1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

[kocotheclown]

hi all,
i have a 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp on my boat. i have recently finished - nearly finished complete restoration of my boat and have had it on the water for a week now. when at my boat yesterday i got in and started the engine up (no bother at all) and left it running on idle. after about 20-30 mins the engines died and then would not start again for love nor money !!
this is the third time it has done this to me now so it got me thinking - could it be an engine overheat problem ? is there an engine overheat kill switch on the engine ? also the engine starts directly from the battery - is this normal ? - i could not find a start solenoid to wire up a starter switch !
this is my first boat so still learning. any help would be greatfully appreciated
thank you
kieran

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

There is a box containing a solenoid that mounts on the transom.
Originally in the 50s there was a dash panel containing a start button and a choke button.
There was no kill switch. 61 may have had a key switch.Early motors were stopped by reducing the throttle till it stalled or by choking.
There is no heat kill switch. A good burble of water should come out of the relief hole on the leg.If cooling is weak it could gradually overheat to the point of slowing enough to stall from friction. If you haven't changed the coils they could fail from natural heating.
check for spark when it stalls.

 

[kocotheclown]

Re: 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

hi,
thanks very much for your reply. you have just cleared up the starting problem - just bought a solenoid on ebay. any idea which wires go where ?
i have a start switch installed on the dash will set up a choke switch too.

while the engine was running all was ok then it just stopped - now you got me thinking - it probably is a loss of spark , i will check it tommorrow, also just bought a new condensor and coils on ebay to suit

thank you very much for your help
kieran

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

New coils is a smart move. These and the very similar Evinrude ,Johnson motors coil failure is very common as they age.

 

[kocotheclown]

Re: 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

hi,
new coils and spark plugs and condensor on the way for my engine.
i had my eengine running in a bin full of water yesterday and it done the same thing as before ! - ran for a while then refused to start !
so i took off the plugs and tried to start it - got a spark on both plugs, maybe a weak spark
anything else it could be ?
koco

 

[kocotheclown]

Re: 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

hi again,
got the flywheel off yesterday and fount the wire going from the points to the vacuum cutoff switch squashed under one of the coils - which had melted around it !!!
definately part if not all of the problem.
could someone please tell me does my engine have a nuetral start safety switch ?
1961 gale bucaneer 25hp model 25DEL-20B
i am trying to sort out the last of the wiring on my boat and can not find this switch - maybe its missing or never was !
also i have a push start button which i installed and not the key start - would it still work ok if i have a seperate choke switch and start button with power coming straight from my main power supply ?
i have the wiring diagram and it seems fine to me - but this is my first boat and do not want any problems with it. i have used the boat all ready and the power supply setup works fine for me. battery to master switch then to switches for supply to instruments ect.
starter wiring is positive direct from battery to solenoid then to starter - with starter button supplied from main supply (after master switch) to solenoid and second terminal is where i am confused - shoud this be to the nuetral safety switch or earth ? as i have found 2 different wiring diagrams for this and no safety switch on my boat !
thank you for any assistance
kieran

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

My 56 gale manual indicates a mercury safety switch interacting with the throttle gear
disabling the starter if the throttle goes beyond start position.My 56-64 after market manual also mentions this switch.
Doesn't appear to be a neutral safety switch though probably the boat would be in gear to allow the throttle to advance past start thus disabling the starter.
There may be a manual start lock that dissables the recoil starter if the throttle is advanced too far again also acting as a partial safety for being in gear.This also appears in my after markert manual.
Many years ago in the 50s,A fellow teenager neighbor was badly hurt when he started their 25hp? Evinrude or Johnson in reverse and it threw him in the water and backed into him.His heavy sweat shirt saved him from terrible lethal injuries.Don't know if the switch malfunctioned or what.

 

[kocotheclown]

Re: 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

thank you very much for your reply. there is a linkage on the engine that prevents the throttle movement when in nuetral, but not sure if this does anything with the starter - i will look into it.
where is the mercuy switch ? is it on the engine or in the boat or control box ?
i do not have a junction box in my boat so maybe this is where it is !

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engines dies after 30 mins - overheat problem ?

The mercury switch is in direct contact with the throttle gears at some point My info isn't clear on that.As the throttle advances it tilts the switch.If the throttle advances too far the switch opens.It appears the switch is down low and may interact with the throttle shaft that comes in from the tiller arm Whether there is an arm or not.
By disabling the starter it won't crank if the throttle is advanced too far
I guess they figured if it started at the start setting in gear it wouldn't be as dangerous.