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2000 Volvo Penta 5.7 GSI No Spark Issue

J

jackra_1

Member
This no spark issue is driving me crazy. I have followed the workshop manual with no luck.
It cranks but no spark either at distributor or directly at coil.
I bypassed the neutral safety switch and the engine is in neutral.
The following parts are new:
Coil, ignition regulator, distributor, distributor cap, rotor.
With ignition on I do not get voltage at the pink wire going in to coil. This connector I replaced as original was loose.
40 amp fuse in circuit is fine.
Wire to tach is connected properly.
Battery fully charged and voltmeter shows excellent voltage.

Any ideas?
 
Thank you for your reply.
No I do not. On top of that just now for the heck of it I get a ground reading when I test for resistance. I am presuming that is bad as that wire is grounded some where?
 
Ignition switch seems fine. Dont forget the engine cranks over no issue there, However I notice that the tachometer does not move at all when cranking. Should it at such low revs at least jump a little?
 
jackra_1 said:
...Ignition switch seems fine. ...
Click to expand...
Unless you verify it, it is suspect. Being as you have already unload a small sum on 'new' parts, you'd be better off diagnosis the problem

On the tach...maybe - depends upon its internal design...you can always unplug the grey wire to eliminate the tach as a root cause...
 
Ok so the ignition switch is I believe fine however the wiring to/from it may not be. I have been tracing the pink wire back from the coil connector and it has 4 wires spliced into into it. So the pink wire continues along accompanied by three smaller diameter wires any one of which could be causing a ground condition.
Will continue tracing.
 
So I had a new ignition switch in my pile of stuff and that tests the same as my original. On tracing the pink coil feed wire back thru the look and past where it is spliced into the other 3 wires it goes into a relay. Coming out of that relay the pink wire goes to the ignition switch. None of this is in the workshop manual wiring diagram btw.
When I take that relay out and jump between the two pink wires in and out I can get a 12 plus volt reading at the coil pink wire. I really do not have a good spark detector so I hooked the multimeter up to the ignition coil primary and ground and then cranked and the meter jumped as I cranked but not by much.
Does that mean anything good or bad?
 
Relay tests ok. Anyway I have given up. Its way beyond my capabilities and the workshop manual is useless as far as I am concerned.
I will get the trailer ready for towing this boat to a Volvo Penta knowledgeable marine repair shop. Luckily there are a couple within 5 miles of me.
No one has a mobile mechanic despite advertising such.
 
the relay I mention above is controlled somehow. However I cannot find a diagram of it anywhere. I thought I would add that bit of information.
 
Long shot here but here goes.

My ignition relay appears to test ok however when I turn on the ignition there is no continuity between terminals 87 and 30. So is a bad relay the certain cause of this? I do get power at 86.
 
try it with another relay....continuity on a multimeter isn't always a good indicator...a relay's contacts can burn and show continuity because the multimeter doesn't use any significant current....using a test light with a real bulb will demand a lot more current...

you can always replace the relay with a fused jumper for diagnostic purposes....
 
I have ordered a new relay. I used the fuel pump relay but that to is old and did not work.

Good point about test light and multimeter. Will do some more testing today.
 
I did jump across the relay inputs from the red power side to the purple/white wire that leads to the ignition coil before but get no spark when cranking. IU believe thats because the white/pink wire goes to the ECM as a "wake up" connection and that is not powered up in this jump scenario.

I have a good ground at the relay socket and good power. The relay just does not activate and connect between the red power side and the purple/white wire.
 
One other thing to add. In the workshop manual it mentions a bad tach connection can cause a no spark situation. I believe I have a good connection here but not sure.
 
Tried a new relay and nothing. I am getting a healthy 12 volts plus on the terminal that is supposed to get 12 volts however it is not switched across to the pink wire to the coil.
I am resigned to the fact this boat will not get in the water this year or possibly ever.
A lot or work to get the trailer ready to tow this 27ft boat to a mechanic.
A peddle driven kayak is what I will look at getting to fish Buzzards Bay.
 
jackra_1 said:
... I am getting a healthy 12 volts plus on the terminal that is supposed to get 12 volts however it is not switched across to the pink wire to the coil....
Click to expand...
are you trying to say that the relay is working? in other words, with the key in the RUN position, you see the test light turn on with it's probe touching the connector mating with Pin 87 on the relay?

If that's the case, I'd agree the relay is working...I'd suggest making sure there is continuity from that connector thru the rest of the 'pink wires' in the ignition circuit...having a bad connection in a wiring harness after a couple decades is not unheard of...
 
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