Tohatsu on fire!!

[Andreas20]

My tohatsu m18c2 had a carb problem with the engine not being able to idle while choke is pushed in or else it would die, I recently cleaned the carb with a carb cleaner spray, and after putting the carb back I waited for 2 hours for the carb to dry and then started it up and it caught on fire. I've started it up multiple times and the choke problem seems to have been fixed but after about 10-20 sec's it catches fire, I've been able to put out the fire every time with minor burning damage one some of the cables.

The engine is an 18hp 2 stroke motor from 1992, it has been done maintenance every year.
Any suggestions/ideas will be appreciated.

 

[racerone]

Find the bare wire that is causing a spark.-----Repair the fuel leakage.

 

[909]

I recently had a bad ground on the CDI causing a spark.

You could hear the spark jumping to ground , and see it

Clean the block, bolt, washer, and lead end with a wire brush.

 

[Andreas20]

Find the bare wire that is causing a spark.-----Repair the fuel leakage.

couldn't find a wire that was causing any spark, do you have any idea where that could be, the motor has manual start so the only eletrical things in the motor is where you hook up a light. Could the fuel leakage be a gasket in the carb that was broken under cleaning?

 

[Andreas20]

I recently had a bad ground on the CDI causing a spark.

You could hear the spark jumping to ground , and see it

Clean the block, bolt, washer, and lead end with a wire brush.

What exactly is a CDI? I'm somewhat new to this.

 

[909]

Capacitor Discharge Ignition (chocolate bar looking black thing on your outboard )

 

[Andreas20]

this is a video of the motor about 5-10 seconds before it bursted out in flames

 

[racerone]

I think you need more water in your test bucket.-----And run it at night to look for a spark.

 

[Andreas20]

I think you need more water in your test bucket.-----And run it at night to look for a spark.

That test bucket is the same I've been using for the last 30 years, and is it normal for a motor to take fire when its on its lowest-- I'm not sure I want to start the motor again in case it explodes.

 

[racerone]

Water in a test bucket must be 6" above the impeller.----Posting another picture showing water level will help.-----Just trying to help you .----But now I suggest an appointment at your nearest boat shop !!

 

[Andreas20]

one of the times it was on fire, it was down with the stem on the egine in the picture

 

[Andreas20]

Water in a test bucket must be 6" above the impeller.----Posting another picture showing water level will help.-----Just trying to help you .----But now I suggest an appointment at your nearest boat shop !!

The water was a little above the metal plate in the picture, and the water intake is the filter looking thing under the plate.

 

[racerone]

Some will argue.-----Water in a test bucket must be 6" above the impeller.----Many will agree on that simple fact !!!

 

[Andreas20]

Some will argue.-----Water in a test bucket must be 6" above the impeller.----Many will agree on that simple fact !!!

I've always done it this way in the last 30 years, but do you have any suggestions on what I can try next to fix the problem?

 

[racerone]

Visit your local friendly outboard repair / Tohatsu dealer.

 

[Andreas20]

Visit your local friendly outboard repair / Tohatsu dealer.

Probably too expensive, posted here to find a cheaper fix, I can rather leave it in the garage, but thanks for your help.