CliffA
Well-Known Member
- Dec 29, 2009
- 4,712
- Boat Info
- 2001 Sea Ray 340DA
Name: 'Happy Place'
4.5kW West. Generator
Purchased Nov. 2014
Fresh Water Use
- Engines
- Twin Merc. 6.2L (MPI)
640 hp (Total)
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drive Transmissions
i also want to be sure i have a firm basic understanding of what the ignition module and ignition system are designed to do to help in my trouble shooting efforts.... if anyone can confirm or correct me if needed it is appreciated....
basically the ignition module gets a 12V signal from the battery through the ignition switch and the throttle kill switch and the shift interrupt switch.....assuming the kill switch and the shift interrupt switch are working properly the module processes this 12V signal through its internal wiring and processor...if there is nothing to disrupt this signal inside of the module it will keep the 12V on the purple wire circuit at all times which includes the purple wire to the coil....as the engine is cranked over the hall effect sensor starts to ground the 12V signal on the purple wire circuit off and on as the fingers of the the rotor spin through the sensor....when the 12V signal is grounded the coil releases its high voltage energy through the coil wire into the distributor cap...the distributor cap sends the high energy from the coil to the rotor....as the rotor spins it makes contact with the different contacts inside the distributor cap....this completes the circuit and each individual distributor contact transfers the power to its associated spark plug wire which in turn fires that specific spark plug.....the processor inside the module will advance or retard the timing the 12V signal gets grounded as needed to keep the engine running within preset parameters....
if this is correct the ignition module is like a 'monitor'....it receives signals from various switches and sensors...if everything is OK the module will allow the 12V signal to pass through and keep the purple wire to the + coil terminal energized so the coil can fire when needed...this 12V signal to the + coil terminal normaly only gets disrupted as the hall effect sensor grounds the 12V signal....if the 'monitor' does not like what it is seeing from a switch, sensor, or a corroded wire it disrupts the purple wire circuit including the 12V signal to the coil and the coil does not fire properly....
i know this is a very simple description of the ignition system, but the first step to troubleshooting a problem is to understand how the system is supposed to work...without this knowledge all i can do is swap parts and hope the problem goes away....
cliff
basically the ignition module gets a 12V signal from the battery through the ignition switch and the throttle kill switch and the shift interrupt switch.....assuming the kill switch and the shift interrupt switch are working properly the module processes this 12V signal through its internal wiring and processor...if there is nothing to disrupt this signal inside of the module it will keep the 12V on the purple wire circuit at all times which includes the purple wire to the coil....as the engine is cranked over the hall effect sensor starts to ground the 12V signal on the purple wire circuit off and on as the fingers of the the rotor spin through the sensor....when the 12V signal is grounded the coil releases its high voltage energy through the coil wire into the distributor cap...the distributor cap sends the high energy from the coil to the rotor....as the rotor spins it makes contact with the different contacts inside the distributor cap....this completes the circuit and each individual distributor contact transfers the power to its associated spark plug wire which in turn fires that specific spark plug.....the processor inside the module will advance or retard the timing the 12V signal gets grounded as needed to keep the engine running within preset parameters....
if this is correct the ignition module is like a 'monitor'....it receives signals from various switches and sensors...if everything is OK the module will allow the 12V signal to pass through and keep the purple wire to the + coil terminal energized so the coil can fire when needed...this 12V signal to the + coil terminal normaly only gets disrupted as the hall effect sensor grounds the 12V signal....if the 'monitor' does not like what it is seeing from a switch, sensor, or a corroded wire it disrupts the purple wire circuit including the 12V signal to the coil and the coil does not fire properly....
i know this is a very simple description of the ignition system, but the first step to troubleshooting a problem is to understand how the system is supposed to work...without this knowledge all i can do is swap parts and hope the problem goes away....
cliff
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