[SmithtownJoe]

Went down to the boat on Sunday with intentions of taking the family over to Pirates Cove but my engine had other ideas.

It's a 225 Evenrude Oceanpro, it's cranks but wont turn over. It was difficult to start last week but eventually did start. It cranks "strong" so I don't think it's the battery. Anyone have any ideas of some simple things I can check myself? Any and all help is appreciated!

Joe

 

[CANYONFISH]

I'm no mechanic, and I don't have your OB ... but on mine ... with those symptoms I would check for fouled plugs (either remove and clean or replace if no spark) ... next ...fuel filters/carb .. finally fuel mix .. too rich or too lean ..... but I assume your boat ran OK on that fuel last week ......

 

[MikeAEdgeNY]

Try some basic troubleshooting:
Here's a basic list to start from.

Outboard Wont Start:

2. Electric and manual start: Flywheel rotates but engine does not attempt to start. .
Remove a spark plug, reconnect it and hold it against engine block. Keep it there while turning engine over.

Does it make a hot, blue spark when attempting to start?
If no, troubleshoot ignition system.

Has hot, blue spark?
Squirt some fuel mix (NOT ether) into the carb(s). Does it attempt to start? *
If yes, you have inadequate fuel. Troubleshoot fuel system.

If no, check that carb is not flooding from failed float needle.

Still wont attempt to start. Check compression. If bad, troubleshoot mechanicals.

Good compression on all cylinders. Check flywheel for sheared key, check crankcase for sealing at carb(s), inlet manifold and bypass covers.

3. Low voltage at starter when engaged.
Measure voltage at battery terminals.
If below 12.6 volts with all electrics turned off, recharge or replace battery.

Measure battery voltage with starter engaged.
If below 9 volts, recharge or replace battery.
Remove and clean connections on battery-to-solenoid cable, battery-to-engine block cable and solenoid-to-starter cable. While they are off, inspect each for corrosion, broken insulation with corrosion and weak points.
Replace corroded or weak cables.

 

[SmithtownJoe]

Thanks for the responses guys. I did take a quick look at the water separator/fuel filter and it looked ok. I do have a spare cartridge for it so I will replace that first and see if that helps. I also have a new set of plugs so I can replace them if the fuel filter doesn't help. I'll let you know how it goes.....

Thanks,
Joe

 

[SmithtownJoe]

Ken, I will definitely take your advise and try the troubleshooting steps you indicated. The only reason I was going to change the water separator cartridge is because it's something I should have done at the beginning of the season anyway as normal maintenance. I really appreciate your help.
Thanks, Joe

 

[ItsModerating]

Hard Starting

Hard Starting Could be a simple fix. Check Fuel ball make sure fuel get into carb. I had same problem. I checked everthing plugs, coils etc after many hours & parts found engine was starved for fuel When started 1st time in morning Changed ball made sure fuel was getting to carb end of my starting problems Hope it helps

 

[Bigkeepers]

Check one other thing because my Yamaha had the same symptoms. I ended up with corroded battery cables to my starter and engine ground. My motor cranked but it didn't crank well. I had just charged the battery so I was going to look at fuel. I knew spark and compression were good, I checked them. Before I started messing with fuel I checked my battery connections for loose wires. I burnt my fingers real bad on the negative lead to my engine. It turns out the entire negative lead was toasted and shot. The positive lead wasn't as bad but had corroded and burnt spots. My Yami is an '87 and this was the original stock motor cable. I bought some brand new 2awg cable from West Marine, new lugs and made up new cables. It cranks better than I ever heard it and starts right up.

Also with ethanol it is recommended you change fuel filters twice a season. Once in the spring obviously and once more half way thru the season. Or sooner if you use the crap out of your boat.

 

[MikeAEdgeNY]

One other thought
Do you have a fuel primer solenoid?
If so you should hear a click when you push the ignition key in to start.
If you don't hear the click the fuel primer can be manually bypassed to start the engine.

 

[SmithtownJoe]

Lots of good info here guys, I hope others find it useful as well.

So I went down to the baot last night with the intention of going through some of the recommended troubleshooting.
Before I got into it I did some quich visual inspections; checked the battery leads - looked good tight and clean; inspected the primer bulb - again looked good bulb got and stayed hard (no jokes please ). Checkd the bowl on the water separator - fuel inside looked clean and I didn't see any noticable signs of water.

Figured I'd try starting it before pulling and testing the plugs. Turned the key and it started right up! Turned it off right away and waited about 10 minutes and tried it again and it started right away.

Not sure what the **** happened on Sunday, perhaps I flooded the engine, although I didn't smell gas when I checked.

Will go down tonight to check it out again.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[SmithtownJoe]

Ken, Boat's an '87 Chris Craft Sea Hawk and engine is a '98. I've had the boat two years and this is the first time I've ever had any problems with the engine. Been a few times over the last 2 years that it was hard to start but it always did. I have a new set of plugs that I didn't get around to installing this spring thatI would like to change just as a matter of preventative maintenance. Problem is boat is in a slip and my trailer is in storage so I don't know if I'll be able to access the plugs with the boat in the water.
Joe

 

[B.Attitude]

Joe,
you should be able to reach anything on an outboard while in the water.Just tilt it up enough.

 

[SmithtownJoe]

B.Atitude wrote:
you should be able to reach anything on an outboard while in the water.Just tilt it up enough.


That's true, I just never has the need to try it. First time for everything

 

[Bigkeepers]

Where is your boat moored? You can bring it into the shallows of the Nissequogue up river of the state boat basin and around low tide you'll be standing in calf high water. You can change your plugs in style and if you drop one, you'll see it. Plus technically it should be legal to drink a beer while you do it.

 

[SmithtownJoe]

So, the saga continues....Went down to the boat on Wednesday night (it started fine on Tuesday night) hoping that the weekend problem was just a fluke (no pun intended). Tried to start it and same problem as the weekend, cranks but wont turn over. So I took all the great advice and pulled the plugs to check for spark. The engine is a V6 so I pulled two from one side and one from the other. No spark on any of the plugs that I pulled. I tested it two different ways and I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. First I pulled the wire off the plug , removed the plug from the cylinder, reattached the wire and then held the other end of the plug against a screw on the engine and cranked the engine. The other way was I took the wire off the plug, inserted a screw driver up into the boot on the wire and then touched the screwdriver to the tip of the plug and cranked the engine. Apologize for all the details but I just want to make sure I'm testing them correctly. Meet up with a real nice guy at the marina who seemed to know a bit about OBs and he said from the symptoms it sounded like the power pack may be bad. Any ideas for next steps??

 

[MikeAEdgeNY]

Being a V6 I believe that you have two power packs. You said you tested plugs from each side. The odds of both going bad at the same time are slim.
I had a similiar problem but before I bought two packs I tested everything. Mine turned out to be bad battery cables. They looked fine at the connections but inside they were corroded.
Since you have no spark on either bank, you can rule out the shift interrupt switch. Start with the simple things like the emergency cut off switch at the remote.
At home I have the factory manual for doing the basic testing and diagnostics.
I run through it and post some tests for you.

 

[MikeAEdgeNY]

Whoops,
Your engine has only one power pack.

 

[woodc12603]

Could also be a bad ignition key switch.

First, I suggest you get a service manual which will give you a good no spark trouble shooting procedure. Regarding the kill circuit, both the kill switch and the key switch connect the kill circuit to ground when in the off position. One of the wires on the power pack is the kill circuit. I have seen two types of key switch failures regarding the kill circuit. One is that the motor keeps funning when the key is turned off, not your problem. The other is what you describe. I think the kill switch on your setup is a spring loaded switch and the tether has a clip on it that holds in on a plunger. I have seen the part of the tether clip that holds in the plunger weaken or break off while the rest of it still stays connected. Power packs are expensive and not returnable so it is definitely worth the time and money to invest in a good service manual and perform the trouble shooting steps in order to confirm that you really need one.

 

[SmithtownJoe]

I actually have the service manual, bought it a while back accidentaillly instead of the owners manual.

Mike, your right, just one power pack.

Wood - Your absolutely correct, checking the igition key switch is the first step in the troubleshooting procedure in the service manual after you determine there is no spark. first few steps seem do-able but after that, I think the procedure is over my head. Also I did check the clip that holds the plunger in and it's fine. I even held the plunger in manually without the clip to be sure. I'm going to head down tonight with the manual and see how far I get.

 

[SmithtownJoe]

So here's the latest; I went down to the boat on Monday night armed with the service manual. First thing I did is to visually inspect the battery cable once agin just to be sure. Then tried to start it and she cranked and didn't start. Pumped the fuel bulb again and then she started right up. At this point a pulled a plug just to make sure I was testing for spark correctly the other night and sure enough, nice blue spark. Since I had a spare set of plugs I figured I might as well install them which I did. Also visually checked the plug wires and reseated them on both ends while I was at it and they looked in excellent condition.. Was pretty amazed on how clean the engine looked. After changing the plugs she fired right up. Hung around for another hour or so doing so other work and tested it once more before I left and once agian she started.

Went down last night and she also started fine. I will take a run down lateer today and check it out again. If she continues to start not sure what to do. I can have a mechanic look at it but will he be able to determine if there is a problem when the engine is starting fine? I sure as **** don't want to get stuck out on the water but also don't feel like throwing money away.

 

[SmithtownJoe]

Went down about an hour ago and she started right up. of coarse I got stuck in a torrental downpour! I have a call into the mechanic, want to get this fixed once and for all.