solex PA44 carb issues I think?!?

1984 Bayliner Capri, Volvo AQ125 A .

It starts up fine, idles well. Clicking just into gear, you can leave the dock. If you nudge it up GENTLY, you can get going a bit more, but then giving it just a bit more--BLAH!

Bogs....nothing, it will crap out unless you pump the heck out of the throttle. Then it will sputter and then go. In fact boy DOES it go. Tops out GREAT...it will run WOT all you want and well. And, if you have it running near full speed, you can trim it back somewhat and find a good cruising speed.

Sometimes, it backfires thru the carb, especially if you light it up a bit and then trim it back...then to cure the backfires, I give it just a faint nudge of throttle, and it clears up.

Also the acceleration sometimes comes after a delay when your moving thru that crappy spot in the throttle. You pump the thottle, it sputters, and then 10 seconds later it launches, then Im trimming it back.

I rebuilt the carb,piece of cake, no real change, it may be a bit easier/smoother in the first bits of throttle, leaving the docks. Acclerator pump is squirting fine, adjusted it for maximum travel throughout the range of the cable.

If this was a motorcycle carb, I would say I had to adjust the height of the needle. However, there is, as far as I know, no metering device on this carb so so much for that. Behavior is the same hot or cold. Any way to adjust the float level? Didnt see any tangs to bend in there.

All in all, it seems that it is starving for fuel, until the engine RPMS get high enough to pull enough through?!?

With alot of "technique" its certainly useable as it is, but I got to get this ironed out. Any ideas? (Ive also had the timing at 6 degrees before and now as it sets, at 10 degrees)---it has the electronic ignition conversion on there too. (previous owner)

Now theres a thought....what sort of timing advance is used on the electronic units? Is the distributor unique to the electronic conversion, or does the conversion require modification of the original distributor?
I could almost believe the ignition advance is not working right the way its acting.

Re: solex PA44 carb issues I think?!?

as I read your post I was thinking advance as well, or carb, specifically fuel flow???

It should be easy enough to check the advance with a timing light.

Let us know what happens.

Re: solex PA44 carb issues I think?!?

Like the Captn' says, it can be several things. I've got a pair of those carbs on my AQ130 so have some recent experience.

Check for vacuum leaks on the carbs and at the base plates. Even though you just rebuilt the carb, could still have a leak at the base, around the throttle plate shaft, or at any of the gaskets or jets. A can of spray carb cleaner with the long straw will help you find any leaks. The fact that the acel pump is squirting is a good thing.

Don't know if you have a fuel filter/water separator but now would be a good time to change the cartridge and check for water in the fuel.

The electronic conversion just replaces the points with a magnetic switch so no change in how the distributor advances. I don't know the advance spec on that engine so you'll need to take a look at the manual and check it with a timing light.

And of course, you have a fresh tuneup with new plugs, wires, cap and rotor . Making sure your coil and other ignition system system connections are tight is a good thing to check as well.

If all else fails, you might want to go through the troubleshooting steps in the 'adults only" sticky. :redface:

Re: solex PA44 carb issues I think?!?

I have the same boat 84 baylinner,have the same issues right down to the T
Tryed everything you have,timing ,points ,carb etc.
Would be nice if the carb had a choke.
Would be nicer if I could get a different brand name carb on it (Holley)
Anyways i'm living with it ,just have to warm them up .
If you find a fix let me know.
ps
That carb has 2 adjusting screws ,one on the bottom (idle mixure screw )
and one on the top. What do you have that top one set at ...2 turns out ?

Re: solex PA44 carb issues I think?!?

The top one is an idle stop. I couldnt say where mine is set now, just turned it down to get a nice idle. The bottom one, is 2 and a half out right now, but Ive tried different settings there.

You know, warming up is not so bad on mine I can live without the choke, its just that yanking madly on the stick to go from chugging to cruising thats driving me nuts! LOL...
I have also thought about a carb swap. Im gonna trace out the intake and go hunting at the junk yard. Gotta be some crappy old auto application available at western auto for cheap...maybe an old pinto or chevette, I dunno....

I need to fix the wire on my timing light in order to look at the advance when running...right now, I can only shove the wire up the number one boot and crank it over...

Nice boat by the way!

Re: solex PA44 carb issues I think?!?

Well, I got it running well finally. No dead spots, smooth acceleration.

I did a few things. First, crazy as it sounds, I bored out the jets on the carb, both the gas jet underneath and the air jet on top. I also reamed out the holes in the straw on the end of the air jet. For the jets, I went a couple sizes up with a precision bit set. The straw holes I made just slightly bigger, got a bit that was snug only and turned it by hand. That made a big difference right away, but I had some other gremlins in there...

I also replaced the spark plugs again, gapped them at .7mm and I also replaced the coil with an Accel super stock unit. I also redid a number of connections that looked a bit suspect....all connections to the new coil are new, and I also replaced all the alternator and starter connectors with heavy solder type connectors.

I was getting a bit of blow by out of the crankcase breather...I think that was fouling the plugs. Shame, since I had the motor down about far enough to re-ring it a couple of months ago when I did the head. I re routed the breather out of the air cleaner for now to keep the plugs clean. I will run it as is for now, it purrs like a kitten, starts easily, and tops out at around 34 mph. Maybe this winter I rebuild the lower end, but I think it will make the season. Just have to keep an eye on the oil levels and viscosity.