Honda BF 130 Running Hot

[BF130]

My 2002 BF130 runs hot at high rpm's. I can troll all day and make short 1-mile runs with no issues. But if I run five miles at 4,500 rpm, throttle-down to idle, then the motor is visibly hot (steam around bottom of cowl) and, twice, the overheat alarm sounded.<br /><br />I've replaced the t-stat and impeller, neither were the problem. Then I cleaned out the high-pressure valve (I use her in exclusively salt), not the problem either. So now I plan to take off the water jacket and clean that out.<br /><br />Any other ideas, or am I wasting my time and money on new gaskets with the water jacket idea?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

Continuing to run the engine hot is not good for it so anything you do to locate the problem is in order. Do you have an engine temperature gauge? If so, what does it read? The temperature sender could be bad as well causing you to chase a non-problem. However, presence of steam is not good but make sure its not water splash getting to the hot engine on decelleration. Have you checked the oil to see if you have water in the oil (higher than normal oil level/light chocolate color). Remove and examine the plugs. They should be a light tan color. If one or more are extremely white, the engine may be getting water into the combustion chamber from a leaking head gasket or (heaven forbid) a cracked cylinder head. A compression check is also in order.

 

[BF130]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

Thanks for the reply - I should have mentioned that I've changed the oil and plugs. The plugs looked good (had 300 hours on them) and the oil was dirty (after 100 hours) but no sign of water contamination.<br /><br />I don't have a temp gauge, but it has been apparent that the temp is okay when trolling. So my issue is what I call 'high-rpm overheating'. My presumption is that the water-jacket cavities have become partially blocked with corrosion/shells/sand.<br /><br />Looking for other perspectives.

 

[pelermon]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

115 & 130 Hondas were pulled off the market because Crank Case failure and Fuel Pumps <br /> Problem - the high-pressure fuel pumps may develop corrosion, resulting in failure.<br /> Resolution - an improved replacement high-pressure fuel pump/water separator will be installed at no charge.<br /> Problem - "a small number of these motors have developed localized cylinder head and/or engine block casting cracks. These cracks may cause internal water leaks and reduce the performance characteristics."<br /> Resolution - American Honda is extending the warranty on the cylinder head and/or engine block assembly to a period of 10 years from the date of original retail purchase.<br />Called CS 770) 497 - 6400 Alpharetta, GA said serial number starting at #1201321 and up were corrected - below were not, so they have a 10 year warrenty on the cylinder head and/or engine block assembly. <br /> Honda will authorize a one-time complimentary inspection of the cylinder head and engine block castings.

 

[BF130]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

Pelermon - thanks, but I've checked with my dealer and my model was not included in the cylinder-head batch (mine is a 2002 and the product code is outside the range).<br /><br />The fuel-pump problem is another story, I wonder if that would be it rather than overheating. Bad fuel delivery may be causing the alarm as the motor sputters and then comes back to full idle.

 

[outboardguy]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

You may or may not be aware but there was a parts bulletin for the Honda 130 impellers.I can't remember the specifics but the dealers were supposed to send the bad ones back and use the new ones with a AAA Mark on the center of the impeller.

 

[hondon]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

So,what alarm are you getting? A constant tone generally indicates an overheat but may also suggest other failures.What is your dashboard display,those 2 lights that beep and flash at you when you turn this thing on telling you?What are your oil pressure and overheat lights telling you?Have you taken a fuel sample to see how much water you have in there?

 

[BF130]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

Originally posted by hondon:<br /> So,what alarm are you getting? A constant tone generally indicates an overheat but may also suggest other failures.

Not a constant tone, rather, a static 'beep-beep' similar to when you initially turn the key.<br /><br />

Originally posted by hondon:<br /> What is your dashboard display,those 2 lights that beep and flash at you when you turn this thing on telling you?What are your oil pressure and overheat lights telling you?Have you taken a fuel sample to see how much water you have in there?

So I took a fuel sample this weekend and guess what? There was about 1.5 to 2 tbl spoons of water in one liter of gas. So my presumption now is that the water caused the stalling and when the motor refired is when I got the 'beep-beep'. I'm a little embarrassed to mistaken it for overheating. But I'm relived that it wasn't anything worse.<br /><br />I'm installing a fuel/water separator this coming weekend (yes, I didn't have one already).

 

[bossee]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

Hi,<br />It amaze me that a fuel/water separator is not installed as standard on larger outboards. A standard separator does not cost much. I just think the marine shop should have adviced You when You bought the outboard that running without a water/fuel separator is not good at all. Or at least reminded You at service that continue to run without the separator is not recommended. Glad You found the cause and is adding the separator now. Make sure the connections are tight and not leaking... I had leaking connections on my first separator (mounted by a Yamaha dealer) on my Yamaha F115 so I had gas in my storage compartment where the separator is mounted. They tried twice to get it not leaking but did not manage so I got a new on warranty and this time all worked.<br /><br />Good luck!

 

[BF130]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

I completely agree - this is my first boat and am learning along the way. I'm good with mechanical stuff and have all the tools. Just need to learn more about applying that to a boat.

 

[BF130]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

Update - So I started the motor Saturday for the first time since November. It started right away and then stalled after about five minutes of very rough idle. I tried to restart it a few times with no success. So I suspected bad fuel (was treated with StaBil in November). We have 10% Ethanol in our state. I totally purged the system of fuel (high-pressure filter, vapor separator tank, low-pressure filter), etc. Got rid of the old fuel in my boat’s tank and refilled with fresh. Pumped out the first gallon into a container (was visibly lighter in color than the old stuff) and reinstalled the fuel lines.<br /><br />It still won’t start – won’t fire at all!<br /><br />The motor turns over but there is no ignition. I fear burning up the starter so I’m now here typing away. It ran fine last season.<br /><br />My winterizing routine last November included spraying fogging oil in the spark plug holes (as advised by the manual) and new plugs. I've pulled all the plugs and cleaned them of the fogging oil. Could that fogging oil be what's hindering combustion?<br /><br />I’ve also followed the troubleshooting routine in the Clymer manual (checking fuel pressure, checking vapor separator tank valve, etc).<br /><br />Any ideas??? Did that old fuel screw up my injectors??? I hope not.

 

[Chaps]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

When you say "no ignition" do you mean no spark at the plugs? If yes then your problem is most likely not your injectors.

 

[hondon]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

What were the results of those tests?Did you drain that vapor separator and get rid of that rancid fuel in there?It is hard to do an ignition output test on this unit so it would be interesting to me how you accomplished that,but ignition failures are rare .Your fogging proceedure may well lead to a sluggish start and you might have to clean those plugs again.Through this whole dialouge ,you have not mentioned what maintenence has been done to this machine.You have been running without a water separator,so I'm not feeling the love.

 

[BF130]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

Originally posted by hondon:<br /> What were the results of those tests?Did you drain that vapor separator and get rid of that rancid fuel in there?It is hard to do an ignition output test on this unit so it would be interesting to me how you accomplished that,but ignition failures are rare .Your fogging proceedure may well lead to a sluggish start and you might have to clean those plugs again.Through this whole dialouge ,you have not mentioned what maintenence has been done to this machine.You have been running without a water separator,so I'm not feeling the love.

I did get rid of the old fuel from the VST and the high-pressure filter (tilting the engine up while draining the VST). Refilled the tank with fresh and squeezed new stuff into the VST. I can also hear the fuel pump engage when I turn the key - pressurizing the system with the fresh fuel.<br /><br />The old fuel was a med-brown color, the new stuff is light tan. The old fuel has some water in it, but not much.<br /><br />Maintenance - I purchased the motor in July of last year, so outside of what I've done, I really don't know prior maintenance. And I wasn't aware of the fuel-water separator necessity until I spoke with others over the winter (this is my first boat). The water separator was installed over the winter - with love <br /><br />The motor ran fine up until the last week in Oct/Nov. prior to putting her up for the winter... ergo my initial post to this thread. I surmised that the Fall-time issues related to water in my fuel.<br /><br />Ignition - I used that term carelessly. I meant that the follow-on attempts to start the motor resulted in no 'firing' or 'combustion' or ????. The motor is turning over but I'm not getting any fuel combustion whereby the motor acts like it wants to start - just the sound of the starter.<br /><br />So in summary, the motor started initially - puffed out white smoke (likely the fogging oil burning) and then died after 3-5 minutes. Subsequent attempts to start resulted in the motor turning over (the starter is working) but with zero combustion.<br /><br />Thanks again.

 

[hondon]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

Did you replace the plastic filter under the cowl?That filter is actually a water separator to a point,but it does'nt take long to fill and spill over.When you purged this system,did you replace the orings at all the fuel connections and torque them to spec?Have you removed those plugs again and had a look at them?Remember ,you need only four things to run .Compression ,ignition ,fuel,and exhaust.What are you missing?

 

[BF130]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

I drained the plastic transparent filter under the cowl (on the bottom starboard side) but did not replace it.<br /><br />I didn't take off the VST so I didn't need to replace any o-rings. The VST has a drain screw and drain hose connector. When I tilted the motor up, it appeared to drain all that was in there - so I otherwise left the VST alone. I did replace the aluminum washers on the high-pressure filter (I did replace that filter). When I ordered the filter, I thought I was getting the plastic low pressure filter, but they shipped the high-pressure one instead.<br /><br />I pulled the plugs each time and they were covered in blackened oily residue. I cleaned them off with carb-cleaner and they came clean easily. The oily residue appeared to be fogging oil. I then took the can of oil that I used last season and sprayed some on my driveway to see if it would combust - it did immediately. So I'm not sure why it won't combust in the motor.<br /><br />So I'm at a loss. Given that the motor started immediately on the first try - died and now won't start at all, I suspect that some bad fuel/water got through the injectors and maybe fouled it to the point where I can't get the good stuff through. Maybe there was some bad stuff left in the fuel rail? After doing all this last weekend, I tried again on Tuesday evening with the same results. I was hoping that if the motor sat for a couple of days then it would 'dry out' a little. But that theory didn't work either.<br /><br />I've scheduled to take the motor into my dealer late next week. He plans to diagnose the issue and perform the Honda fuel update (his description). So I certainly do appreciate all the feedback here. Hondon, you appear to be someone who works on these motors frequently. Any other thoughts are also welcome in based on the above. Then I'll be sure to report back with my dealer's diagnosis so that you will finally hear from someone other than me what has caused these issues.

 

[pelermon]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

I am expecting delivery on my new tritoon w/150 Honda next week. <br />I think I will be looking for a buyer before the end of the season.<br />I want to go back to simple 2 stroke (eTech)

 

[D.Yak]

Re: Honda BF 130 Running Hot

I also have a similar problem my honda 130 turns over but won't start, I've checked fuel all the way to the injectors but engine does not fire. It did fire once we took the line coming out of the fuel pump on the back of the engine to see if the pump was working.