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1995 Echelon blew sparks out carb, now no electrical power at all


barefootdiver2000

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Hey guys, need some help.  Took the boat out last night for the first time this year and it started but would not stay running.  It would stay running in neutral with it revved up, but wouldn't run at idle.  So I went to check the carb and take the flame arrestor off.  It wasn't running but the key was in the ON position.  When I lifted the arrestor off, it blew sparks everywhere like I touched metal to a bare wire.  Then the carb shot some flames out.  Now I have absolutely no power to anything.  No lights, no blower, no horn, etc.  Only thing that works is the stereo.

I tried pushing the 50 amp breaker but it doesn't push in or do anything.  Is there any other fuses or anything I should be checking.  I'm in South Dakota and the 2 boat places here won't work on anything older than 2000!  Found a place out of town I can take it but can't get in for a few weeks.  Would be nice to use the boat a little this summer if I can get it running again.

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11 minutes ago, Rednucleus said:

Maybe you knocked the wire off the electric choke & shorted to the block?

Have you tried resetting your other breakers?

Thank you for thinking that one up.  I couldn't figure out why 12v would be anywhere near the carb.  I was stuck on the thought that maybe he kicked the coil wire loose, but that wouldn't make sparks at the carb.

@barefootdiver2000, grab a volt meter and start at the battery to see where you have voltage in the harness.  If connections look cruddy, go ahead and clean them up as you go.

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32 minutes ago, Rednucleus said:

Maybe you knocked the wire off the electric choke & shorted to the block?

Have you tried resetting your other breakers?

Thanks for the quick replies.  I'm not super mechanical and I'm not sure I even have an electric choke.  Usually if the boat sat more than a few days, I'd have to squirt a little starting fluid in it and then it would fire right up and run all day.  Where are the other breakers located?  I have a multi-meter but not exactly sure where I should be testing.

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Sounds potentially like the electric choke wires may have come off and the explanation on touching them has become possible.  If original, the carb should be equipped with an electric choke, it looks like a small black hockey puck on the helm side (right) of the carburetor.  Needing starting fluid supports it’s not working or plugged in, you should see 2 spade connectors near the choke unit.

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I found the electric choke and both wires are connected.  I'm guessing it hasn't worked for awhile.  I don't see any other bare wires that could have made a connection to spark the way it did.  Is there a fusebox or inline fuses somewhere that I am not seeing?

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27 minutes ago, barefootdiver2000 said:

I found the electric choke and both wires are connected.  I'm guessing it hasn't worked for awhile.  I don't see any other bare wires that could have made a connection to spark the way it did.  Is there a fusebox or inline fuses somewhere that I am not seeing?

Remove the cover from the choke and make sure it didn't short internally.  It seems like the only possibility since you saw sparks at the carb.

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Or I suppose that it is possible that you shorted the wire with the spark arrestor frame when you removed it.  Is the choke wire spade terminal shrouded, or open?

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1 minute ago, justgary said:

Or I suppose that it is possible that you shorted the wire with the spark arrestor frame when you removed it.  Is the choke wire spade terminal shrouded, or open?

Good point.  Mine has a plastic piece (shrouded) over the red (+) wire, and the black (-) wire does not.

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Which way did you move the spark arrestor when you removed it?  Did you push it backwards, like towards the coil or did you push it off to the side, like towards the choke?  If you lifted it straight up I'm not sure.

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10 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

Good point.  Mine has a plastic piece (shrouded) over the red (+) wire, and the black (-) wire does not.

You added yours after the fact, so it doesn't count.  I'm sure the factory did it correctly on @barefootdiver2000's, but that was a long time ago.

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  • They are not shrouded but are off to the side and I wasn't near those.  I had moved the arrestor towards the back.  I don't see anything around the coil that it would have shorted on.  Seems so weird that not even the horn works now.
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Just now, barefootdiver2000 said:
  • They are not shrouded but are off to the side and I wasn't near those.  I had moved the arrestor towards the back.  I don't see anything around the coil that it would have shorted on.  Seems so weird that not even the horn works now.

The terminal with the purple wire on the coil is hot (+) when the key is on.

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I think each one of your toggle switches has a breaker under it, a round button with a white center.  Did you see anything like that under the switches?

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Can't say that your 1995 install looks like this 1992.

 I uploaded this as a reference only

Looks like the coil is pretty close to the Carb. 

Your application may differ.  

IMG_3339.JPG

Edited by Rack
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3 hours ago, barefootdiver2000 said:

Thanks for the quick replies.  I'm not super mechanical and I'm not sure I even have an electric choke.  Usually if the boat sat more than a few days, I'd have to squirt a little starting fluid in it and then it would fire right up and run all day.  Where are the other breakers located?  I have a multi-meter but not exactly sure where I should be testing.

You can figure this out

take the multi-meter and measure the volts on the two battery terminals, if you get better than 12v, move along the positive battery wire to the next connection, measure volts at each connection all the way to the end. One end should be at the starter and another positive wire should end up under the dash somewhere.   Look for inline fuses along the way.

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I've looked everywhere and can't find any fuse.  It has to be something like that since the horn and blower should work without the key even being in the ignition.  I've tried to take the Computron system off where the ignition switch is, but there are so many wires holding it in there and I have no idea how to get it out without disconnecting everything and I'm not going to open that can of worms.   I assume there are fuses back there since it has the little white buttons to push but it's above my pay grade at this point.  I guess she will just sit for a few weeks until I can get it in.

BTW, my coil is farther behind the plug wires.  Closer to the motor mount and under the red cable in the picture that was posted.

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Maybe that breaker is bad, do you have power going into the 50amp breaker?

Your stereo was probably wired directly to the battery, that is pretty common.  That's probably why the stereo still works.

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I have 12.6v at the 50 amp breaker with the key on, 10.6v when the key is off.  I also have 12.6v at the starter.

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