1987 Advance with Chevy PCM - Dead

[CPTHack]

Love the boat at first site and bought it off Craig's List two weeks ago. It ran great during test drive and even back on my lake that afternoon. We had a super day skiing, boarding, and even bare footing with the boom that came with it.  We were so excited to do more of the same this weekend. When we arrived the battery was dead.  It was old and I knew it was probably on its last legs so replaced. It cranked fine with the new battery but never caught. Carb keeps puking gas even after I stop cranking so it's getting fuel. I pull a plug and don't see any spark. I look at the dist cap and the inside is full of condensation with solid green oxidation on all 8 contacts.  I used an Emery board to get it all off but even after drying - it won't start.  It's so rusty and old looking inside the dist, I'm thinking I should upgrade to HEI without points. What's the best way to do this?

It's a well cared for boat with good looking oil in the engine and trans. The impeller was replaced the day I picked it up. Not sure why the ignition was never upgraded. It just seems like there was way too much moisture in the dist.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share!

[CPTHack]

I forgot to attach this photo of the Mallory Dist YL 670AV. It also says use cap 209D on it.
Pretty nasty, huh?

[backfoot100]

First off welcome.

Second thing is if the carb is dripping fuel after you shut it down, there are a couple different possible issues.
First thing is that there is something holding the needle/seat open in the float bowl. Dirt or a saturated float.
A rebuild or cleaning is the fix for this issue.
Second is the float is set too high and not closing the needle/seat properly. Removing the fuel bowl and adjusting the float fixes this.
Third is too much fuel pressure holding the needle/seat open. If you haven't changed the fuel pump, that shouldn't be the problem.
As for the dizzy, putting new points, condenser and cap should fix it. If you haven't done it yet, new plugs and wires wouldn't hurt either. A "new" boat should be standard practice.
The dizzy could be cleaned out and verify that the advance weights are free to move the way they should.
Good luck finding an electronic conversion. That's the exact same dizzy I had in my boat. There were no conversion kits available for it 15 Years ago and I doubt that has changed. I checked with Mallory, Pertronix and Accel. I called Mallory and they said that they could probably piece together something if I sent the dizzy to them. The cost qouted was as much as a new electronic dizzy so I put a marine MSD in it. There are drop in, ready to run dizzys available from MSD or DUI that several have upgraded to. Just make sure its a marine unit that you put in it.
Let us know what you decide.

[CPTHack]

Thanks for the welcome.  I saw so many really helpful replies on this forum that I felt it would be okay to ask a question like this.

So they don't make a kit, huh. I guess that's why it is so hard to figure out which Sierra kit will work.  That's a shame because the MSD 83606 is a much more expensive option.  At least I won't have to worry about the ballast resistor as another point of failure.

The boat ran soooooooo well (awesome really) two weekends ago that I didn't think the carb would be a problem.  It was really only puking gas after cranking for five to seven seconds with simultaneous throttle pumps. The choke does worry me though.  It seems to be really loose - in that I can put it into whichever position I want (once the flame arrestor is off).  Shouldn't there be something keeping it closed when cold?

I'm taking a lot of heat from the family for it going from awesome to crap by just sitting for two weeks. It did rain a lot and was very moist under the cover and inside engine compartment. That makes me feel like I have to get rid of the points.

[backfoot100]

If it's been a while since it ran it could just be some dirt in the needle/seat. Taking off the float bowl is easy for look anyway. Might be that simple.
The MSD 83606 while more than a electronic conversion it'll also be much cheaper than the old school MSD dizzy and the ignition box. It's still no different than a DUI dizzy. New dizzy will also be much more Reliable than a conversion. I've heard of way too many failures from the conversions.
Maybe they do make a conversion now but I doubt it. I got the impression that it was too small of a diameter dizzy and just not a large production number to pay for a conversion so good luck with the that.
Choke should be spring loaded with a spring in the black round plastic cover on the side of the carb. That spring does weaken with age. Not uncommon to have to replace it.
Loosen up the three screwson the metal retaining ring holding the cover on. Rotate cover and the choke plate should move with it. Should have a 1/8" gap on the choke plate when cold. Turn the key on the ignition but don't start it. The choke plate should open completely in about45 seconds to a minute. If it doesn't the choke spring housing needs replacing.

[CPTHack]

I checked the choke spring and it wasn't catching the little finger inside the circular assembly.  I put it back together correctly and now it works the way I expected.

I ended up ordering the D.U.I. HEI conversion with built in coil, M12720 for $319.  I will put it in this weekend and let everybody know how I fair.  Keep your fingers crossed.

[Midskier]

Welcome welcome welcome

sounds like Eddie has you on the right track
the DUI HEI is a very good solid unit - set it and forget it
as far as conversions or concerned - it looks like a standard mallory to me
and pertronix has a kit for it - I've installed easily over 100 kits and have had ZERO
failures with any of them - that aside the DUI HEI will eliminate any future
maintenance and is the right choice if your budget allows.  most likely they were stuck shut
and that's why you had no spark -  I will not reinstall points - and haven;t for over 20 years
the carb thing also should be simple (simplified) just a valve and passage for fuel to flow
let us know your progress, we'll certainly help you go from chump to champ


Dan T

[backfoot100]

DUI is an excellent unit. I've seen several Chevy and Ford owners that have done that conversion with excellent results. I prefer MSD myself but that's just me. My MSD dizzy has been in service for 15+ years an almost 1000 hrs. You should expect a DUI to give at least the same service.

Definitely let us know how it goes.

[CPTHack]

The boat runs incredibly well now. The immediate starts are truly refreshing. I wholeheartedly recommend the DUI distributor.

All is not perfect though. Before I got the timing set correctly, I was cranking for a bit and roasted a wire. Not sure if it's because the new ignition pulls so much more amps, but the gray wire that goes (went) from the alternator to the starter side of the solenoid is no more. It also seems to have melted my choke spring even though that is fed by the purple wire. The purple wire is what feeds the coil though, so maybe?  Could that wire be part of the neutral to reverse gear switch to protect the transmission? 

Anyhow, I took apart the entire harness and inspected all the other wires. Only one was a bit charred for a couple of inches. I wrapped it with extra tape and put all of them into a loom. I can reconnect that wire with a larger gage, but really can't think of a reason why that second alternator wire needs to get connected to the battery (through the starter relay) while it's cranking. Can you?

[CPTHack]

I woke up this morning knowing what I probably did wrong. When I replaced the starter solenoid I did not know where that extra bundle of wires came from so I mistakenly attached it to the starter side of the solenoid (because they were over in that area and had no place else to go). Now I think that connection really came from behind the bolt attaching the starter solenoid and is supposed to be a ground. It does make sense that the extra line from the starter should be a ground. Maybe the gray color should have been my other clue. I hate making bone head mistakes like that. At least it didn't damage anything other than that wire and choke thermostat. It could have been a lot worse.

[RonT]

Welcome aboard, sounds like your on the right track, & got good advice from the forum as expected. FYI purple is the ignition circuit coming from the ignition switch feeding the coil & choke, the Starter wire from the ignition switch is yellow w/ black stripe & goes through the trans neutral safety switch before powering the solenoid.