no spark...need ideas

[W.O.T]

my buddy and i took his boat out to martinez for the weekend and had a few problems with it. we are both pretty new to jets so need a few pointers. its an 18ft schuster with a bbc and berk pump. we were a few miles up river when the pump blew the gasket around the bowl inside the boat and it started to take water on pretty good. we floated down river running the bilge pump the whole time to keep the boat dry as possible. we had to run the boat a few times like this to try to make it back to the docks before dark. the motor got pretty wet. water was up past the oil pan more than once. with the drive shaft and alternator under water spinning it got everything pretty wet. the boat has an msd 6al ignition system. the box is up high on the back seat but im sure it still got a little wet. the distributor is dry under the cap, plugs and wires dry, we crank it but cant get a spark. i wont have my voltmeter until tomorrow when i can bring it home from work then i can see if were even getting power to the coil. the boat started to get harder to start each time then started missing when we could get it running, and now no luck starting it. any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. hopefully the box isnt toast. thanks

[Sleek-Jet]

There is a way to test the MSD box to see if it's putting anything out. It's outlined in the installation manual. I wouldn't put a voltmeter on the output of the MSD box.
If you don't have a manual, you can download one from MSD's website.
First thing I would do is take all the grounds loose and clean them well. MSD's need a good ground to work, and a little corrosion will screw up the entire system.

[W.O.T]

ok thanks we pulled all of the plastic housing off all the wiring and it already started to show green corrosion. i will wire brush everything tomorrow and make sure all connections are clean

[Sleek-Jet]

Here's the link to the PDF...
http://www.msdignition.com/pdf/6%20series/6series.pdf
The trouble shooting procedure is on Page 9 and 10 of the manual.

[W.O.T]

thanks sleek jet i appreciate it

[W.O.T]

i forgot to mention but the tack stopped reading after while, then later began to work on and off. when we crank the boat now its not even flickering. i was told the sender for the tach is in the box so that might be helpful

[W.O.T]

still no luck checked all grounds and cleaned them. all wiring connections were clean and dry. even tried another coil no luck. any other ideas? hopefully the box didnt go.

[james]

WOT
I just had this problem when my brother in law decided to 360 my boat and flooded the whole back end. Mine started ok for while then it barely turned over. Sure enough it was the starter. Because it was under water and Idiot decided to try and start it RUST in the starter siezed it Basic chemistry will tell you when you apply electricity to metal under water you will get RUST ten times as fast. I will bet this is you problem. If the starter isnt working right you will not turn over....

[W.O.T]

the boat cranks over no problem as strong as it always has. both batts read 14v

[Squirtcha?]

Did ya check the box per the instruction manual?
I'm betting it took a dump on ya.
I don't run a box and it's just a guess on my part.
They do seem to fail pretty often and that's why I've steered clear of them.

[Cas]

Did ya check the box per the instruction manual?
I'm betting it took a dump on ya.
I don't run a box and it's just a guess on my part.
They do seem to fail pretty often and that's why I've steered clear of them.
ditto!

[W.O.T]

yeah i have a funny feeling its the box. a few people have mentioned to me it would be a good idea to have a spare because they fail often in a marine application. i will check it tonight and post what i come up with. that would be an easy fix but kind of expensive

[Sleek-Jet]

Did you check the box like MSD spells out in the instruction manual??? :idea:

[W.O.T]

the box tested bad put a new one on and fired right up were back in business thanks for that msd link sleek jet