Trouble with outboard

[ChuckB]

The Yamaha 25 won't stay running.* It also won't even start at this point.* I have changed the fuel tank and bought new fuel, cleaned the fuel filter, and installed new spark plugs.* All I have to show for it is blistered hands.

The man driving the water taxi that we had to use Saturday night blamed it on the ethanol in the gas.* Could this be the culprit?

 

[Peter B]

If it's a 2 stroke, then make sure you check and clean the reeds in the intake. If not used for some time these sometimes get sticky and don't open properly.

If it is a 4 stroke, then assuming it has not been 'dunked' then it has to be dirty or worn plug points or dirty, contaminated, or stale petrol (gas), which has lost octane rating.* Assuming the fuel line is working and priming the carby properly.* Oh, and I got caught once where the fuel pickup had dropped off the fitting in the top of the tank.


-- Edited by Peter B on Monday 10th of October 2011 06:46:57 AM

 

[skipperdude]

You may have a float sticking in the carb bowl.

Pull the bowl off and make sure the float moves freely and that the needle is allowing the fuel to enter the c bowl properly.

Also be sure the tank is vented.

I have a Yamaha 2 h.p. you have to loosen the vent on top of the fill cap or it does just as you describe..

SD

*

 

[Nomad Willy]

Unscrew the drain screw on the bottom of the carb float to drain out water and/or see if there is fuel in the carb. Then pull a plug leaving the HT wire attached while grounding the plug against the engine w a good ground and crank the engine being careful not to get shocked by the HT lead. Observe the spark. You could also pull the plugs and squirt a bit of fuel into the cylinder/s. Then crank the engine. It should run several seconds. If not of course you have a fuel problem. All the above is not a sequence.

 

[FF]

the quickest check is to squirt a bit of starting fluid in the intake.

If it roars to life , the fuel system is the hassle.

We dismount the carb and take it apart and soak every part that is nor plastic in laquer thinner.

You Must run the engine out of fuel every time it may not be used in a day or so, and you MUST discard pre mix or other gas after 30 days.

Thank the Green HOAX and the extra $$$ the States get in sales tax by adding the useless and fatal ethanol.

 

[Marin]

FF wrote:

You Must run the engine out of fuel every time it may not be used in a day or so....

*Don't know about the pros and cons of ethenol but I have learned (the hard way) that running an outboard--- two or four stroke-- out of fuel at the end of every period of use--- say a cruise or fishing trip--- REALLY helps.* Left to its own devices in a carburetor and fuel system, gasoline today will gum up stuff in pretty short order.* Stabilizers help extend the fuel's longevity but apparently not nearly as long as they used to.

 

[dwhatty]

FF wrote:You Must run the engine out of fuel every time it may not be used in a day or so, and you MUST discard pre mix or other gas after 30 days.

Well, one can disconnect the hose between the tank and the engine in order to run the engine dry. But what about the 4 to 6 gals that we try to keep at all times in the external tank just in case a long dinghy ride is needed for fun or emergency? Sometimes we won't go through that much gas in a month, but sometimes we will in a less than a week.

And then, where do you discard "old" gas? Its frowned upon to dump it over the side, in the woods or wherever. I've used some older premix in my wife's old John Deere lawn tractor in a subtle attempt to kill it so we can get a (better/bigger) new one but I don't want to run it through a modern car's system and definitely not, although it might take it okay, through the beloved MGs (they have enough innate problems as it is).

We had trouble with our 25hp, 2 stroke, Yamaha this summer not idling, but running okay at speed. Had the carb cleaned once. Crap in the idle orifice (or whatever). Okay for a day, then same problem. Had it cleaned again, same problem. Then replaced tank and hose and put on an external water sep filter. A couple of hundred $$s later it runs great.

Our small engine guy blames it all on the E and the corn farmers' lobby. And think of all the people the corn diverted to fuel could feed not to mention the corn subsidy $$s saved.

 

[awpptdt]

*Yep, that's it. the alcohol mixes with any water in the fuel and turns into a yellowish green jelly. I can't tell you how many carb/fuel systems that I have cleaned. I did find that acetone poored in the tank, about 3oz, will keep it clean. once the jelly forms you have to remove and clean the carb. The best bet is to buy alcohol free gas.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Fred,

I just suggested a better way to externally prime an engine in the last post. *And I would NEVER suggest to anybody I liked to use starting fluid unless it was a diesel engine and 40 below. Some mechanics these days say running the engine dry is old school and not recommended. I totally disagree. As for old fuel I personally dump it in my 85 Suburban. It holds at least 40 gallons and it's always hungry.

 

[Doc]

I spent $600 total (2 fixes) at my Yamaha dealer fixing ethanol problems. He would show me the line in the carb bowl where the water corroded it. I stopped using ethanol and the problem was solved. In Florida you can get straight gas at most all marinas.

BTW, the repairing dealer never told me that I could buy non ethanol gas in Florda. They just kept taking my money.

That was 4 years ago. For the last 2 years I used straight gas and no matter how long it sat it started with the first push of the start button.

 

[Marin]

nomadwilly wrote:
Some mechanics these days say running the engine dry is old school and not recommended. I totally disagree. As for old fuel I personally dump it in my 85 Suburban. It holds at least 40 gallons and it's always hungry.

Eric-- *Jacobsen Boats and Motors in Seattle,*the longtime Yamaha-Johnson-Evinrude, Grady-White, etc. dealer and repair shop, agrees with you today.* In fact, they are thye ones who strongly suggested I do this when we bought our new 6hp 4-stroke Yamaha for our Arima's trolling motor last years.* They said do this on all our outboards--- 4 and* 6 hp Yamaha 4 stroke and old (1987) 90 hp Yamaha 2-stroke.

And if we have what we suspect is too-old gasoline we put it in our 1983 Ford F250 pickup which will run on pretty much anything except possibly dog pee.

 

[rednev]

Marin wr
And if we have what we suspect is too-old gasoline we put it in our 1983 Ford F250 pickup which will run on pretty much anything except possibly dog pee.

*It handles bee pee ok ?

 

[FF]

In Fla non poisoned gas is sold in many gas stations..

For folks that want to have gas last longer, there are 2 techniques.

First do not add the 2 stroke oil till ready to use the gas.

Second is to purchase gas at your local airport.

They still (for how long is a concern) sell unleaded gas.

It should go 3 -4 months with a stabilizer , instead of 30 days .

 

[jleonard]

I have not yet had a problem with ethanol laced gas and 2 cycle oil (knock on wood). I have been using that combo for several years now as Ct went that way 4 or 5 years ago.

I use Valvetech stabilizer in all my gas cans. When the gas gets older than about 4 to 6 weeks I dump it into my 2005 Dodge truck and it doesn't know the difference. Only this season have I been disconnecting the fuel and running them dry at the end of the weekend. I feel better about doing that but I am not positive it's necessary.

I also do this (add valvetech) for my straight gas lawn mower and snowblower. At the end of the season I run them dry.

*

 

[ChuckB]

Duh!* Hate to admit it, but I did notice this morning that the arrow on the "squeeze" ball was facing back to the fuel tank.* Evidently, every time I squeezed the ball, it took fuel away from the outboard.* No wonder it wouldn't start.* Hopefully, when I swap the hose end for end it will fire up.*

 

[jleonard]

ChuckB wrote:
Duh!* Hate to admit it, but I did notice this morning that the arrow on the "squeeze" ball was facing back to the fuel tank.* Evidently, every time I squeezed the ball, it took fuel away from the outboard.* No wonder it wouldn't start.* Hopefully, when I swap the hose end for end it will fire up.*

*Now that is actually pretty funny. That never happens to me anymore because I been there, done that already and got the T shirt!

 

[Codger2]

jleonard wrote:ChuckB wrote:
Duh!* Hate to admit it, but I did notice this morning that the arrow on the "squeeze" ball was facing back to the fuel tank.

* * * * So, you had a "short" between the OB and the fuel tank?*

 

[Marin]

Last year before our annual halibut fishing trip to the north end of Vancouver Island we took the Arima to Lake Washington to make sure everything on the boat was working right. Turned the key to start the Yamaha 90 but while it turned over just fine it refused to fire. Tried again and again, nothing. Checked the fuel connections, the choke operation but nothing made any difference. We had just purchased a new kicker motor and my eye was caught by the red safety cord that holds the kill switch out. I realized there was no such cord on the Yamaha 90. Looking in the cuddy cabin I found the cord--- I must have removed it for the winter or something. Went back to the motor to install it but couldn't find the kill switch. I searched all over the motor, no kill switch. By now I was swearing and stuff and my wife, who'd been standing on the dock during all this, said, "I though the safety cord was at the throttle next to the seat." So turned around and sure enough, that's where it goes. Which when I thought about it makes sense since that's where the driver is sitting, He's not back at the motor. Put the snap on the kill switch, turned the key, and the motor fired right up. I'll make plenty of other mistakes in the future but not that one again.

 

[skipperdude]

SeaHorse II wrote:jleonard wrote:ChuckB wrote:
Duh!* Hate to admit it, but I did notice this morning that the arrow on the "squeeze" ball was facing back to the fuel tank.

* * * * So, you had a "short" between the OB and the fuel tank?*

*Or a short between the operator and the outboard.

SD

 

[Codger2]

skipperdude wrote:
*Or a short between the operator and the outboard.

*Dammit! That's what I meant! :frustrated:

I had a "beaut" yesterday.

Went to the boat to take her for a short run and the engine wouldn't start. The key turned, the low oil pressure light came on with the buzzer but no luck with starting. Not even a sound from the solenoid* clicking that your hear with a low batt. Checked my SOC meter and all batt banks were up. I called my diesel mechanic but he couldn't get to me right away. I ran around San Diego trying to bribe a mechanic to come to the boat but without any success. I then returned to the boat, had a cigarette, (yes, I smoke) and went once more to the helm. Tried again, no cigar. I happened to glance at the throttle & though it looked like it was in neutral, it wasn't. I shifted to neutral, hit the starter and the engine came to life. Now......why was the throttle not in neutral? Because I was working on a windshield washer solenoid valve, above the throttle, and must have nudged it out of neutral.

At any rate, experiencing "elation" simultaneously with "stupidity" is an interesting emotion to ponder.

 

[dwhatty]

SeaHorse II wrote:
At any rate, experiencing "elation" simultaneously with "stupidity" is an interesting emotion to ponder.

*It's led to a lot of bruises on my head from self inflicted "dope slaps" over the years.

 

[FF]

It would not cost very much to install a light on the neutral safety switch that would light when IN neutral.

"starter enabled"

 

[skipperdude]

SeaHorse II wrote:
*

At any rate, experiencing "elation" simultaneously with "stupidity" is an interesting emotion to ponder.

*I tought about this statement for quite some time.

*I seem to run into it quite often. There are so many times when you have an eurika moment sometimes*followed by the thought of.

"Why didn't I think of that before"

Sometimes it is as plain as the nose on your face.

*I wonder how Edison felt when he invented the light bulb.

SD

.

*

*

 

[rwidman]

ChuckB wrote:
The man driving the water taxi that we had to use Saturday night blamed it on the ethanol in the gas.* Could this be the culprit?

There are a lot of people blaming ethanol in gasoline for every problem they can't figure out.* If this guy was so smart, why is he driving a water taxi instead of charging $100 per hour for fixing engines?

Regardless, he didn't offer you any solution.* If you've done all you know how to do, take it to a shop and have them fix it.

*

edit - OK, I see you found the problem so you don't need to take it to the shop, but my comment about people blaming ethanol still stands.

But, before anyone puts me in the wrong camp, I believe ethanol is an adulterant to gasoline and I don't understand how, with a supposedly elected government (in the USA), we have allowed it to not only encourage, but in some cases, mandate, the adulteration of our gasoline with alcohol.

*


-- Edited by rwidman on Saturday 22nd of October 2011 07:14:31 AM

 

[rwidman]

ChuckB wrote:
Duh!* Hate to admit it, but I did notice this morning that the arrow on the "squeeze" ball was facing back to the fuel tank.* Evidently, every time I squeezed the ball, it took fuel away from the outboard.* No wonder it wouldn't start.* Hopefully, when I swap the hose end for end it will fire up.*

But how did it get that way?* It didn't turn itself around did it?* Someone playing a prank on you?

*

 

[markpierce]

SeaHorse II wrote:
I had a "beaut" yesterday.

Went to the boat to take her for a short run and the engine wouldn't start. The key turned, ...

*I had the same experience a couple weeks ago when attempting to move*the Coot a short distance from the pier*to the crane for a haulout.* Pushed the engine's*start button and "nothing."* A worker walked to the boat wondering why I hadn't moved (the crane was waiting).* He asked if the gear level was in neutral.* No it wasn't, but by just a fraction of an inch!* Moved the lever to exact mid-position and the engine started right up.*
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-- Edited by markpierce on Monday 24th of October 2011 07:05:03 AM