1988 21BR Not Starting

[nedlucas]

Hi - I purchased this from the original owner in August of '18. It has the 7.4L Mercruiser V8. Used it 6 times in Maine before I moved it to SC in October with no staring issues. Went to start it this week and it started right up, ran for about 2 minutes then died. Cranks now but won't start. It's getting gas but no spark. Any thoughts? Have 12 volts at the coil. Going to pick up a spark gap tester today. Thinking it may be the ignition module. Found a troubleshooting flowchart at iboat.com for the Thunderbolt V system (mine is the IV). Thanks in advance.

[AsLan7]

Hi - I purchased this from the original owner in August of '18. It has the 7.4L Mercruiser V8. Used it 6 times in Maine before I moved it to SC in October with no staring issues. Went to start it this week and it started right up, ran for about 2 minutes then died. Cranks now but won't start. It's getting gas but no spark. Any thoughts? Have 12 volts at the coil. Going to pick up a spark gap tester today. Thinking it may be the ignition module. Found a troubleshooting flowchart at iboat.com for the Thunderbolt V system (mine is the IV). Thanks in advance.

.
Hey Nedlucas, welcome to the Cobalt Chat forum. So glad you came out of the woodwork!

Are you related to Lucas electrics?

Stupid question but have to ask....did you check to make sure the safety lanyard didn't accidentally come off? I believe flipping that switch will disable the ignition by grounding it out.

Second stupid question...all circuit breakers are in correct?

Welcome aboard mate!

.

[kas232ca]

Hi - I purchased this from the original owner in August of '18. It has the 7.4L Mercruiser V8. Used it 6 times in Maine before I moved it to SC in October with no staring issues. Went to start it this week and it started right up, ran for about 2 minutes then died. Cranks now but won't start. It's getting gas but no spark. Any thoughts? Have 12 volts at the coil. Going to pick up a spark gap tester today. Thinking it may be the ignition module. Found a troubleshooting flowchart at iboat.com for the Thunderbolt V system (mine is the IV). Thanks in advance.

.
Hey Nedlucas, welcome to the Cobalt Chat forum. So glad you came out of the woodwork!

Are you related to Lucas electrics?

Stupid question but have to ask....did you check to make sure the safety lanyard didn't accidentally come off? I believe flipping that switch will disable the ignition by grounding it out.

Second stupid question...all circuit breakers are in correct?

Welcome aboard mate!

.

Lucas Factory motto, "put in a good day's work then home before dark"

[AsLan7]

Hi - I purchased this from the original owner in August of '18. It has the 7.4L Mercruiser V8. Used it 6 times in Maine before I moved it to SC in October with no staring issues. Went to start it this week and it started right up, ran for about 2 minutes then died. Cranks now but won't start. It's getting gas but no spark. Any thoughts? Have 12 volts at the coil. Going to pick up a spark gap tester today. Thinking it may be the ignition module. Found a troubleshooting flowchart at iboat.com for the Thunderbolt V system (mine is the IV). Thanks in advance.

.
Hey Nedlucas, welcome to the Cobalt Chat forum. So glad you came out of the woodwork!

Are you related to Lucas electrics?

Stupid question but have to ask....did you check to make sure the safety lanyard didn't accidentally come off? I believe flipping that switch will disable the ignition by grounding it out.

Second stupid question...all circuit breakers are in correct?

Welcome aboard mate!

.

Lucas Factory motto, "put in a good day's work then home before dark"

.

Aint that the truth K2. I'm certainly familiar with that one. My first car was a 1960 Austin Healey...which I still own. Cut my teeth on Lucas electrics! (in the dark)

.

[Big Block Power]

Make sure it's in neutral too right bfun

[Bfun220]

Make sure it's in neutral too right bfun

From what I remember it won't turn over if in gear.

[jhnmdahl]

Plugs and wires are the cheap first thing to try ($25 for plugs and $50 for wires and assuming they haven't been recently replaced). Next is probably the coil (figure $40 from Sierra), then the wheel assembly and distributor cap ($12 and $35). Or, pull the distributor cap and see if anything's wonky, pull the plugs and look for spark, etc., before throwing parts at it.

Also, from the story you gave, could it be getting fuel but not enough? If something got clogged over winter, it may behave as you say it does.

Good luck, and keep us posted,

John

[nedlucas]

Thanks for the replies - Where is the safety lanyard? The kill engine switch on the throttle is in the correct position. There is one circuit breaker on the dash popped out but no label what it is for.

[akorcovelos]

an '88 may not have a lanyard, my '84 doesn't I had the same issue on a Merc 260 with Thunderbolt and it was the ignition module inside the distributor.

This is the culprit:

[nedlucas]

thanks again everyone. Followed a troubleshooting flowchart from Mercruiser tech Support and it's also pointing to the ignition sensor. Now the trick is to get the rotor off of the distributor....its stuck.

[Big Block Power]

thanks again everyone. Followed a troubleshooting flowchart from Mercruiser tech Support and it's also pointing to the ignition sensor. Now the trick is to get the rotor off of the distributor....its stuck.

Can't pry it off. Cut it off from the side. But work it off by trying to rock it off side to side.

[nedlucas]

Got it off by applying heat. Now waiting for replacement parts. Thanks everyone!

[Ytmsn]

Good to hear Ned. Sorry I'm late to the party. Fuel, spark and air. It has to have those three things! Glad you figured it out.