80 hp Evinrude electric start

[hburtonr]

Hi can anyone help me ????
i have just purchased a 80 hp electric start outboard which starts lovely but cuts out after a couple of minutes!!!!!
Any IDEAS getting frustrated now

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Welcome to iboats. what year, or model #, what have you checked on the motor. did this motor sit for a while prior to your purchase????? also please read this,
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=250879

 

[bowman316]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

make sure it is not overheating, check to see if the overheating horn is working by sticking the key in a small slot right about the key hole, and that should sound the horn, but i think you have to have another key in the key hole and the ignition turned on.
Also check that it is getting fuel.
Does it sputter and die, or just cut off right now?
Is it pissing water good?

 

[hburtonr]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Hi sorry i haven't replied to your responses but have been really busy at work
The year is a 1968 evinrude speedifour starflight, 85 hp not 80 as first stated, i don't know much else about it as i haven't had time to drop it on the boat and try and fire it up, but the guy said that it started but cut out after a while, it pissed water when running, will try and get to fire it up this weekend and see what happens.......watch this space
many thanks

 

[bowman316]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

make sure the fuel primer bulb is staying hard.
If not, pump it and see if that saves it from stalling.
That would mean that your fuel pump is bad, or you have a vapor lock, and need more air holes in your tank.

You also may have a short in the electrical system.
could be any number of things.
start with the simple things first, like fuel delivery.

 

[hburtonr]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Hi everyone, sorry for taking my time but have been busy at work, i have now got the motor on a scaffold and tried to fire it up but it wouldn't start so i took the plugs out and tested for a spark, but none at all, the distributor cap has a hole in one corner where the screw goes but it is not near the electrodes, could it be the coil if so where would i find it ??there is petrol getting through as i can smell it when turning the engine over
hope to hear soon
cheers

 

[hburtonr]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Hi again,
Just tried starting it again and it fired up !!! the key had been broken off so i was just shorting the two wires across on the back of the ignition barrell, i can hear you all saying "THICKO" so i drilled the barrell out and used a screw driver to turn it and bingo, but it wouldn't run for long then cut out, the primer bulb is still quite firm and the fuel filter bulb is full, it isn't pissing water though, how deep does the motor have to go into the water before it starts pumping ??? does the water **** out of the front of the engine or does it come from somewhere else, sorry for the dumb questions but i really am a NOVICE
any help will be great
cheers

 

[HybridMX6]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

It would be coming out the back of the engine. You need to have the entire lower unit submerged in the water, and maybe even a for more inches up from that just to be safe. It will need to run for a few seconds before any water will come out though, otherwise, it won't get the water pumped all the way through the system, so it will just leak back out by gravity instead of coming out of a pee hole.

 

[Boatdood]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

OK, you have a loss of fire when the engine quits if I understand so far. The '68 85 hp has a battery powered CD ignition system whereby almost any part can cause a loss of fire. Key switch, coil, rotor, CD pack, or even the points. Even the wiring harness can do it. We're stressing my memory here but as best I can remember that engine has the low tension points which last a long time without burning but they are susceptible to become dirty and not conduct like they should, and they can get out of adjustment. The symptom you have described though leads me to guess that the adjustment may the culprit. I've had several engines do just what yours does, and found the points to be all but closed. As the engine warms up the expansion of the materials results in the gap closing. Check the point gap at .010".

Another possibility that should give different symptoms but still worth looking into the the wiring leading to those points. As the throttle advances the wires flex slightly. Considering the age of the wires they could be broken or the insulation could be failing.

Inspect the coil for obvious cracks and tell tale signs of spark jumping to ground. If you have an ohm meter you can also check the continuity in the primary and secondary circuits of the coil. I forget the readings but near no resistance in primary and a good bit in secondary but not an open circuit.

If the pack is bad it can certainly give you the failure you're experiencing but without the proper test equipment it's practically impossible to confirm.

Good luck. You may need it.

 

[hburtonr]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Thanks for the info HYBRIDMX6 and BOATDOOD,
I have had the engine running for quite a while, but still no water, the water level is just above the cavitation plate i think so i don't know whether it should go deeper or not maybe i can try that again but the thing is there is an oil slick on top of the water now and on inspection there is only 2 bolts holding the exhaust to the underside of the motor and it looks like there should be 6, so i dont know whether it has been looked at before ?????
Oh and a bit of black oil was seeping from what looks like a diamond shaped inspection plate on the side of the leg, seems to be one problem after another

 

[Boatdood]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Old engines can be one problem after another. It's the nature of the beast. The black oil you are seeing is residue that is being washed away from the inside of the exhaust housing by the unburnt gas and oil mix flowing through. The triangular shaped inspection plate on the side of the exhaust housing is nothing to be terribly concerned about. There is a gasket under there leaking but no big deal to replace or ignore if you chose. If you have the water level just above the cavitation plate you do not have it deep enough. The water pump is several inches higher than that and will only prime water that high if everything is perfect. The problem now may be that you've run the engine long enough without water on the impeller to do damage to the impeller and that's something you shouldn't ignore. I'm not sure which bolts you are referring to which are missing. In most cases missing bolts should be replaced even though they may not perform a terribly important function. That engine has some shields around the exhaust housing with multiple bolts holding them on. That may be what you are looking at. The two biggest problems I've seen with your particular engine is that it has a lot of linkage that wears and loosens up with age making synchronization of throttle and fuel a bit tougher and some ignition parts such as the pack can be quite expensive to replace, not to mention that it is a fuel hungry beast with the downdraft carburetor. My dad had one of those engines many years ago when it was practically new. That's when he formed the opinion that they were gasoline cooled with as much fuel as passed through them. He was joking but in later years I found that he was at least partially correct. Conventional two stroke engines are in part gasoline cooled. The lack of fuel passing through the crankcase in a direct fuel injection engine such as the later Ficht engines led to much higher temperatures inside the crankcase and associated oil failures in early versions of the Ficht. If only those engineers had known what my good old daddy did so many years ago!

 

[hburtonr]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Hi thanks Boatdood,
i will try and raise the barrell up a bit higher and see what happens......
the bolts which are missing are 13mm (1/2") and are about 50mm (2 ") long and are visible when you have removed the back outer exhaust casing and looks like they are holding the leg onto the main engine block, remind me of exhaust manifold bolts.....
now that i have removed the outer casing with the diamond shaped plate on it there is a square hole in the leg or exhaust housing, will try and post a pic of it later, but my main concern is the grey/brown oil slick on top of the water, is there any oil seals down near the prop ???
the saga goes on.................
cheers all

 

[bowman316]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

the water intake should be a few inches BELOW the cativation plate, because when you are on plane, the plate is at the water level idealy. But the plate should be well below the waterline when at idle, and not on plane.

 

[Boatdood]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Bowman is absolutely correct on the position of the water intake and cavitation plate levels. The problem when running an engine in a barrel is that even though you may have the intakes under water the pump can suck air and not prime, then the impeller can burn from lack of water. The water pump should be immersed completely when the engine is cranked as it is when the boat is sitting in the water.

The bolts you've described to me sound like they may be the power head bolts. You should certainly replace the missing ones in that case. The access you've described on the side of the exhaust housing is most likely the shift shaft connection. You'll likely see a brass coupler in there with a couple of screws to clamp the shafts in place. The shift shafts are about a quarter inch diameter ss rods. The oil residue you see on the water in the barrel is fairly normal when you have an engine that is miss firing. Even when your engine is running fine there is a lot of unburned fuel flowing through that will accumulate in the barrel. Of course you do have oil in the gear case and there are numerous seals to hold it in. That oil should be a honey colored oil though. If you've had water intrusion into the gear casing though it can change color and I have seen it turn gray when churned into a froth with the water. Open the fill screw on the bottom of the gear case just enough to let some oil drip out and see what it looks like. Anything other than a honey colored or brown colored oil is bad news. If there is not water present you may need to change it anyway, but gray oil is contaminated oil and you need to reseal.

It sounds like you have a real project on your hands with this one. You might want to step back and consider if it is truly worth the effort and money. Remember, it's a hungry beast even when in good running condition.

 

[hburtonr]

Re: 80 hp Evinrude electric start

Hi again, after an hour of trying to raise the barrel, i tried to start it but it wouldn't fire up then it would back fire when i turned the distributer cap, but it wouldn't start now i've gone and burnt the auto choke solenoid out, the wire to the bottom has come away from the body, tried to get one locally but not in stock is there an alternative solenoid which would work ??? could it be a faulty solenoid why it wouldn't fire up ?????
cheers