1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

OK guys im back..

The last time i was on here with my motor i got my problem resolved by repairing a ground wire on my starboard CD pack. Since then the Pack toasted and i had to replace the pack. Motor runs, goes on plane and runs the boat at about 34 MPH (16.5 Fish n ski, 13x15 Alum prop). While she runs Great at WOT once shes up on plane, I have some other issues that make the whole experience less than pleasureable...

Starting: Starting Almost ALLWAYS requires my use of the primer and the Idler (the netural throttle lever) to be at 25/50 percent of its max travel range. I have to start it, let it run at that throttle until it smooths out and then i can drop it down.. Until it warms up a bit the idle will die sometimes. IM OK with that, but there are times where She just dosent want to start, and i shouldnt have to race the **** out of the motor to get it to start..

Gear Engagement: Its a 50/50 crapshoot wether she will die going in gear or not.. I brought my idle up a bit, to around 1100 and she drops down to 700 when in gear, however im not so sure if these measurements are correct as my tach is intermittent (which i will bring up later)

Holeshot: When its just me, She climbs out of hole Ok, but for a small pitched prop i would imagine she would jump out faster.. I have tired different Tilt angles and such but its still Laggy. a 110 HP motor shouldnt struggle this much. Now last night i had 3 guys + myself in the boat and we couldnt get the boat the plane out on its own without having someone sit up in the bow until it came up on plane. I may have been a bit overloaded, i understand that, but this prop is pitched low enough that it should be able to handle it in my opinion..

Charging: Motor does not charge battery. Same Battery voltage present at the Red wire off of my rectifier In pre start/Post start State. This voltage is also the same at the Battery. I have 21 volts AC across my 2 yellow stator wires. I have an intermittent tach pulse.. The charging and the tach pulse is generated by the Rectifier (at least my wiring digram shows my tach pulse grey wire leaving the rectifier). IM figuring my recitfier is dead. I cant test this futher until my DVA Adapter comes in next week (at least according to my test procedures)

Throttle Lever/Direction: I beleive i may need a lync in sync. She Has a Lot of travel in the forward direction but a short distance for reverse, and she tends to start ramping up the speed a bit as she starts to go into gear.

Timing adjustment Screw: For some reason the linkage assembly never really gets all the way back to where the screw contacts the plate when its in netural. Ive suspected theres something screwy with the timing and im wondering what would cause that screw to not want to go all the way back.


Things im thinking....

1. Anti - Siphon vavle. The one on the boat is original, 1987. The valve makes noise when the ball is trying to fill. Im wondering if its obstructing the fuel flow starving the motor.

2. Port side Stator - I took the flywheel off recently to change my starter gear and i noticed my stator on the port side was "sticky". Its an expoxy coated unit and i read someone that means death or immient death.. Could it be that the stator is not giving the full 150 volt pulse to the port side CD pack and that might be underfiring the Pulgs? Ive done the spark test but i get mixed results (ie Monday i get bright blue spark at 3/8", wednesday, i get slightly orange). Again, i cant test this voltage until the DVA meter adapter comes in from USA tool wharehouse, a business i will never deal with again..2 weeks and its still not shipped.

3. fuel Pump.. Maybee? When the boat is under heavy load she seems starved for something..


Just to note the list of new parts in the motor..

All Fuel lines Internal/external
replaced trigger with Used trigger thats good
New starboard CD pack
New Plugs (champions)
New wires (them seirra blue jobbers, 6 inch)
Carbs Rebult and Squeaky CLean
New fuel filter


I am ready and willing to do any Test you wish,a nd i will even provide Video if you feel you want to see what im doing. Im not giving up on her yet as i am this close..

OH BTW,, COmpression is 104,105,107,103 across all four... Leakdown test passed as well. Held thier Compression for a few hours..

I appreciate any suggestions. and i will Respond with the Overall fix(es) as they come about..

THANKS FOR LOOKING!

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

Avoid fixing 5 different things at a time, test between fixes.
If spark is weak fix it, then move on.
If you have the manual do the link and sync,
if not order the manual.

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

yeah ive been doing the whole fix something and go test it. I posted all of it beacuse maybee someone might note a common thread that im missing. I agree with you, the linc in sync might be my first area to try. Im going to do that tommorrow and test tommorrow night. Ill update then.

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

jmcardamone said:

yeah ive been doing the whole fix something and go test it. I posted all of it beacuse maybee someone might note a common thread that im missing. I agree with you, the linc in sync might be my first area to try. Im going to do that tommorrow and test tommorrow night. Ill update then.

Click to expand...

Good place to start-
I have the same motor & after a carb overhaul & a link 'n sync she has been sweet

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

jmcardamone said:

OK guys im back..

The last time i was on here with my motor i got my problem resolved by repairing a ground wire on my starboard CD pack. Since then the Pack toasted and i had to replace the pack. Motor runs, goes on plane and runs the boat at about 34 MPH (16.5 Fish n ski, 13x15 Alum prop). While she runs Great at WOT once shes up on plane, I have some other issues that make the whole experience less than pleasureable...

Starting: Starting Almost ALLWAYS requires my use of the primer and the Idler (the netural throttle lever) to be at 25/50 percent of its max travel range. I have to start it, let it run at that throttle until it smooths out and then i can drop it down.. Until it warms up a bit the idle will die sometimes. IM OK with that, but there are times where She just dosent want to start, and i shouldnt have to race the **** out of the motor to get it to start..

Gear Engagement: Its a 50/50 crapshoot wether she will die going in gear or not.. I brought my idle up a bit, to around 1100 and she drops down to 700 when in gear, however im not so sure if these measurements are correct as my tach is intermittent (which i will bring up later)

Holeshot: When its just me, She climbs out of hole Ok, but for a small pitched prop i would imagine she would jump out faster.. I have tired different Tilt angles and such but its still Laggy. a 110 HP motor shouldnt struggle this much. Now last night i had 3 guys + myself in the boat and we couldnt get the boat the plane out on its own without having someone sit up in the bow until it came up on plane. I may have been a bit overloaded, i understand that, but this prop is pitched low enough that it should be able to handle it in my opinion..

Charging: Motor does not charge battery. Same Battery voltage present at the Red wire off of my rectifier In pre start/Post start State. This voltage is also the same at the Battery. I have 21 volts AC across my 2 yellow stator wires. I have an intermittent tach pulse.. The charging and the tach pulse is generated by the Rectifier (at least my wiring digram shows my tach pulse grey wire leaving the rectifier). IM figuring my recitfier is dead. I cant test this futher until my DVA Adapter comes in next week (at least according to my test procedures)

Throttle Lever/Direction: I beleive i may need a lync in sync. She Has a Lot of travel in the forward direction but a short distance for reverse, and she tends to start ramping up the speed a bit as she starts to go into gear.

Timing adjustment Screw: For some reason the linkage assembly never really gets all the way back to where the screw contacts the plate when its in netural. Ive suspected theres something screwy with the timing and im wondering what would cause that screw to not want to go all the way back.


Things im thinking....

1. Anti - Siphon vavle. The one on the boat is original, 1987. The valve makes noise when the ball is trying to fill. Im wondering if its obstructing the fuel flow starving the motor.

2. Port side Stator - I took the flywheel off recently to change my starter gear and i noticed my stator on the port side was "sticky". Its an expoxy coated unit and i read someone that means death or immient death.. Could it be that the stator is not giving the full 150 volt pulse to the port side CD pack and that might be underfiring the Pulgs? Ive done the spark test but i get mixed results (ie Monday i get bright blue spark at 3/8", wednesday, i get slightly orange). Again, i cant test this voltage until the DVA meter adapter comes in from USA tool wharehouse, a business i will never deal with again..2 weeks and its still not shipped.

3. fuel Pump.. Maybee? When the boat is under heavy load she seems starved for something..


Just to note the list of new parts in the motor..

All Fuel lines Internal/external
replaced trigger with Used trigger thats good
New starboard CD pack
New Plugs (champions)
New wires (them seirra blue jobbers, 6 inch)
Carbs Rebult and Squeaky CLean
New fuel filter


I am ready and willing to do any Test you wish,a nd i will even provide Video if you feel you want to see what im doing. Im not giving up on her yet as i am this close..

OH BTW,, COmpression is 104,105,107,103 across all four... Leakdown test passed as well. Held thier Compression for a few hours..

I appreciate any suggestions. and i will Respond with the Overall fix(es) as they come about..

THANKS FOR LOOKING!

Click to expand...

I have this same motor (E110tlcur) on the same size boat. Four winns marquise 160 F & S. My top speed is about 45 mph. Thats with me, my daughter, son and fishing gear plus 13 gal of fuel. My prop is 13 3/8 X 17. My RPM @ WOT is over 6000. I am going to put a 19p prop on as soon as I can. That boat should have a heck of a hole shot and be on plane before you know it with that motor. My compression numbers are all around 120 psi but that shouldn't make a heck of alot of differance, not like what you are experiencing.

Seems you are attacking the problem in the right direction. One thing at a time, and move on. I am very interested in what you find.

Your rectifier is toast. You can try moving your grey tach wire up to one of the yellow wires that come off the stator and see if your tach straightens out. If it does, the rectifier is gone. If not then chances are your tach has issues.

I would investigate the fuel system. You state that under load is seems to be "starved for something". To me, the fuel system is easier to troubleshoot than electrical problems.

Please keep us updated with your progress.

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

As Jones said, check for spark first. An inductive timing light will show the quality of spark on all 4 plugwires. It will show no sparks, weak spark and intermittent spark. Best to check spark when the engine is under load, like idling in gear at the dock. The engine should idle smoothly between 650 and 750 rpm when in gear-set it when the boat is floating in the lake. If you have problems with the idle, you may have fuel restrictions in the idle circuits (passageways) of the upper carb bodys. Did you blow out the carb passages with an aerosol carb cleaner when you did your carb overhauls?

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

aww shoot. I just wrote a big reply to everyone.. and lost it. im off to do the linc in synch, move the tach wire and replace the anti siphon valve. Ill post more later when im not so discouraged by loosing all that typing

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

jmcardamone said:

aww shoot. I just wrote a big reply to everyone.. and lost it. im off to do the linc in synch, move the tach wire and replace the anti siphon valve. Ill post more later when im not so discouraged by loosing all that typing

Click to expand...

You do understand that this is just to test and see if your tach is ok, and you could probably, maybe, set your idle speed. By no means should you leave the grey wire on the yellow wire terminal.

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

itsaboattime said:

You do understand that this is just to test and see if your tach is ok, and you could probably, maybe, set your idle speed. By no means should you leave the grey wire on the yellow wire terminal.

Click to expand...

Fully Understand Captain...

Ok. here's where im at....

I was performing my linc in sync and adjusting the timing and i figured out a few things in the process that may have been causing me some problems. First off.. the Idle set screw never was contacting the stop plate on the motor. I adjusted the little wheel for the throttle cable and got it so it was on the plate with a little tension. then i looked at my Linkage out to the carbs and that was out of whack. I couldnt get enough adjustment out of the idle set screw and the carb link to get it right so i moved the Timing lever out to the next hole and reset the carb link to the midpoint adjustment. Got it running, adjusted down the idle and the Carb links to where she was idling quite smooth.. Noticed a little bit of surging on the muffs (between 11 and 1300) but i suspect that was due to the lack of exhaust backpressure and i am hoping she evens out when in the water..

I did get a tach reading when i touched the grey wire to the yellow one and i set the idle using it. I set it to 1100 on the muffs... If she drops at the dock ill up it a bit.. bringing my screwdrivers along...

One thing i do want to note: I took off my flywheel beacuse i removed the Link arm from the Trigger plate to the Advancing arm. I noticed the top of my stator looked like a candy factory.. what i mean is there was quite a bit of melted resin all of the top of the stator and motor. I went to take off the stator and i noticed that the port side connector was "burned through" and stuck together. After seperating it i also noticed the connector inside was arched up a bit. I looked where the Connector was and it was right against a clean portion of the block. Im thining it either melted and arched to ground, or it arched right through the rubber. I replaced the stator (as my original one turns out was just fine) and did all my adjustments after that. I did Reseal the connector, repositioned it within the engine and taped it up on the outside just in case.

At this point she starts and runs Reall well on the muffs but it ususaly does, but it seems "better".. cleaner in a way. Not so much exhaust and unburned fuel. Im going to try and test it tonight on the lake. Ill update when i get back or tommorrow morning.

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

Boss Hawg said:

Good place to start-
I have the same motor & after a carb overhaul & a link 'n sync she has been sweet

Click to expand...

Slick looking rig!
You're just rubbing it in right?

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

I meant the Motor.. Mine Looks like its been through a war Cosmetically And Pontoons are a great party boat

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

Ok. Update:

Holeshot: Resolved. Fix? well The stuff i performed above was a good majortiy (mostly a link n sync) HOWEVER. I Changed the prop from a 13.5x15 Aluminum that was kinda beat up (what came on the boat) for a 13.5x18 Raker Stainless Steel Prob that i got for 50 bucks off of craigslist that i had fixed. I put that raker on there and my holeshot was impressive.

The Timing adjustment screw/idle adjustment screw. This is now in the correct position from the link n sync, however, It starts to rev up before reverse is completely in gear now. I may have gone too far in one direction on the linkage adjustment for the gearing. worked ok out of the water though..

Going into forward... Sometimes still dies but i think this might be beacuse the engine doesnt increase RPM until quite a bit after the gear in engaged and i think once i adjust the gear linkage, i think i will be much better off Cuz she dont die in reverse.

Might still have a bit of a fuel delivery problem beacuse the only way i was able to get the boat to stay running in forward gear was to hit the primer right as it got in gear and then i was able to run up and go.

Tommorrow i will adjust that linkage and see if that helps.

here's a thought i was pondering. She runs Great at higher than idle rpms (say 1,500 or better). Is it possbile that the fuel pump is weak enough at lower RPMS that the motor's Pressure/Vaccum line isnt enough to deliver the right ammount of fuel? if your idleing in No wake conditions, she will slowly and eventually die. thoughts?

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

jmcardamone said:

Ok. Update:

Holeshot: Resolved. Fix? well The stuff i performed above was a good majortiy (mostly a link n sync) HOWEVER. I Changed the prop from a 13.5x15 Aluminum that was kinda beat up (what came on the boat) for a 13.5x18 Raker Stainless Steel Prob that i got for 50 bucks off of craigslist that i had fixed. I put that raker on there and my holeshot was impressive.

The Timing adjustment screw/idle adjustment screw. This is now in the correct position from the link n sync, however, It starts to rev up before reverse is completely in gear now. I may have gone too far in one direction on the linkage adjustment for the gearing. worked ok out of the water though..

Going into forward... Sometimes still dies but i think this might be beacuse the engine doesnt increase RPM until quite a bit after the gear in engaged and i think once i adjust the gear linkage, i think i will be much better off Cuz she dont die in reverse.

Might still have a bit of a fuel delivery problem beacuse the only way i was able to get the boat to stay running in forward gear was to hit the primer right as it got in gear and then i was able to run up and go.

Tommorrow i will adjust that linkage and see if that helps.

here's a thought i was pondering. She runs Great at higher than idle rpms (say 1,500 or better). Is it possbile that the fuel pump is weak enough at lower RPMS that the motor's Pressure/Vaccum line isnt enough to deliver the right ammount of fuel? if your idleing in No wake conditions, she will slowly and eventually die. thoughts?

Click to expand...

Adjust your linkage, take it out for a spin and see what happens. The linkage adjustment may give it what it needs to keep running at low speed. ya know?

Or give the primer bulb a squeeze when it starts to die and see if it improves. If it does, then have a look at the fuel pump.
I don't remember, is the VRO disconnected on this motor??

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

I have done the whole ball thing a few times and i havent noticed a diference from doing it. Im thinking that the throttle needs to advance more than it is once in gear. So thats my project for today...

Re: 1987 Evinrude 110 V4 - Lack of Power, Loads up, Just not right yet..

Ok I wanted to Provide all with the fix...

1. I am now using the start up procedure found in the stickies with the 8 seccond primer blast. She start and runs, and with the occasional pimer hit, she warms up and idles good.

2. She occasionally dies on entering Forward gear but if i tap the primer quickly shes fine.. once she overcomes that low end rpm deal shes ok. I did adjust the linkage one more time and still waiting to test that.

3. new prop = awesome.. For 50 bucks on Craiglist (stainless raker 13.5 x 18) i couldnt go wrong. this has been one of the biggest improvements to the boat.. Went UP in Pitch from a 15 to 18

4. New Rectifier.. Charging system works, tach works. Just didnt have a purple wire off of it.. strange but ok..



All in all, I think i got her going good now. I appreciate all your help everyone.