Carver Owners Forum

So I have an 89 3207 and I've been working on it for the last 8 months or so. The last time I took it out the engine stalled out and the starter was turning real slow but it would always start. So I had some problems sourcing the right starter so I just rebuilt the old one. I'm really not a mechanic but I'm trying to learn I copied the wiring on the other starter and checked it a bunch and looked at the manual. I bought a coil from the auto parts store and try that next any thoughts ? Any one any advice is appreciated

Ok, first of all, I’m NOT a mechanic. However, ANYTHING that is electrical needs to be marine certified, not a part from an auto parts store. It sounds like a coil is one of those items that falls into this category. Marine certified means it has to be sealed, meaning no possibility of any sparking.
If I’m wrong on this, I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will correct me.

An automotive coil won't pose any more of a risk than a marine one, but buster53 is correct, there are items on marine engines and in the engine compartment that must be rated ignition proof for gasoline engine compartment use.

There's a number of things that could be the problem here;
- could be an electrical issue like a bad battery or wiring
- could be an ignition issue, check your ignition components, when was the last time she had an ignition tune-up? Pull off the distributor cap and check the contacts and rotor tip, if they're corroded or you see any cracks in the cap, replace them. Is she producing a spark?
- could be fuel related, not getting fuel, carb issue, bad filter, water in fuel, old fuel, fuel pump failed
- might have a bad exhaust manifold and water is getting into the cylinders, this could cause slow cranking and could stall the engine

You'll need to go back to the basics and determine which system is the culprit; fuel delivery or poor/no ignition. Do a proper battery test to eliminate the battery as the problem. Test for spark with a proper spark tester designed for marine use otherwise you'll be putting yourself in a dangerous situation.

How did she stall, did she suddenly stop with no warning or did she cough and puff, slowly losing rpm before finally shutting down?

Did the boat come with a coil that has an internal resistor or uses an external resistor? What did you install?

Good point Fred

Thanks for getting back to me guys I'm on the boat now and tried the coil there's been no change. My dad has helped me with this boat a lot and he replaced the coil on the other engine and told me I needed a 12v oil filled coil the auto parts store also carries marine parts here in san diego I got sold on an edelbrock universal 12v. Anyways so this engine ran perfectly before this starter went out when I bought the boat I replaced the fuel pump checked all the plugs and compression replaced the elbows and risers fuel filters the engines I have seem to be in great shape shaking off the neglect from the previous owner replacing all these things is hard for me alone because I have no experience. I don't know if it's getting spark I'm going to try and check that now it sure doesn't sound like it at all ! I know it's getting gas because I can smell it after trying to prime the engine so it'll start. I used a big piece off a memory foam top and used it sort of as a shim to boost up the heat exchange and secure the bolts back on it so I could put it back on myself and I thought I had somehow damaged the wiring or coil in doing this but now it's got a new coil on it so I don't know what to do now. I looked at the book but I don't have a bunch of labels on these wires coming from the harness I took a picture of the other starter and followed that so if my wiring it up isn't correct would the starter still crank like this ? Or would it not work at all?

Also the batteries are brand new

When the engine stalled when all this happened we were just trolling along and it took me a minute to even notice the second time it just stalled out and shut down quick

The coil needs to be verified! Did it have an internal resistor? Do you know how an ignition resistor looks? Is there a resistor present? If there is, then the coil must not have a built in resistor.
Forget the fact that it's oil filled. That is not an issue. You will not get much of a spark if you use a resistor coil with an inline resistor!
Look up "ignition resistor" on any automotive parts site so you know what you are looking for

You say you replaced the elbows and risers, did the manifolds get replaced too?