15 hp honda dies after throttling down to idle

[Martin M]

I have a 2001 15hp Honda outboard that has never had a problem. Recently I trolled for 3 hrs then came back to dock at near full throttle. When I throttled back to idle it died. I could not restart it. I took it to a Honda mechanic who checked spark - OK. He started it with "ear muffs" and it idled for a few minutes with no problem. He said this intermittent problem was fairly common with motors of this age but difficult to identify. Replacement of the CDI unit usually solved it. I had this done but today the same problem occurred when I returned from trolling. Any suggestions??

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: 15 hp honda dies after throttling down to idle

Run away from this guy who thinks he is a mechanic. Take it to an authorized dealer who will run the required tests and then know what, if anything, needs to be replaced...If anything is a common problem it would be a fuel system issue with a varnished carburetor. The CD units almost never fail.

 

[gss036]

Re: 15 hp honda dies after throttling down to idle

Clean the carb. At least drain the bowl of the carb (catch the fuel and see what comes out) and remove the fuel line by the pump and fill the carb with SeaFoam and left it sit overnight. Hope that it will soak out the crud. Make sure you reconnect the fuel line. Run SeaFoam in you gas and it will keep the carb much cleaner. The new motors have real small orifices and clog easy. I wish I had my old 15 hp Honda back. I liked it so much better that the new T9.9 Yamaha I currently have.

 

[Martin M]

Re: 15 hp honda dies after throttling down to idle

Many thanks for the three suggestions that I received. They were all dead on. I took the motor to my nearest Honda dealer (Espanola Ontario). It didn't take him long to determine that my problem was water in the gas. He cleaned out the carb., tested, then adjusted the air fuel mixture and idle speed. When I drained the tank I found about 50 ml of water. How it got in is a mystery as this was the first tank of premium the year and I filled a bone dry tank directly at the pump. I can only assume it was condensation over about a 6 week period. The breather screw was left open. Went fishing today and the motor ran perfectly. Caught 2 nice bass. Thanks for the help.