86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

[Sgtfda]

Picked up on a trade a 70 Starcraft with a 86 110 hp v4 engine. Went for a second test run today. Boat ran fine for a half hour at all speeds shut down for a few min then on restart after pushing in the primer ignition key the engine raced to full throttle out of gear. Kept doing it. I turned the red solenoid lever counter clockwise and the engine went back to a normal idle. Only does this when the button was pushed in. Seems the primer solenoid was sticking open and dumping fuel into the engine. Should I replace the solenoid? Is this a issue with the solenoids? Do they stick in the open position when defective. Engine has a miss on idle but with the red lever turned counter clockwise it does not. A little scary when your out on the lake with a full racing engine out of gear. Thanks for any advice you guys can give me. This is my first outboard. I'm a old Vietnam swiftboat gunner and always had inboards after that but now live in Arizonia and went to a smaller boat for the desert lakes

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

Two things to check out. It is unusual (but probably not impossible) for the solenoid to stick. That solenoid is activated by the key switch in the control box. It's not unusual for them to fail and could cause some type of dead short to the primer solenoid. (If the key switch ever got rained on, they do all sorts of unsual things.) That red lever on the side of the primer solenoid should not be turned while being used in normal operation. The long side of the red lever should always be parallel to the long side of the solenoid.

 

[Sgtfda]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

Thank you for the reply. 2 times sat while trying to start the motor without it going full throttle I got it started without pushing the primer button. After the engine started but bogged down I pressed the button to give a jolt of fuel and the selonoid stuck open. The only way I could get back to the dock was to turn the red lever to get the engine to run normal if I were to disconnect the primer wire from the switch and put it on it's own button that could solve that issue for all time the key switch would no longer be in the primer loop then if the solenoid sticks again it's the selonoid what do you think?

 

[boobie]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

Check the blue/white wire going to the primer to make sure there is no stray voltage on it when the primer is not energized. Did you ever pull the fuel lines off of the primer to make sure they weren't peeing fuel when they weren't supposed to ??

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

If you were to connect the primer solenoid to a separate switch, that would be an interesting test scenario. Would give you an idea if the problem is in the solenoid itself, or the key switch.

 

[Sgtfda]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

I ordered a new one along with new plug wireswhich were in bad shape Replaced the main gas hose going to the solenoid as it was cracking. My buddy thinks the solenoid piston needle may not be seating right and said being a old part the engine heat and vibration all these years can screw them up. I want to thank everyone and will post the results. May help someone down the road with the same issue

 

[Sgtfda]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

I will check the line for voltage to make sure before and after I mount the part. I'll take a meter out to the lake also. Thanks for the tip! I had that in the back of my mind but forgot. Old age. Told my buddy there was something I wanted to do but forgot what it was.

 

[Sgtfda]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

Found a nice brass push button switch with a rubber cap at auto zone. Checked my wires and all are like new. I wired in a circuit for the push button. Now I don't need to worry about the ignition swith messing with the primer solenoid. Waiting for that new part to finish the job. On my shifter box right under the ignition switch the is a round turn knob. Anyone know what that is for. Some type adjustment for the shifter?

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

That knob adjusts the friction of the throttle operation. If you cruise for 10 miles, you can set the friction higher, to hold the throttle at a specific rpm.

 

[Sgtfda]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

Thank you EM!

 

[Sgtfda]

Re: 86 evinrude 110 hp primer solenoid went nuts

Well put the new primer selonoid on along with new plug wires. That along with a push button switch separate from the ignition key switch. Purring like a kitten with no miss on a barrel test. Will take it to the lake for a test run and idle adjustment. Thanks everyone for all the advice!