Are Your Boat's Ignition Coils Going Bad? 3 Signs and Symptoms to Watch Out For
Your boat's ignition coils are integral components of its ignition system. They generate the current your spark plugs need to ignite the air-fuel mixture in your engine, which is essential to start the combustion or ignition process. Whether your boat uses a single ignition coil for all the spark plugs or individual coils for each spark plug or engine cylinder, the component must be in perfect working condition. Ignition coil issues will often affect your boat's engine performance. Therefore, knowing when your ignition fails goes a long way into ensuring necessary repairs are done. Fortunately, your ignition coils will often alert you when they start failing, and here are all the signs to watch out for.
Difficulties Getting Your Boat to Ignite
Ignition coils play a crucial role in the ignition process. Therefore, you may find it hard to get your boat to start if they are faulty. In severe cases where the ignition coils fail, your boat will not start at all. However, it's worth noting that this could be a sign of many other issues with your boat. For instance, a dead battery or faulty issues within your boat's electrical system can also make it hard for the boat to start. Therefore, ensure such issues are inspected, too.
Engine Running Erratically
Your boat's ignition coils need to maintain a steady output of the voltage to keep the engine running. If they become faulty, they may fail to do so. In that case, you will notice engine misfires where the engine runs erratically. Usually, this happens at irregular intervals and tends to be accompanied by strange noises and rough acceleration.
Reduced Fuel Efficiency
Ignition coils are essential in the combustion process, which involves fuel. Therefore, you will notice a reduction in your boat's fuel efficiency when the coils start going bad. However, since the combustion process involves air and fuel ignition, dirty engine filters can also have a similar symptom. Therefore, consider having your filters checked to rule out potential issues.
Understanding the causes of ignition coil failure is also important because you will know what you need to do to prevent it. Vibrations, excessive heat, spark plug issues, leaks and moisture intrusion are some of the top culprits for ignition coil failures. Therefore, inspect your boat regularly for such issues and have them fixed early enough. Regular inspection is crucial as it may be hard to detect issues such as moisture intrusion, especially if you are using an outboard motor.
Contact a local marine engineer to learn more.