you are 100% correct. I was hoping that my problem was fuel. Dad thought so and had tried to switch to portable tanks. I knew the function of pulse limiter at the time but was hoping that if malfunctioning, it might reduce the output of the fuel pump. The motor was less than a year old when the primer solenoid first failed; probably had less than 50 hours on the motor.
SALTCHUCKMATT described me as Rambling. True! Guess I should live up to it. Dad was 70 years old when he bought the boat. I am now 76; he was probably about 76 when he disabled the VRO. Like many others he did not trust it. Dad was radioman on B17. He spent his time between missions fixing the radios that the Germans shot up.. Story goes he had 3 jobs so he could by a washing machine for my diapers. It did not work so he went back to Sears and asked for a part. they gave it to him and told him to bring back the old part. They asked if it worked when he brought the part back, and when he said yes they asked him if he wanted a job. 42 years later he retired as service manager. He built 3 service centers for them and even though he was rural he was #1 in profitability. His specialty was refrigeration but he fixed anything Sears sold.
when our hometown outboard sales and service dealer went out of business, he bought all their parts and abandoned "scrap" motors. he built and sold 12 motors. He also bought all their Zebco reel parts. ditto.
I can attest to the reality of the frog in the pot of hot water. I was 71 when diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. It was a very slow growing kind that I
can look back and see that physical and mental fatigue had been slowly growing for 15 or 20 years. My business partners kicked me out because I had slowed down; they did not know what I was doing till I was not there to do it anymore. it has been 9 years and they are still unable to replace me.
Yes, I know the satisfaction of determining and fixing the source of the problem. I admire those who can still do it. I too, scowled at the men who brought a paper sack of Television tubes to the 7-11 to fix the TV. (remember those days?)
the pages on the calendar are flipping at an accelerating rate. My last parts order took 9 days after I paid for RUSH shipping. this is the second or third summer that my grandkids have not been able to tube behind the deck boat. It was a Biden moment when my son said it was the starter. Yes I also replaced the starter. I am guilty of buying extra because I do not want the delay caused by not ordering enough.
I was embarrassed when I checked compression after your suggestion. I had bought an inexpensive amazon gauge 3 years ago when working on diesel tractors. Brain in neutral, I did not notice that the needle was not zeroed, or that the pressure was excessive for a gasoline engine; it was right in there for diesel. But when the auto parts new(still in celophane) loaner gauge was registering in the low 30's, I did convince them to get another.
I did not know about SLOW until I read about it in a service manual. It said ALL motors had it and it sounded like what we were experiencing. so I shifted from fuel to overheat.
I accidentally discovered your forum while surfing for answers. You could have saved me a lot of time and money. I am a retired professional electrical engineer. I have a problem solving mindset that is sometimes only firing on one cylinder. NOW DUE TO LACK OF SKILL AND FORTITUDE I MUST SEARCH FOR A COMPETENT MECHANIC.
BE KIND TO YOUR ELDERS.
