1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Hello all,

Forgive the newbie for what may be a very obvious question! I picked up a 1959 Evinrude Lark 35HP a few weeks ago. The seller didn't have a test tank so couldn't see it running but it had spark and pulled over no problem with a solid "thunk-thunk" sound so I figured it had good compression.

I got a fuel hose and tank for it, hooked up the electrical cables and popped her in the tank today to properly winterize.

Now for the confusing bit. The electric start seemed like it was having trouble getting the flywheel to turn over. It would do so, but only one revolution every few seconds and it seemed like it was really trying. Admittedly it wasn't easy pulling it over by hand either but I expected the electric starter to be a bit better at it! I took out the plugs and the starter turned the flywheel much faster.

As for the fuel line, I got it primed, with fuel in the bowl, but when I tried to start it the fuel disappeared and even after squeezing the bulb again it didn't fill the bowl more than a very small amount. I did notice that gas was dripping out of the front of the carb after this...

After a few minutes of trying to start it, I took the plugs out and noticed they were clean and dry... so I wonder if fuel is actually getting to the cylinders at all.

So questions.

Does the temperature outside have anything to do with how easy it is to pull over a 35 HP motor? It was about 4 Celsius today (39 F).

If not, what could cause the flywheel to be so hard to turn? What can be done to fix it?

I tested the compression and leaving one plug in while inserting the tester I got about 60 psi on both cylinders. When I took the other plug out the tester read 125 psi in both cylinders. What causes the difference? Is that a problem?

I have ordered the service manual for my motor so will have that in a week or so and am hoping to be able to rebuild the carb and redo the lower unit seals and impeller since the guy I bought it from said it had been sitting for years after his wife's father stopped using it in the 80s.

Thanks for any thoughts or insights!

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Ok lets see if I can cover everything.

The poor starting you are describing is usually due to a weak/undercharged battery, or faulty connections, or faulty cables. Ensure the battery is fully charged, and load tested, the cables are not cracked, corroded, etc... and the connections are shiny and tight. Take them all apart and polish them with a file then retighten.

The compression is better tested with the plugs removed. Too much resistance with the plugs in.

Once you get it cranking, put some pre mixed fuel directly into the cylinders, then replace plugs. If it now fires, you have a fuel delivery issue and will have to pull the carb.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Hmm... well I didn't have a spare battery at hand so I used jumper cables off the car. Could it be that they weren't a good enough connection? The wiring harness, solenoid and start/choke panel look like they are the originals so that may not help. Is there a way to test the cables or should I just try to get my hands on a battery?

Thanks!

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

125 per cylinder is pretty good. The first thing I would do, is pull the re-coil assembly and the inspection cover off the flywheel and take a look at your coils. The hole in the flywheel will allow you to get a good visual. If the coating is cracked, then you'll be kicking a dead horse, as far as getting it to start and run right. A 35hp Lark with a good healthy ignition system will start fine by hand. It sounds like you have a good healthy top end on that motor, so it would be worth every dime to go through and check everything out and put in a new impeller. Also check and make sure your lower unit isn't getting any water in. If it is, change the oil and replace the gaskets on both of the plugs. If it's still getting water in after one use, then the lower unit will need to be re-sealed.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Most jumper cables will not cut it, especially with the teeth, you lose connection surface area.

I can post a wiring diagram for you if need be.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

These may help too.

Reviving a Vintage Big Twin - Part 1

Vintage Evinrude Johnson Outboard Parts & Diagrams - Catalog ITEM_2978

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Duckworks has a lot of good info.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

That's great. Yes, the jumper cables were the ones with teeth so that makes sense. The starter just wasn't getting enough power to turn the wheel fast enough?

I replaced the lower unit oil yesterday after it had been in the tank for an hour trying to get it started. Not a drop of water to be seen, just dark brown oil that seems to fit with it not having been touched in 30 years.

As for the coils I hadn't taken the recoil off because the plugs seemed to be giving a good solid spark. Perhaps I'll check that just in case. Might as well pick up all my parts while I'm at it!

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Gr8ham said:

Hmm... well I didn't have a spare battery at hand so I used jumper cables off the car. Could it be that they weren't a good enough connection? The wiring harness, solenoid and start/choke panel look like they are the originals so that may not help. Is there a way to test the cables or should I just try to get my hands on a battery?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

A majority of starter problems are corrosion/connection related. Look for green corrosion on cable ends and/or cracked/brittle wires. I usually replace the heavy battery cables if they are original. It's more difficult to replace wiring inside the harness, but if it's really bad, you're almost better off fabricating a new harness using the old as a template. I'll bet if you polish up all the connections and try a new battery, the starter will fire just fine.

I'd go ahead and check for good spark with an $8 spark tester from an auto parts store. Spark should jump at least a 1/4" gap with a snappy blue-white spark. Then get yourself a carb kit and clean/rebuild the carb, and replace those old fuel lines. With those kind of compression readings, that motor should run like a champ after a little maintenance/service.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

If you crank the motor for a few seconds and then carefully feel the connections any suspect connections will likely be warm.
Don't forget the ground side connections.
And of course the starter may need work.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

steelespike said:

If you crank the motor for a few seconds and then carefully feel the connections any suspect connections will likely be warm.
Don't forget the ground side connections.
And of course the starter may need work.

Click to expand...

When you say connections do you mean the connections between the solenoid box and the starter, the battery to the solenoid, all of them or something else entirely? My knowledge of electrical systems is sadly lacking!

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Yep. All of them. Especially the larger leads going from the battery to the solenoid and the solenoid to the starter.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

And will that warmth be indicating that the insulation is breaking down or some other issue?

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Gr8ham said:

And will that warmth be indicating that the insulation is breaking down or some other issue?

Click to expand...

Heat occurs where there is resistance, or corrosion. Those wires corrode from the inside out so to speak, so hard to see. Voltage drop testing is a good test to determine the wires health. Cracking when you flex them will be a quick test to feel if there is corrosion going on as well.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Voltage drop testing... new words! I'll see what I can find on the web to see how to do that. In the meantime I'll just flex the wires!

As an alternative, does anyone know if using a bolt and two nuts to tightly fasten the battery cables to the jumper cables would improve the flow of electricity enough to make a difference? Or should I just be looking for a spare battery to use?

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Gr8ham said:

Voltage drop testing... new words! I'll see what I can find on the web to see how to do that. In the meantime I'll just flex the wires!

As an alternative, does anyone know if using a bolt and two nuts to tightly fasten the battery cables to the jumper cables would improve the flow of electricity enough to make a difference? Or should I just be looking for a spare battery to use?

Click to expand...

Too many things that can fight you using jumper cables. You are better of getting a fresh dedicated battery, or if you want to be thrifty you can borrow one from your car (if it's a top post style battery). Even a lawn tractor battery would have enough power to start the motor as long as you can make a good connection.

BTW... Voltage drop testing is no big deal. Get your self a multi-meter if you don't own one. Google has videos, and web tutorials about the subject. This one looked half way decent; Voltage Drop Testing | Automotive Topics
Of course if you wanted to get silly, you could get all scientific about it...;Kirchhoff's circuit laws - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

First thing you need to do is disable the ignition so that you can crank the motor over for testing without starting. Simply grounding the plug leads should suffice for you.

Set your volt meter to the 20 volt scale. Now check your battery voltage, it should be about 12.65 volts. If it is not your battery is not fully charged and the starter will not crank at proper speed.

Put the POS lead from the meter on the POS post of the starter, and the NEG lead from the meter on the starter ground or battery ground and note the reading. If the same as the initial battery reading of 12.65 volts, there is no resistance and you need go no further. If it is less, time to find the problem.

Now put your meter on the 2 volt scale.

First connect red voltmeter to positive battery terminal and black voltmeter to solenoid positive terminal - Crank engine - Reading should be less than 0.3 volts

Then connect red voltmeter to positive battery terminal connection on solenoid and black voltmeter to positive terminal on solenoid leading to starter - Crank engine - Reading should be less than 0.2 volts

Then connect red voltmeter to positive terminal on solenoid leading to starter and black voltmeter to positive terminal on starter - Crank engine - Reading should be less than 0.2 volts

Finally connect red voltmeter to common engine ground and black voltmeter to negative battery terminal - Crank engine - Reading should be less than 0.3 volts

High readings indicate resistance and the wire/connection should be replaced if polishing and tightening do not solve the high resistance.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Just a quick thought regarding the power getting to the starter. I have seen it done where the end of a jumper cable is put directly onto the starter itself and it jumps into action. I recall the red (POS) end being the one that touched the starter but where does the black (NEG) end go?

I've picked myself up a multimeter so will be testing the cables this weekend! Very exciting.

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

If you want to jump the starter, put the POS on the POS stud of the starter, then use the NEG lead from the NEG post of the battery to any good ground on the engine.

Please be careful that there is no spilt fuel, dont want your next thread to be "I blew myself up!"

Re: 1959 Evinrude Lark - Starting Problems!!

Haha! That's an experience I prefer not to have!

On a somewhat different note, if I need to pull the flywheel to replace coils/points, etc. I have read that I will need "#8 hardened bolts" to prevent the threads stripping. Can anyone tell me where I would find hardened bolts? I'm in Toronto, Ontario if that helps.

Lastly, I tested out my new digital multimeter last night on some batteries and a wall socket and discovered there is something wrong with it. The display started out at 0.11 when I inserted the batteries and slowly kept rising until it now reads 3.21 yet would register no change when the leads were put onto brand new 1.5 V and 9 V batteries!

Back to Canadian Tire for me.