1995 Honda outboard BF50A carb problems

[twins racing]

Carb air adjusment #1 was 2 1/2 turns out #2 & #3 were 2 turns out. How many turns are they supposed to be

 

[Lino]

This video tells you how many turns you need

 

[ahicks]

Carb air adjusment #1 was 2 1/2 turns out #2 & #3 were 2 turns out. How many turns are they supposed to be

If it's running Ok why mess with it? If it's NOT running OK, what's ailing it, specifically?

To answer your question, I've done a bunch of these, and generally end up at 2.5 or so. I can share that there is no upside trying to get as lean a setting as possible. All you're doing is making it picky to start with a terrible cold idle that often stalls. I would WAY rather have it set on the rich side, for easy starts and a minimum amount of trouble during warm up. Don't worry about fouling plugs with a rich setting. That's just not going to happen...

 

[MattFL]

If it's running Ok why mess with it? If it's NOT running OK, what's ailing it, specifically?

To answer your question, I've done a bunch of these, and generally end up at 2.5 or so. I can share that there is no upside trying to get as lean a setting as possible. All you're doing is making it picky to start with a terrible cold idle that often stalls. I would WAY rather have it set on the rich side, for easy starts and a minimum amount of trouble during warm up. Don't worry about fouling plugs with a rich setting. That's just not going to happen...

I can back this up, I swapped the fuel screws in my 99' 50 a couple of years ago, adjusted for the best idle and haven't looked back, a huge improvement over the way it came from the factory.

Edit --> I just realized you said the air adjustment. Are you referring to the screws that open the throttle plates, for synchronizing the carburetors? If yes, then ignore the turns and do whatever the vacuum gauge tells you. If you're referring to changing the air/fuel mix; on a 4-stroke, the screws for tuning the mixture are fuel screws that adjust the fuel flow, unlike 2-strokes where it's typically an air screw. Backing the fuel screw out further will give you more fuel (richer mix). It would not be unusual for each cylinder to run better with a slightly different setting. The middle cylinder in particular will run warmer than the other two, and it might even have different jets.