDave]

If that doesn't work just give it to me and go buy a new one

That's funny right there!! I think I shot iced tea through my nose when I read that.
Thanks, I'll check that stuff.

[TJDave]

Just checked. No spark....broke a spark plug off while I was at it. No biggie, should probably get new ones anyway.
Looked at the points............Yep, there they are! Not sure what I'm looking for. But they are clean and shiney.

[tobyw]

I had the exact thing happen a couple weeks ago - ended up being a loose battery ground connection. Luckily I had a very basic tool set on board with me and was able to snug the cable connection up, fired it up, and went back to playing on the water! Good luck and let us know what you find?!

[bobracing]

Might also check all connections under the dash too, make sure everything is tight and all wires are still connected.

[scumby]

are boats like cars that are that old, do they have ballast resistors? check fuses as well. check to see if your rotor is turning when you crank it dave.

having worked with electricity for many years i would beg to differ that it is an electrical problem. you see electricity is nothing more than theory, theory can not break. however there is probably some sort of mechanical problem thus causing a break in the flow of said theory (electricity).

[TJDave]

Thank-you everyone for all your tips and suggestions. I used them all.

Checked and cleaned battery terminals, checked all fuses, and checked for loose wires under dash, and all around the engine. Still no spark. I took off the old original rusty coil and took it down to the local parts store. They said it was dead.

Probably overkill for the inline 6, but I bought a new MSD Blaster Coil, and a new set of plugs, since I broke one off trying to check for spark. (not to mention the bright red MSD coil looks pretty cool ) Just put everything back together, put on the water muffs and cranked it. Not even one full crank and VROOM!, she fired right up.
My daughter and grand daughters now love me again!
and since everyone loves a pic..............

[Danny]

Cool, you were right all along, and I like the red.

It looks like the old engine I had in my old boat, '72 but mine had twin carbs. It was a pain you know where. Finally lost a cylinder so it went to the scrap heap.

[scumby]

ah, just like i said a mechanical problem. more than likely a broken wire inside the coil. now how is that electrical? mechanical failure of a piece of copper.