early 80's 115hp Evinrude v4 outboard runs great but then randomly shuts down. HELP!

[pastorjared]

Hi everyone,

I just acquired a 1983 18ft Thompson with an early 80's 115hp Evinrude. It seems to run great, good fuel flow, starts with no problems, idles great, but when I put it in gear it will run for 3-5 minutes and it shuts down. It doesnt matter what the throttle is set at, fast or slow, it shuts down after about the same time. The weird thing is it starts back up with one crank.

I'm new to outboards, so I'm at a loss.

Any help would be great.

thanks

 

[Bosunsmate]

how fast a you going when it shuts down?

 

[pastorjared]

it doesn't matter how fast I'm going it happens whether i'm at full throttle, half or just putting along

 

[Bosunsmate]

And it runs ok for a while when you immediately restart?

 

[pastorjared]

Yes it runs ok for a while when i restart, but shuts down a few minutes later. But when I'm idling it will run for much longer.

 

[Bosunsmate]

you could have someone keep piming the fuel bulb to check its not some fuel issue.
does it shut down instantly (electrical) or splutter down to shut down (fuel)

 

[boobie]

Put a timing light on it and look into it. When it shuts down see if you lose spark.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Since it immediately restarts and runs well, does not sound like a fuel problem. Any chance the engine is overheating? Next time it quits out on the lake, use a laser temp gun to check the cyl head temps. It's possible that you've got an ignition component starting to fail. Such as a weak timer base sensor...Hard to find till it actually fails completely.

 

[Fed]

Are you mixing oil with the gas?

 

[pastorjared]

I am not pre mixing the oil. the oil injection seems to be doing fine right now.

It hasn't been started for quite a while before this week and it seems like every day it runs better. Last night after I posted this, I took it out and did some trolling and it shut down a few times, but after a while it just kept running. then I opened the throttle up and took it all over and it didn't shut down at all.

Could it just be needing to run more? I'm not a mechanic, so i don't know.

 

[emdsapmgr]

As a point of information: weak ignition components tend to fail once the engine heats up to normal operating temps. May fun fine when cold, then have problems when warmed up. That's why boobie has recommended to check for spark-immediately after the engine just shuts off.

 

[pastorjared]

Could old fuses when warmed up fail enough to shut the engine down, but still allow it to start back up?

 

[boobie]

No........