Help boat quit

[h20bugs]

Hi members, haven't been on for a long time. Looking for some advice. We were out on Sat. night in our Sunsetter when it just up and quit. Motor just sputtered and stalled. Could not get it to restart. We were only just off idle, the first time in the water this year. Sounded fuel related. After quick troubleshoot, (gettin dark). We called for a tow. During the troubleshoot I tapped on the oil sending unit and saw some oil dripping from the block (Yikes!!) noticed a small plug missing right above the sending unit. Thought this was the problem forsure, again at this point I'm doing this with a flashlight. I tried to tighten the sending unit, again not sure if oil is from where the missing plug is or the sending unit. Well I broke the sucker off. I now have a problem forsure. After getting back to our lift we tarp up and head home. Next morning with tickle trunk full of tools and parts off we go to better diagnose the problem. Deffinately a plug missing, seems to be just an open casting above the oil filter, at this point I am sure this is not our issue. Next check for fuel , pump primes and have pressure at the fuel rail. Not fuel related. On to spark..... none. All gauges work as they should. Checked all connections and they seem fine. So now I am going to replace the ignition module but I can't find a part# for this, does anybody know what it is. I haven't pulled the distributer apart yet, hopeing to have another run at it this afternoon. Also thought I would stop at local NAPA on our way to pick up a coil and possibly complete cap, rotor and module. Already have the parts for the oil sending unit so thats covered. If anyone has these part #'s I would appreciate your help. Seems that haveing spare module and coil are good preventative measures from searching the site. Another question.... if these don't fix our problem, any other suggestions I should check. I will check the purple wire at the coil for power to narrow it down. Thanks in advance Bugs. I've done my own winterize , summerize maint. Boat was ran for approx. 35mins. with no problems on fake a lake. It has new oil, new fuel filter, and was ran at the lake for about 20 mins @ 35mph( from the launch to lift), it seemed perfect. Picked the family up later that night and just really were idleing around for maybe half an hour.

Edited June 17, 2009 by h20bugs

[h20bugs]

After 3 days of trying to get back on this site (was here long time ago), big thanks to Tracie for helping us out.

None of you guys want to take a stab at this. I have always done my own maint. and never a problem. I just did an oil change useing 15/40 Royal Purple Synthetic, new Oil filter, new fuel filter, cleaned the arrestor, new factory plugs. Checked all electrical conections and they seem fine. Are we headed in the right direction or should I look at something else? I found a couple of part #'s on this site and tried to cross reference with NAPA nothing seems to match. Pics. don't seem the same either. Our boat only has 195 hrs. (cold short summers). Will a common G.M. ignition module for a fuel injected 350 work for this application? Also is the coil for a regular G.M. 350 going to work (other than mounting)? This stuff seems like just cheap insurance. I haven't been back to the boat today as it is raining, just trying to get some parts lined up.

Thank Bugs.

[XTI04]

Check for spark at the coil wire. If there is no spark there check for power to the coil. If there is power at the coil you could use a test light on the ground side of the ignition module, crank the engine over and if the light flashes it is working. It wouldnt hurt to check the circuit breakers either.

[rinconking]

regular gm modules will work, but you will probably also find them in NAPA's marine catalog. i would unplug your engine harness, check for corrosion , also check that the middle relay is working.. thats the ignition relay, also check connections at switch, ground bus, and breaker panel.. o and dont forget the o so popular KILL switch.

[the_dude]

A regular GM module and coil will work from any early 90's vortec v8 application. Say a 92 Chevy truck.

However, I would advise you against running an automotive coil other than for diagnostic purposes. I've seen quite a few failures in that coil design that causes the coil to arc against the metal perimeter of the coil. This could be very dangerous in a marine application. So while you'd be fine using the ignition module for a car, I'd get the marine specific coil. When I look at my marine coil there is significantly more epoxy on it than a car coil which probably is to prevent the arcing problem.

[Pappy]

Same thing happened to me last year and it was the ignition control module. I replaced it with one from Advance or Autozone (Moonsoon 5.7 used a 1995 Chevy Tahoe as reference) with lifetime warranty and have not had a problem since. My ICM sits at the bottom of the distributor cap and has 2 separate plugs going into it. Hope it helps.

[h20bugs]

Thanks guys, got it fixed. Turned out to be the coil, we replaced it along with module, cap, and rotor. Might aswell do them all. I guess I will change the plug wires too. Again thanks a bunch. This site is the best. Bugs.

[Going4Six]

Same thing happened to me last year and it was the ignition control module. I replaced it with one from Advance or Autozone (Moonsoon 5.7 used a 1995 Chevy Tahoe as reference) with lifetime warranty and have not had a problem since. My ICM sits at the bottom of the distributor cap and has 2 separate plugs going into it. Hope it helps.

Well, I have not posted in a long time but wanted to thank Pappy for his post. I had no spark and read his post. I have a 2001 Response with the Monsoon engine. I took the ICM out and took it to Autozone where it failed on their test equipment. I bought a 95 Chevy Tahoe ICM as Pappy did and it matched up perfectly. Better yet, it fixed my problem, I am back on the water for $45. This is a very easy component to replace. Maybe 20 minutes total other than the trip to the store.