No spark? How to test CDI ignition on an outboard motor 

This is better then a classroom tech course .You sir , are a very good teacher. Best thing on u tube. Thank you! And greetings from Vancouver Island .

I'm always noticing 2 very important tools in your videos....your beer, and a detailed service/repair manual...your a lifesaver!....keep up the great work it is truly appreciated

Thanks so much for sharing your time and experience. Going to try and diag my Suzuki 40 for a no start at times. I’ll probably be watching this a couple more times. Thanks

This is such a beautiful video for some beginners like me. I come back again and again and every time I come back I learn something new!

Great videos your the first person that knows what hes talking about. Wish you could fix my 85 hp force. Thankyou

I will definitely have to check this out as a possibility for my outboard. I changed the spark plugs on my Evinrude 88 SPL (1996) and the boat was running fine. Ended up taking it out and couldn't start it up on the way back! We took the spark plug wires out and tested them 1 by 1. Found that only 1 spark plug wire out of 4 was generating a spark. Going to start by replacing those and then work my way up. Thanks for your videos, informative as always.

I wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge and talents with the rest of the world! I had been trouble-shooting an ignition problem for a few days, and was down to R&R of the CDI Power Pack. I recalled your diagram of how a CDI works, and how the Kill Switch affects the CDI. I cut one of the wires from the kill switch (Black/Yellow on my Evinrude), and the engine fired immediately. I have a new switch on order, and can't thank you enough. You are my go-to guy on all things outboard!!! Cheers, Mate!

Hi Stu. Bit of an update from me on my use of the DVA I built from your instructions. Had some problems with a Tohatsu 60hp so used the DVA to check the output from the CDI unit to the coil primary winding on number 1 cylinder. I have the switch for the 300 ohm in line resistor. When the engine was running and with the resistor in line I could only get a reading of 50 volts which seemed low. So then switched the resistor out of the circuit and the voltage went straight up to 180 volts. So that absolutely confirms your logic that with a low duty cycle current, the resistor need to be taken out of the circuit. I have used it to measure CDI charging coil voltage, and that has a high duty cycle so the resistor was switched in in that situation. Very useful bit of kit! Many thanks again and keep up the good work, Jon

GREAT video! I took a risk and bought a Yamaha 9.9 that couldn't be started... no controls... nothing. Never worked on an outboard before but with this video and my first ever multimeter, I was able to diagnose the problem and repair the motor for only $30!!!! almost bought a CDI without testing because it seemed obvious. turned out to be the red, continuous power, wire was faulty within motor's harness. found OEM part for $30 shipped. Keep doing what you do!!! Thanks Again!

Thanks for the great video. Thorough and clear explanation of the CDI ignition system 👍🏼

Great stuff. This will help me diagnosing ignition faults in my motorcycle shop, as many bikes use the same technology for their ignition systems.

My name is Rick from USA. You have the best person to person communication for explanation. I know a little about everything but not a lot about one. Very helpful. Thanks

I'm subscribing... great editing and awesome information with no stupid music. Thank you so much

bro i love your videos. you are a god. i dont even own one of these outboards but an 88 evinrude 48spl which you've done videos on which has REALLY helped me SUBBED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!

Great explanation as you work through the various part of the system and the how and why of each part. Thank you.

thanks for the video it helped me find two coils bad on my motor

Very valuable information on all of your videos thank you.

Thanks for the information, looking forward to seeing more of your videos

great videos you are spot on my freind. thank you and i hope you make more for us poor folk who cant afford 100 per hour mechanic

Great Video, gives me a great place to start testing on my motor. At full throttle both coils are working properly, but at idle 1 coil stops working. Idle rpm is all over the place.

Very helpful, your my GOTO guy for anything outboard.

Priceless information...ripper ...gonna keep this vid close to my heart...cheers dude..God bless😊👍

Hi Stu, went to this video while making my version on my Merc 60hp motor which by the way is way different. But there was helpful info either way for my project. Like needing leads with aligator clips ect... My motor has indiviual coils for each of the 3 cylinders and I have a regulator/rectifier combo unit. Red stator and trigger unit also all going to the switchbox and stator adaptor. Interesting setup they did on these older 1996 motors.

thank you Dangar because of your educational video I still have a good running motor!!!!;-):-)

Hey good buddy got another one of those Hooten Lager's Ive been working up a mighty thirst watching you work

You are the man! Really enjoy your videos.Love Eddie and the chickens

Hola amigo, me gustan mucho los vídeos que comparte, mucho aprendemos de usted, no hablo inglés, sería un verdadero gusto que pudiera sustitularlos en español, no solo es usted un buen mecánico, sino también un excelente maestro, gracias y muchas bendiciones.

Great video. Very informative. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Great video and very informative, thankyou

Great vid love your channel!

Thanks for breaking it down so well. Just the information I was looking for. Really appreciate you taking the time brother!

Hi Stu, once again thanks for the really useful information provided through your videos. My friend blew up his Mariner 5hp four stroke engine whilst sailing across the Irish Sea in the UK (my nearest body of water). The water feed pipe failed through corrosion and the engine overheated badly. Having little compression, I decided to rebuild the carbonised engine (& lapped the valves following your guidance) and although compression was restored, it still wouldn't start. Built your DVA (with resistor switch) and it led me to diagnosing a bad capacitor charging coil (probably failed due to the overheating). New coil bought and it started on the second pull! Although you're on the other side of the world I owe you a beer sometime! Cheers, Jon

Gracias!!! Y sigue asi con tus videos ayudando mas personas!! Saludos!!!!

Another great video - I have learned a BUNCH from them!

thanks for sharing your knowledge

Good work with only one lead suspect i am thinking to check continuity from cdi to coil in dead wire Thankyou

I am enjoying your video ...so practical...and user friendly

Thanks, great info and well explained.

Would be awesome to see how to test the CDI. And if power is being produced..Without a starter motor. But all we did here was go around in circles thenFrankenstein it. You left me with more questions than answers

Excellent ***** Video. Good foundation to work from. Thanks Stu !!!

Thank you,I will give it a shot.

Thank you. You're a champion, helped alot

Stu, Thanks for the video. With the DVA unit. The 300ohm resistor looks like a current limiting protection measure so if shorted out could lead to excess current and maybe some damage. What about switching out the 1MOhm resistor across the capacitor to prevent discharge during the test and allow the full supply voltage to develop across the capacitor. Then switch it back in to discharge before the next test begins.

greetings from Greece...

Very Informative, thank you

Lovely video! I could really use a manual that you use in this video. In the Netherlands I am searching for it years now. No result.

Thanks for the videos and great info

Hey nice learned two things from your video. Have a good one.

Damn fine lesson thank you

I sub'd you have an amazing channel and your a master of your craft.... I wish all mechanics were as in depth as you... I'm Heavy Equipment Mechanic, I have been learning outboard on my own just bass fishing and I do all of my own maintenance, I'm just looking to pick a guys brain that knows outboards.. Thanks and look forward you more from you channel....

Excellent video

checked connections on regulator.. clean and no burning etc. freshwater use only and low hours on lovely lough Erne,fermanagh, N.Ireland. thanks

This also had a 17 pitch prop which I changed to a 12 pitch as that is what all the prop calculators called for. Just changing the prop pitch got me up on plane and 22 miles an hour from a boat that wouls not plane and maxed at 6 mph.

One million wievs,yea man,tjere will ne more videos of you reaching this number,just keep em on tube

Great video! I'm slowly working my way through your back catalogue :-) Regarding the cranking issue, I thought I'd share my experience with a '99 Johnson 50 2 stroke. It was intermittently very hesitant about cranking. I originally thought it was the battery because it was improved by charging it. But over time it got worse and I realised that it needed to be sorted. I got Kaikoura Marine to check it out, and they found it was dirty brushes on the starter motor. Once that was sorted, it seemed like it cranked 100 times better!

Thank you that was great.

thanks for share this video.

Great video as always! but i know something you dont! OL stands for Open Loop on the multimeter :)

Great video . Much appreciated.

Great Video Stu. I am loving your videos. Very informative. I picked up on a small inconsistency here when testing the secondary winding of the coils though. @ 14:24 You made made mention of testing from one lead to the other, (and show the boot being re-installed) however, the spec in the manual being 3.5 - 4.7K Ohm, that would indicate that the test need to be done without the boots installed, as they have their own resistance built in ( 3.75-6.25KOhm). If you were testing with the boots still on, you would expect to see 11 - 17.2K Ohm, which is too large a range to give any sort of accuracy to the test. Basically, in order to properly test the secondary winding, you need to have the boots off.

Great video. What is the difference between unloaded and loaded?

Excellent!

Nice. I have to build that DVA tester. I have no spark on my Yamaha 30hp from the mid 80is. Checked with different CDI and coils. All i got is 5v from the trigger.

Hi Stu, Recently I’ve bought a mercury 30hp 2 stroke 2 cylinder. I bought it for real cheap as the previous owner told me it was not working correctly. (Motor is in nearly perfect shape). After working perfectly for one hour or so it started miss firing and lost nearly all power. So far I have ruled out: -vacuum leak -fuel supply problem -coils -spark leads -spark plugs -reed valves -compression At the top cylinder, timing is on spec. On the bottom cylinder the timing is all over the place (roughly 100 degrees advanced!!) Now I have no idea if this problem has to to with my power pack or trigger spool (which gives me a voltage of 2 volts AC when pulling). I suspect the powerpack is the problem, but I have no wiring diagram to confirm if the symptoms I’m having could be caused by a faulty powerpack/cdi unit. Also it is very expensive so I really don’t want to replace it unnecessarily. I am really confused on this problem and I can not find any similar symptoms on the internet. Help is very much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Excellent.

Great video. Thanks!

nice motor outboard direct charge mercury

Awesome videos... In my top favorites now...CheersMichel from Shawnigan Lake, B.C.

I've been experimenting with DVA and yes i don't use any resistors at all, not even the 1m ohm in parallel with capacitor... since the multi-meter already has a 1m ohm in the circuit.. plus a 1m ohm multi-meter is BAD for getting accurate results (capacitor discharges too quick) so a 10m ohm or more multi-meter gives better results. Also I don't use 22mf since it slows the results (more for lower voltages, less on higher voltages) so I get the best results between 1mf (small voltages 1v-10v) and 5 mf (30v-250v).

I would have lost the multimeter, most tools, the spark plug boot overboard by now. Great video though. Thanks.

Really waiting for you to drop something over board! Lol

HI, I have a 1985 classic fifty Merc 4 cylinder two stroke.This is a new engine to me. I replaced the stator as it was open circuit and had no spark. It would idle and ok mid range rpm but would misfire and lose power at top end. I pulled the leg and the exhaust was almost completely plugged with carbon. I cleaned that out, installed new plugs and took it for a run. It ran great for about half an hour and then stated to bog and misfire. I pumped the fuel ball and nothing changed. This seemed heat related to me so i let the engine cool down for ten minutes and started it up and hit the throttle. Everything worked fine for about 5 minutes. I pumped the fuel ball again with no change. I believe the problem is a bad syn, switch box or coil. This is very difficult to check on the water as that is the only time it does this. In a loaded situation. I can check the trigger with a timing light but am a little perplexed at how to check the switch box or coil under load. Any suggestions would be great full. I do not have a DVA adapter. I do however have a labscope.Any tips?

Love your videos. What are those shop manual books you use in your videos? They seem to have great detail. I have yet to find good shop manual books like that.

Very comprehensive! I have an outboard that disengages the starter motor when it fires even though Im holding the ignition key in the same position. Its a tall order to ask if you have any ideas as to why this happens but Im asking lol. I believe the motor would start if it cranked for another second or two before the starter motor disengages. My experience has been that if you keep the key turned that the starter motor keeps cranking in most petrol motors. 40 hp Mariner 2 stroke (Auto miox) 2 cylinder around year 2000. Mercury controls (forward neutral reverse and start key with a lever that appears to be choke)

Hey mate appreciate the video! I have a 2 stroke 30hp tohatsu 2000 model. Did the ignition resistance test and between the two cords off the ignition switch i have 16k ohm. This looks pretty high but cant find exact stats

where can i get my hands on good manuals?

Hey Stu, Great video, helped me heaps to understand some problems I am having with my outboard. Do you think you could do a video on checking and setting the spark timing on a two stroke outboard? I am sure there would be others who would to know too! Regards Paul

Could you inform us of the manual you are using? Thank you for share with the rest of us.

Thank you very much pour these tips. It is really usefull ! I made the handcrafted DVA and it works great. On my carb F50AET (year 1995) all tensions are OK (lighting coil and pulser coil) and I also checked that kill switch and starter switch are good. But the tension delivered by the CDI unit is not compliant. It only delivers 15v during 1 or 2 seconds and then tension decreases. Does it match with a defective CDI or do you have any other suggestion ? Thank you in advance of you have time for an advice :)

Hola !! Saludos desde Argentina!!muchas gracias por tus videos.. Son de mucha ayuda... Mi pregunta es la siguiente... Que libro utilizas para corroborar los datos? Me interesaria poder contar con el muchas gracias y agredesco tu respuesta...

Hi.your videos are great.For your measurements have you considered getting an oscilloscope?you will get some useful info on the Vpp and actually see those duty cycles.cheers.keep it up

Hi, hope your well and safe. I like your channel and the videos are very helpful, has helped me a few times. Thank you for that. I do have another problem and I hope you will be able to help or assist - I have a 1970's Johnson/Evenrude 50HP 2 cylinder outboard motor that blew the powerpack/CDI unit. The current unit is the screw type powerpack but it is discontinued. I did manage to get a powerpack CDI unit of the newer model motors but the wire colour coding doesn't match up. How do I connect it without damaging the powerpack? I'm from South Africa and the guys this side is useless in after sales assistance. Best regards Marcel Prinsloo

Great video! and Love to watching and learning from your Video, but please help me to understand some problems on my 2 stroke 200HP Suzuki oil injection. Problem on my Suzuki Slow Cranking with number 1 Replaced new Battery: Done 2: Replaced new Starter: Done 3: Replaced new cable from Battery to starter: Done 4: Replaced starter relay: Done but still having the same slow cranking issue, I don't what next step I should check please direct me to solve the issues Regards Vince

I have a 95 Jonson 25hp tiller with pull start only. I am not getting any spark on either cylinder. I recently replaced both coils and still no spark. Really need help, any suggestions would be appreciated

You are very good do you do certification courses

Thanks Dangar! I just bought a 1976 Eska 7.5 hp--ignition problems but really clean otherwise. Watched your video and still trying to sort it out for this little tecumseh solid state motor. Would you happen to know any cheap retrofits work arounds for the cdi on these? Would the testing be similar? They made a million of these things and parts are not always easy or cheap to come by. Love your vids. I've watched a bunch and learned a lot! Doug

Mate I’d have thought in Australia an alligator clip would be called a crocodile clip 🤔

good video, nice 1% T-shirt.

Love watching and learning from your videos.My experience is very little but I want to continue understanding ad fixing things on my own. That being said, I have a 1992 90 hp Johnson and it is not getting spark anymore. When I winterized it last year, it was only running on 2 cylinders. After looking into things, I noticed the CDI wires were corroded and coils needed to be cleaned up. I went and ordered NEW CDI, PUT IT IN AND NOTHING! No spark at all.. Since that happened I replaced plugs, wires, and stator...Ive tested the coils and they are fine...New CDI AND STATOR,still not working..OH,and I replaced the flywheel...lol....HELP!!!

Great video I need to test the ignition units on my Yamaha 90hp 2 stroke and just bought a DVA adapter. How did you know which leads to use when hooking up to the harness clips on the charge and pulser coils? My charge coil has a 3-pin plug and I was hoping to figure it out without buying the 3-pin testing harness. Thanks for all your vids!

Would a small digital oscilloscope not be useful where you want to test for voltage cycles or irregular signals. Not that your video misses anything but might be easier to work with..

Took my 9.5 to the shop, ran good till I got it home. Took it back to the shop, man got upset took a funny looking tool and begin to wiggle it as if he was trying too mass it up and he did just that. No more shops for me!!!

brilliantly explained. I'm currently having problems with 75 mariner(mercury) 2005 Belgium.. 3cyl. 2t doesn't seem to be charging battery. however battery does gain small voltage increases when motor running?? with metre on battery and start engine no increase in voltage... I'm thinking regulator.... can I do a bench test on it.. six wires? thanks Ian

BE VERY CAREFUL BEFORE YOU UNSCREW LEAD END CAP, not all of them unscrew (i.e. Yamaha 115hp 2 stroke). Just cost me a coil pack :(

I have a 200 Yamaha 2 stroke, I would like to know how many turns to turn the air screw for good performance?

Hi, your videos are great I am new at this and I am worndering where you get the manuals you are using.

Hello i have a 4.5 hp mercury (1976 ive been told could you tell me where the wires from points condenser and magneto go please

Awesome video! So I have diagnosed everything like your video on my 60hp outboard evinrude and I have come to find out that underneath my flywheel and in the same vicinity as my cdi unit, its melted black, kind of like a black candle wax. Any suggestions? *No spark in all 3 cylinders, coils, leads, ohm tests are all checked. Thanks!

In stead of a dva test of the cdi....would IT not be good enough to test the different coils under the flywheel with an multimeter....like an Ohm test to check if They are within spec?to test for continuity?

I would drop all my tools in that water for sure 😂