Voltage for my pro-tec swap

My ohm meter tells me their's no continuity between the "I" terminal and anything else when the solenoid is not energized.

Well against nearly impossible odds I managed to take a picture, put it on the computer and attach it here without asking anybody for help, mostly because no one was around.

But anyway, the attached picture is the guts of the type of solenoid that has generated so much discussion.

You can see the contacts in the housing, the 2 big ones for starter power and the little one for the "I" terminal.

You also see the wire from the "S" terminal going to the coil that when energized moves the slug which pushes the 3 legged contactor (at the top of the picture with a spring on it) against the contacts in the housing. The spring pushes the contacts apart when the solenoid is deenergized

The slug is the round piece on the right, it's about 3/4 of an inch long even though the picture doesn't really show that due to the angle.

So the "I" terminal only gets power from the big contactors when the "S" terminal is energized. When it's deenergized there is no continuity between the "i" terminal and anything else

A picture being worth a thousand words, this should help with how the solenoid works. I did leave a few parts out of the picture that weren't important to show the workings of this thing

Also, only somebody who's not too smart would take apart a perfectly sorta pretty good extra solenoid he had hanging around but then again I never claimed to be smart.

I am a little smarter now though since I can get a picture on here by myself

Wow. I come back to a thread in 24 hours and I have two pages of stuff to read. I think we all know more now, and those of us with the DUI can continue to enjoy our powerful and trouble-free ignition systems.

KRoundy wrote: Wow. I come back to a thread in 24 hours and I have two pages of stuff to read. I think we all know more now, and those of us with the DUI can continue to enjoy our powerful and trouble-free ignition systems.

The point of this thread was that malcom2 wants to make sure he is meeting the DUI voltage spec so he does have a powerful and trouble-free ignition system. If you think DUI's don't fail I have some bad news for you. If it was me I would fire up my boat and make a few measurements just to give myself piece of mind.

On second thought lets just wait for the "Why did my DUI fail. I wired it the same as Protec was" thread. That will be more entertaining than the usual old wooden boat threads.

OK, It is time to call this one DONE for $600>>>>>

I ended up getting a NEW starter, my rebuilder said the 23 year old one needed too much. So, I have

* installed a new starter ($130),
* new relay, ($12).
* reamed out one mounting hole on the T-stat housing to get clearance.
* new T-stat housing gasket and thinner walled water hose ($8)
* removed the wiring to the sensors (but left the sensors) from the Pro-Tec system,
* measured and built 8 new plug wires (not a pretty result, but I'll live with it.) ($65)
* re-gapped my old plugs as recommended.
* Found TDC on #1.
* re-installed the disty to point to #1 per the OEM layout.
* added a few washers under the disty hold down block to even it with the new larger disty shoulder.
* finished wiring the new D.U.I. disty ($385), as originally suggested using the "P" wire.
* checked and adjusted the timing per my owners manual.
* put 2 hours on my engine riding around the lake with the wife and the dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was a bit concerned after I mounted and wired the starter. I took additional voltage readings and everywhere I checked I got the same reading. BUT the readings with the key at start where still under 10.5v. I got 10v EVERYWHERE. Said to hell with it and put everything together.

12.5 at the places with key at 0
11.1 at the places with key at 1
10 at the places with the key at 2 and the disty disconnected so it won't start

I will have to say that it seems to be running better than it might have in '92. Just a half a turn on the key and she is purring like a kitten. I was so excited about that, that I forgot to take a voltage reading at IDLE... oh well winterization is coming soon. ;)

Thanks to all that chimed in. Could not have done this without your suggestions and moral support.

Clark

Made some room for my hose...


new thinner walled hot water hose does not TOUCH




Sippin' Jack on the "BACK PORCH"

Clark,
Nice! Glad it finally went back together. You should now get plenty more years of enjoyment out of the boat.

malcolm2 wrote: I ended up getting a NEW starter, my rebuilder said the 23 year old one needed too much.

Wow! I wonder what he would say about starters older than 23 years. I'm sure glad my doctor doesn't tell me something like that! Did he even put the armature on the "growler" to see if it was good? Did you get the new one from him and did he take the old one as a core?

Ta da! Well done, sir. Congrats.

Almost forgot - My symptom is the engine had a rough idle that would sometimes be 900 rpm, then almost die. It was intermittent misfire from the Pro-tec - the port bank of cylinders had fouled plugs, while the starboard bank looked perfect. The PCM guys said that symptom is the coils going bad.
So - I have the original ECM with the coils attached and the PCM 'distributor'. Maybe the module is OK...
Pay shipping and they are yours...

I sent an email this morning to Performance Distributors asking about minimum voltage requirements and potential DUI damage. Here is the response:

Sean,
Typically the DUI distributor needs a very minimum of 10 - 10.5 volts to get the engine to crank and run. Under 10 volts and there will not be enough voltage to make the distributor fire. Minimum running voltage for proper performance is 12 volts. It will run on less but performance will drop and you may develop a miss in the higher rpms, but it will not cause any damage to the electronic components of the distributor. Thank you.

Performance Distributors (DUI)
2699 Barris Drive
Memphis, TN 38132
901-396-5782
www.performancedistributors.com

So today I'm gonna run threw all my voltage drops and running voltage before I install my dui on my 93 ski nautique 351w. I know I got that dash wiring issue cause my gauges flicker when I run the dash lights and every gauge reads lower. I may have missed it in here but how do I go about fixing it. Or adding the wires in.

Thanks, Kyle

hey i opened up the dash and im trying to figure out what wires to run anyone got a diagram?

yeah im gonna just beef it up. thanks