Stalls out hot

[damian1955]

I have a 1987 Chris Craft I/O 2.3 litre ford engine. It runs fine before the temp reaches over 160 degrees. after that it will bog down and stall. It will restart after it cools down.It will run ok when I run it at about 1/3 throttle and stays cooler. I have replaced the points,condenser and coil. I have also bypassed the fuel pump with an electric pump. Still the same problem. I was suggested to replace the positive coil feed wire due to it is a resistor wire and use an external resitor block. Any thoughts on this ?
Thanks,
Damian

 

[stresspoint]

i think you are on the wrong track with the ballast resistor wire , coils , etc .

? when was the last time the water pump was serviced .

if the water pump has recently been serviced then you may want to try giving the cooling system a flush , sediment in the water jacket can stop water circulation in small motors.

not being familiar with you particular motor so the above is in general to a IO marine set up .

i am guessing an over temp sensor is tripping and cutting the spark .

 

[Lou C]

Is your auto choke opening as it should when the engine warms up? Cold engine needs a rich fuel mixture but once warm that will cause poor running.

 

[Scott Danforth]

What troubleshooting did you do?

It would never be a mechanical pump

Are you loosing spark, or are you overheating? What is the the actual temp of the block and heads (not what the gauge reads, however what your diagnostic IR thermometer tells you)

Have you serviced the points? Check the condenser with a multimeter to see if it is shorting out

 

[Lou C]

The 2.3 in-line 4 cyl OHC is an adapted Ford engine used extensively in small Fords for many years (Pinto Bobcat Mustang Fairmont even the Ranger pick up). I think OMC equipped them with a Rochester 2bbl & points distributor. I’ll have to look in my manuals to see what else I can find out…
If it’s an 87 should be a Cobra system if the ESA is sticking on it can cause similar symptoms. The buttons on the micro switches wear & stick on.

 

[damian1955]

What troubleshooting did you do?

It would never be a mechanical pump

Are you loosing spark, or are you overheating? What is the the actual temp of the block and heads (not what the gauge reads, however what your diagnostic IR thermometer tells you)

Have you serviced the points? Check the condenser with a multimeter to see if it is shorting out

New points, consider and coil. If I run it at half throttle the temperature stays around 150. It has a 180 thermostat in it which is newer. At 150 degrees I can run all day

 

[damian1955]

i think you are on the wrong track with the ballast resistor wire , coils , etc .

? when was the last time the water pump was serviced .

if the water pump has recently been serviced then you may want to try giving the cooling system a flush , sediment in the water jacket can stop water circulation in small motors.

not being familiar with you particular motor so the above is in general to a IO marine set up .

i am guessing an over temp sensor is tripping and cutting the spark .

It does not have an over temp sensor. That was an option I don't have.at 150 degrees I can run wide open until it gets to about 165 and starts to bog down and stall. Will restart when gets around 125. Degrees

 

[damian1955]

i think you are on the wrong track with the ballast resistor wire , coils , etc .

? when was the last time the water pump was serviced .

if the water pump has recently been serviced then you may want to try giving the cooling system a flush , sediment in the water jacket can stop water circulation in small motors.

not being familiar with you particular motor so the above is in general to a IO marine set up .

i am guessing an over temp sensor is tripping and cutting the spark .

Water pump new last year. I can smell fuel when it bogs down and stalls.

 

[damian1955]

Is your auto choke opening as it should when the engine warms up? Cold engine needs a rich fuel mixture but once warm that will cause poor running.

Choke works fine

 

[damian1955]

The 2.3 in-line 4 cyl OHC is an adapted Ford engine used extensively in small Fords for many years (Pinto Bobcat Mustang Fairmont even the Ranger pick up). I think OMC equipped them with a Rochester 2bbl & points distributor. I’ll have to look in my manuals to see what else I can find out…
If it’s an 87 should be a Cobra system if the ESA is sticking on it can cause similar symptoms. The buttons on the micro switches wear & stick on.

I can disconnect the ESA and try that. It's getting cold to play with this thing. Wind chill was 37 degrees this morning. Lol

 

[Lou C]

Water pump new last year. I can smell fuel when it bogs down and stalls.

Float sticking or crud in the needle valve = flooding

 

[Scott Danforth]

New points, consider and coil. If I run it at half throttle the temperature stays around 150. It has a 180 thermostat in it which is newer. At 150 degrees I can run all day

You should never have a 180 degree thermostat unless you have a heat exchanger. With tlyour carbureted 2.3 you should've running a 140 degree thermostat

 

[damian1955]

You should never have a 180 degree thermostat unless you have a heat exchanger. With tlyour carbureted 2.3 you should've running a 140 degree thermostat

I will double check the temp of the installed thermostat. tks

 

[Lou C]

OMC used a 160 stat

 

[damian1955]

OMC used a 160 stat

Tks

 

[damian1955]

i think you are on the wrong track with the ballast resistor wire , coils , etc .

? when was the last time the water pump was serviced .

if the water pump has recently been serviced then you may want to try giving the cooling system a flush , sediment in the water jacket can stop water circulation in small motors.

not being familiar with you particular motor so the above is in general to a IO marine set up .

i am guessing an over temp sensor is tripping and cutting the spark .

It calls for a 160 thermostat and it just gets close to that temp.u

 

[damian1955]

Is your auto choke opening as it should when the engine warms up? Cold engine needs a rich fuel mixture but once warm that will cause poor running.

Choke works fine

 

[damian1955]

The 2.3 in-line 4 cyl OHC is an adapted Ford engine used extensively in small Fords for many years (Pinto Bobcat Mustang Fairmont even the Ranger pick up). I think OMC equipped them with a Rochester 2bbl & points distributor. I’ll have to look in my manuals to see what else I can find out…
If it’s an 87 should be a Cobra system if the ESA is sticking on it can cause similar symptoms. The buttons on the micro switches wear & stick on.

It's getting too cold to test. I will disconnect the ESA and see what happens. It only does it at about 155 degrees and I smell fuel ?

 

[Lou C]

If you’re smelling fuel the carb might be flooding; the needle valve may not be holding or the float might be adjusted too high or absorbing fuel & not closing off the fuel flow.