454 Merc and a Rough weekend running Offshore
07-05-2011, 05:51 PM
#1
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
454 Merc and a Rough weekend running Offshore
Hey guys,
New here, live in Fort Lauderdale. I picked up a Baja boss 232 last weekend as a little fixer upper. It has a newer rebuilt 454 Carbed motor with a Bravo I. I was running in the ocean about 400 yards offshore having a blast. Somehow something slid its way into the engine compartment (Hatch must have been bouncing up and down or something), next thing I know, engine shuts down and I have no power. I was able to open the hatch and saw that a plastic bag with bottled waters, knocked the ground off the starting battery. I put the ground back on and I had power to all accessories and the starter was working fine. But, the Tach is pegged at 8k (No way the engine hit 8k lol).. and I am not getting any spark to the motor. I can smell fuel when cranking, so I would imagine the carb is shooting fuel, but the engine is not getting spark.
Whats the best way to check to see if I am getting spark at the coil? I have read that a tachwire could keep it from not turning over? Needless to say, Towboat US (Didnt have the membership yet) $400 towing bill and a sea sick friend is how I spent my 4th.
Thanks for any info you guys may have.
Joe
Fort Lauderdale
1997 Baja Boss 232 454
New here, live in Fort Lauderdale. I picked up a Baja boss 232 last weekend as a little fixer upper. It has a newer rebuilt 454 Carbed motor with a Bravo I. I was running in the ocean about 400 yards offshore having a blast. Somehow something slid its way into the engine compartment (Hatch must have been bouncing up and down or something), next thing I know, engine shuts down and I have no power. I was able to open the hatch and saw that a plastic bag with bottled waters, knocked the ground off the starting battery. I put the ground back on and I had power to all accessories and the starter was working fine. But, the Tach is pegged at 8k (No way the engine hit 8k lol).. and I am not getting any spark to the motor. I can smell fuel when cranking, so I would imagine the carb is shooting fuel, but the engine is not getting spark.
Whats the best way to check to see if I am getting spark at the coil? I have read that a tachwire could keep it from not turning over? Needless to say, Towboat US (Didnt have the membership yet) $400 towing bill and a sea sick friend is how I spent my 4th.
Thanks for any info you guys may have.
Joe
Fort Lauderdale
1997 Baja Boss 232 454
07-05-2011, 07:52 PM
#3
Hey guys,
New here, live in Fort Lauderdale. I picked up a Baja boss 232 last weekend as a little fixer upper. It has a newer rebuilt 454 Carbed motor with a Bravo I. I was running in the ocean about 400 yards offshore having a blast. Somehow something slid its way into the engine compartment (Hatch must have been bouncing up and down or something), next thing I know, engine shuts down and I have no power. I was able to open the hatch and saw that a plastic bag with bottled waters, knocked the ground off the starting battery. I put the ground back on and I had power to all accessories and the starter was working fine. But, the Tach is pegged at 8k (No way the engine hit 8k lol).. and I am not getting any spark to the motor. I can smell fuel when cranking, so I would imagine the carb is shooting fuel, but the engine is not getting spark.
Whats the best way to check to see if I am getting spark at the coil? I have read that a tachwire could keep it from not turning over? Needless to say, Towboat US (Didnt have the membership yet) $400 towing bill and a sea sick friend is how I spent my 4th.
Thanks for any info you guys may have.
Joe
Fort Lauderdale
1997 Baja Boss 232 454
New here, live in Fort Lauderdale. I picked up a Baja boss 232 last weekend as a little fixer upper. It has a newer rebuilt 454 Carbed motor with a Bravo I. I was running in the ocean about 400 yards offshore having a blast. Somehow something slid its way into the engine compartment (Hatch must have been bouncing up and down or something), next thing I know, engine shuts down and I have no power. I was able to open the hatch and saw that a plastic bag with bottled waters, knocked the ground off the starting battery. I put the ground back on and I had power to all accessories and the starter was working fine. But, the Tach is pegged at 8k (No way the engine hit 8k lol).. and I am not getting any spark to the motor. I can smell fuel when cranking, so I would imagine the carb is shooting fuel, but the engine is not getting spark.
Whats the best way to check to see if I am getting spark at the coil? I have read that a tachwire could keep it from not turning over? Needless to say, Towboat US (Didnt have the membership yet) $400 towing bill and a sea sick friend is how I spent my 4th.
Thanks for any info you guys may have.
Joe
Fort Lauderdale
1997 Baja Boss 232 454
07-05-2011, 08:27 PM
#4
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think I smelled a burning plastic smell just for a second.. It could have been the plastic bag hitting the engine block, but it could also be a fried wire...
I see three main wires connected at the coil. (Stupid question)...The coil gets the power from the ignition..right? Also, what does a pegged tach mean?
Heres a pic of my engine... Im not exactly sure what engine I have. I know its a 454, but its Carbed..but says MPI on the cover?
I got a sweet deal on a fixer upper, but some of the wires could have been fastened better during the rebuild. The out of control bag ended up taking the ground off the battery to the left.. The redbull can was set there while on trailer, to show my 4.3 liter buddies the size of the gas guzzler
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24900218@N08/5906679115/
I see three main wires connected at the coil. (Stupid question)...The coil gets the power from the ignition..right? Also, what does a pegged tach mean?
Heres a pic of my engine... Im not exactly sure what engine I have. I know its a 454, but its Carbed..but says MPI on the cover?
I got a sweet deal on a fixer upper, but some of the wires could have been fastened better during the rebuild. The out of control bag ended up taking the ground off the battery to the left.. The redbull can was set there while on trailer, to show my 4.3 liter buddies the size of the gas guzzler
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24900218@N08/5906679115/
Last edited by BajaBossJD; 07-05-2011 at 09:26 PM.
07-07-2011, 10:16 PM
#5
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hey guys,
I checked on the boat today and did some tests. The battery connections were all correct, and I checked voltage at the coil. I had 12 volts on the + post of the coil, I checked the whie/red wire from the Thunderbolt and had 12 volts..
I bought a spark tester and did not see a spark from the main coil line to the dist.
The tach is still pegged at 7k.
I have read that the Rectifier would fry if the battery was disconnected while the engine was running (the ground came off while running WOT)... Would the rectifier cause no spark to coil?
Any other tests I should try?
Thanks,
Joe
I checked on the boat today and did some tests. The battery connections were all correct, and I checked voltage at the coil. I had 12 volts on the + post of the coil, I checked the whie/red wire from the Thunderbolt and had 12 volts..
I bought a spark tester and did not see a spark from the main coil line to the dist.
The tach is still pegged at 7k.
I have read that the Rectifier would fry if the battery was disconnected while the engine was running (the ground came off while running WOT)... Would the rectifier cause no spark to coil?
Any other tests I should try?
Thanks,
Joe
