Unreliable Outboards Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Towed

Yet another installment in the continuing saga that is me and my outboard.

For historical info see:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=190436
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=191183
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=193717

...and now our feature presentation.

Scene I: Fourmile Lake
Windy and Cold. My outboard and I enter.

Sunday morning I decided to run out to Fourmile lake and do a little fishing. I've now had my outboard out 3 times and it has ran wonderfully all 3 prior to this.

Got the boat in the water and pulled the cord a few times - starts right up. Motor up about half the length of the lake, shut down, fish for a while. Fire it up again, move, fish some more. Repeat 5-6 times.

Around 9am I'm ready to move again, and now it won't start. Wind has picked up a bit, and I'm drifting across the lake with a motor that refuses to run. After drifting to the far shore, trying to start the motor for all she is worth the entire float - I started alternating attempts to start the motor with attempts to flag someone down.

After an hour of almost continuous pulling (and the blisters and sore muscles to show for it) I was rescued by some good samaritans who gave me a tow back to the launch. Thanks again whoever you were that saved my butt.

I haven't had a chance to poke at it yet and see if I can figure out what is going on, but I'm about at the point of resigning myself to the fact that I'm never going to have a reliable outboard. This one isn't showing itself to be very reliable, the one it replaced wasn't especially reliable, and given the absolutely ludicrously insane costs of even relatively new outboards that isn't much of an option. Maybe boats just aren't for me... at least I never get stranded shore fishing.

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aborgman

Re: Unreliable Outboards Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Towed

Now, now, take it easy. Think of all the stories you'll have to tell your grandkids.

I still say you are looking right the problem and can't see it. That should be one of the best running, most reliable outboards ever built. But I can't look for you because you are 1500 miles away. Now if you want to bring it by......

Re: Unreliable Outboards Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Towed

imported_F_R said:

Now, now, take it easy. Think of all the stories you'll have to tell your grandkids.

Click to expand...

Assuming I don't die of hypothermia sitting out on some lake because my motor won't run

imported_F_R said:

I still say you are looking right the problem and can't see it.

Click to expand...

At this point I have no idea - the thing had been started and run (on water and in a tank) probably fifty times since the last problem (carb blockage) was fixed. It had run and started great the 5-6 times prior I had started it that day.

I honestly suspect that when I stick it back in the tank to try and debug this it's going to start right up and run no problem - leaving me trying to chase down a non-reproducible intermittent failure... I sure hope not, but that is really what its looking like.

imported_F_R said:

That should be one of the best running, most reliable outboards ever built. But I can't look for you because you are 1500 miles away. Now if you want to bring it by......

Click to expand...

Heh... I have to think for what that would cost I could just replace it...

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aborgman

Re: Unreliable Outboards Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Towed

Edit

Re: Unreliable Outboards Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Towed

Hey guy, I've just read through that whole long saga. I have two questions: You said you pulled the head. Did you put a new gasket in when you put it back? If not, it might have blown between the cylinders. Also, if you replaced it, did you use a "real" one or did you make yor own?

Question #2. Yes, you said many times that you have good spark. But not once have you told us what the coils look like. Everything you have said up to this point describes a 1950's motor with bad, dried out, cracked coils. It's a story repeated every day. All those old 1950's OMC motors have bad coils unless they have already been replaced. Sometimes they are just cracked on the bottom out of sight, but spark arcs out the crack to the armature plate. OK, so if they have been replaced, that's fine. But tell us so we know what you have to work with. Good spark is good, but can be deceiving.

Have you tried the most basic and simplest thing--replaced the spark plugs?

Re: Unreliable Outboards Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Towed

imported_F_R said:

Hey guy, I've just read through that whole long saga. I have two questions: You said you pulled the head. Did you put a new gasket in when you put it back? If not, it might have blown between the cylinders. Also, if you replaced it, did you use a "real" one or did you make your own?

Click to expand...

I did not replace the gasket - but I would think if it were a head gasket leaking between cylinders it would have happened while it was running, not kept it from starting. Would it keep running after blowing through, only to not start after the next time it was shut down?

imported_F_R said:

Question #2. Yes, you said many times that you have good spark. But not once have you told us what the coils look like. Everything you have said up to this point describes a 1950's motor with bad, dried out, cracked coils. It's a story repeated every day. All those old 1950's OMC motors have bad coils unless they have already been replaced. Sometimes they are just cracked on the bottom out of sight, but spark arcs out the crack to the armature plate. OK, so if they have been replaced, that's fine. But tell us so we know what you have to work with. Good spark is good, but can be deceiving.

Have you tried the most basic and simplest thing--replaced the spark plugs?

Click to expand...

I replaced the coils, points, condensers, impeller, carb float, spark plugs and I rebuilt the carb.

I just pulled the plugs, and they look reasonably good - if it were a 4 stroke I'd say it was running a little rich, but it looks just like what I'd expect from a 2 stroke at 24:1. Definitely not running lean, and no holes in the tops of the pistons. It'll probably be a few days before I get it in the tank, and I'm getting the feeling its going to start right up when I try it.

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aborgman

Re: Unreliable Outboards Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Towed

ezeke said:

Wellbutrin, 150 mg twice daily, from what I've heard. My preference is Dewars once at 4 PM, though.

Click to expand...

Heh... It was about a dozen Labatts at my bands rehearsal later that afternoon for me

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aborgman

Re: Unreliable Outboards Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Getting Towed

The problem has been solved - and it's something I should have expected, but hadn't thought of since first working on the motor.

The problem: plug wire pulled loose at the coil end. Upper cylinder therefore not firing.
Fix: plug wire back into coil.

Upon discovery it immediately brought to mind the first thing I thought when I saw the movable timing advance that alternately pulls and pushes at the plug wires combined with an attachment to the coil which is less than robust - this is a design failure. This design basically guarantees these sorts of problems along with premature wearing of the spark plug leads due bending, stretching, and being dragged across sharp metal edges.

In fact, the strain put on the leads is so extreme in my opinion I'm wondering if the plug lead routing is wrong... Anyone have pictures of the correct plug lead routing on a JW-10? The closest I've been able to find are at:

http://www.outboard-boat-motor-repa...on 3 HP 1952-1967 Ignition System Tune-up.htm

...and that is a much newer model, but it definitely has very different plug lead routing...

So, anyone have pictures of the correct plug lead routing on a JW-10?

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aborgman