Ignition coil not seating well - cause?

[ABSea 123]

Hello all. I replaced the spark plugs on my SX190 SHO engine this weekend, and 3/4 of the ignition coils slid on nicely all the way flush. However, one of them did not go all the way down and I needed to tighten the bolts to get it to sit flush.

Any idea what might have caused this? I checked the rubber gasket that attaches to the spark plug and it looked fine. Also wiggled the coil down and it just didn't *pop* on the same as the others. Seemed odd.

 

[AZMark]

Maybe the metal fitting that “pops” onto the end of the plug is bent or otherwise misaligned. Pull it off and look in the end. Also look in the hole with the plug and make sure it’s all clear.

 

[ABSea 123]

Maybe the metal fitting that “pops” onto the end of the plug is bent or otherwise misaligned. Pull it off and look in the end. Also look in the hole with the plug and make sure it’s all clear.

I did check the hole and everything was clear. The spark plug itself went in very smoothly as well.

Good idea to check the conductor inside the boot. I will take a look this evening. Thanks!

 

[ABSea 123]

Maybe the metal fitting that “pops” onto the end of the plug is bent or otherwise misaligned. Pull it off and look in the end. Also look in the hole with the plug and make sure it’s all clear.

The rubber grommet from the inside of my spark plug socket came off and was stuck on the plug. I didn't notice it at first, even with the flashlight.

Mystery solved!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The rubber grommet from the inside of my spark plug socket came off and was stuck on the plug. I didn't notice it at first, even with the flashlight.

Mystery solved!

Winner Winner! As I started to read this thread I thought I bet the same thing happened to him that happened to me, the rubber thingie from inside the spark plug socket came off and is still on the plug.

Glad to see you figured it out!

 

[AZMark]

Glad to hear others spark plug sockets are the same. I did plugs on my Toyota recently and I was fighting that rubber thing the whole time.
I tried to wrap electrical tape around it to make it stick better but then it just made it harder to pull while it slipped out anyway. I might try some adhesive next.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Glad to hear others spark plug sockets are the same. I did plugs on my Toyota recently and I was fighting that rubber thing the whole time.
I tried to wrap electrical tape around it to make it stick better but then it just made it harder to pull while it slipped out anyway. I might try some adhesive next.

That’s what I was thinking… a little dab of epoxy would probably do the trick. Funny, never used to have that problem with those types of sockets until lately.

 

[ABSea 123]

Winner Winner! As I started to read this thread I thought I bet the same thing happened to him that happened to me, the rubber thingie from inside the spark plug socket came off and is still on the plug.

Glad to see you figured it out!

Thanks! And I am very glad to hear I am not the only one to run into this haha

 

[HawaiiBreeze]

So glad you found the source. The main thing is not to force anything to "go-together" or "tighten flush" or even release. Yamaha uses a lot of electrical connectors that need to be disconnected to be able to get to something. If the engine is still nice and sparkly clean those connectors will pop open perfectly if you take your time to determine where the tab is and then if its push or pull.

I just changed out 2 sensors and there are 4 wires that have to be disconnected just to get at the parts to be removed and one of those little SOB's is a small little pink wire that has a small little connector that has a small little tab that is the biggest pain to undo and very fragile feeling compared to the other large meaty connectors but you gotta go slow and don't pull on anything and dont push anything togther that doesnt want to go, find the source of the ill fit, usually its staring right at you. Nowadays I video the work so I know what I took off and how it was threaded through the wiring harness.

One last thing. Working on these motors while they're in the boat is cumbersome and challenging as you have to often times fiddle with things that you cannot see to remove and more importantly cannot see to re-install. The blocks are made of aluminum and the screws, bolts and sensor housings are made of stainless. Cross threading is super easy to do when you are hugging the engine with your right arm and reaching blindly down with the left to go through the maze and find that 10mm hole in the block. If the bolt came out the last bit using your fingers...it should go back in easily with your fingers.

 

[ABSea 123]

So glad you found the source. The main thing is not to force anything to "go-together" or "tighten flush" or even release. Yamaha uses a lot of electrical connectors that need to be disconnected to be able to get to something. If the engine is still nice and sparkly clean those connectors will pop open perfectly if you take your time to determine where the tab is and then if its push or pull.

I just changed out 2 sensors and there are 4 wires that have to be disconnected just to get at the parts to be removed and one of those little SOB's is a small little pink wire that has a small little connector that has a small little tab that is the biggest pain to undo and very fragile feeling compared to the other large meaty connectors but you gotta go slow and don't pull on anything and dont push anything togther that doesnt want to go, find the source of the ill fit, usually its staring right at you. Nowadays I video the work so I know what I took off and how it was threaded through the wiring harness.

One last thing. Working on these motors while they're in the boat is cumbersome and challenging as you have to often times fiddle with things that you cannot see to remove and more importantly cannot see to re-install. The blocks are made of aluminum and the screws, bolts and sensor housings are made of stainless. Cross threading is super easy to do when you are hugging the engine with your right arm and reaching blindly down with the left to go through the maze and find that 10mm hole in the block. If the bolt came out the last bit using your fingers...it should go back in easily with your fingers.

Thank you for this, a very good reminder.

Also, before I found this community I found your videos on YouTube! So thanks for walking me through my first oil change.