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1995 OMC Engine Stalling at idle

D

Dave Boutross

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"Hello, I have a 1995 Four Win

"Hello, I have a 1995 Four Winns 200 Horizon, with a 5.0 liter ford engine. It has a 2 barrel carb on it. Full annual maintance has always been done by my marina. Boat has always ran great, until this year. Beginning this year, the boat has a stalling problem. This will usually happen when the boat is in idle, & usually when warming it up from the initial start of the day. Earlier in the season, it would happen once every few times I used the boat. Now happening 3-5 times in the first 20 minutes of the first start of the day, everyday. When it stalls, it is a clean cut out. My marine believes it to be an electrical issue. They have completed the following work on this problem: cleaned the carb & flame arrestor, changed (again) the fuel water seperator, checked the fuel filter in the carb, replaced the ignition switch, replaced the coil, replaced the spark plug wires.

Any suggestions for where they should look next?"
 
"Fuel, fire, and Air are what

"Fuel, fire, and Air are what make an engine run. Sounds like you're problem is in the fuel area. Does it have a fuel pump?"
 
"After stalling, 9 times out o

"After stalling, 9 times out of 10 it will start right back up no problem. 1 out of 10 times it has trouble on the 1st try. If I wait 10 or 15 seconds, it will then start right up.

The boat does have a fuel pump. It has never been replaced. Original equiptment from 1995. Maybe this should be replaced just on principal. In looking at the maintenance manual, it says that there is a transparent orange overflow hose connected between the carb & fuel pump vent. It says that under normal operation, this should contain no fuel. If fuel is visable, it means the diaphram in the fuel pump is failing. I need to check the overflow hose. I think I recall seeing liquid in it.

However, after the first 20 minutes of stalling, the boat will then run great. Do you think it could still be the fuel pump?

I will also check if the 12v is at the positive side of the coil.

Thanks Bob & Oilslik!"
 
"I wouldn't go changing a

"I wouldn't go changing a fuel pump just on spec, I'm still running original pumps in my 89 460's. Check that hose though, should never have any fuel in it, if it does that means the pumps diaphram has ruptured and that gas is going into the intake (rather than the bilge). I wouldn't expect this to be causing your problem though you never know."
 
"I checked 2 items tonight, &a

"I checked 2 items tonight, & both checked out ok. First the transparent orange overflow hose connected between the carb & fuel pump vent. There was no liquid in this hose. As a result, is it fair to say that the fuel pump is ok?

Second, I checked the wiring on the coil. The purple ignition wire was connected to the positive spot on the coil. So this checked out ok.

What would be the next item(s) to check?

Thanks so much!"
 
"On the wiring diagram it show

"On the wiring diagram it shows a big round connector where most of the wires go to, this connector is mounted on top around the rear of the engine. I would take that apart, inspect for any corrosion and then make sure the clamp on it is done up very tight."
 
"I didnt suggest you change th

"I didnt suggest you change the pump. I merely asked if it had one? Yes. Well what you could do is get one of those clear fuel filters at autozone and fit it somewhere between the fuel pump and the carb and see visually if the fuel is flowing when it cuts out. Now dont go cutting up you're permenant fuel rail. Figure a temp splice. I put one after my pump so I can see the fuel. I know fuel is going to the rail, I can see it. By the way I have an electric pump. I replaced it and no more problem."
 
"Thanks Oilslik, I know you d

"Thanks Oilslik, I know you didn't suggest changing the pump...that was all me. I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing what you suggested (my skill level isn't that great for this type of work)...so I will have to see.

Another question, I was speaking with a boat mechanic (not local to me) & he suggested that the ignition circuit breaker could be bad. He said that it is a small 15 amp circuit breaker near the ignition switch. Could this be the problem? Can anyone help me with the exact location of this, & how to change it? Is there a wiring diagram available for the ignition?

THANKS!!!"
 
"Bob, thanks for the wiring d

"Bob, thanks for the wiring diagram. I checked last night, & it looks like I have a curcit breaker, as I have a 'reset' buttom directly next to the ignition key. I have never had to push this, but I don't think this is/was my problem. Here is why. When I had the coil replaced last week, I got the part thru a Four Winns dealer (not local, so it was by mail). This coil, as the original coil on my boat, said on it "Use with External Resistor". I also wanted to change the resistor, just in case that was the problem, but the Four Winns dealer told me that the resistor was "in line", so it could not be replaced. As a result, I gave my marina the new coil that requires the external resistor. My marina installed this last week, & the stalling continued. Yesterday, my marina replaced the new coil with another new coil that does not need an external resistor. I'd imagine the resistor is internal to the coil. When I ran the boat last night, NO STALLING! It seemed good. Now I'm not ready to do my touchdown dance yet, as I want to run it a few more times first, but I think the problem was solved. Does it make sense to you that it could have been the 'in line' resistor that went bad, & by replacing the coil that has an internal resistor, & leaving the 'in line' resistor alone in place, whereever it is, solved the problem? Do you (or anyone else) see any issues with this set up?

THANKS SO MUCH"
 
"I believe the resistor wire o

"I believe the resistor wire on yours is a purple/red wire jumper on the back of the atlternator, take a look at the engine wiring diagram above and then at your actual unit. If the resistor wire went bad you would never run after starting as there would be no power to the coil. By putting in a coil with internal resistance plus the external wire, the coil would probably run cooler but I would think you would get less power therefore weaker spark from the coil."
 
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