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1979 mercruiser 228 dies at high RPMs

ncsalpena

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"I have a 1979 22' SeaRay

"I have a 1979 22' SeaRay with a Chevrolet 305. The engine has about 200 hours on it since a rebuild. The boat has been idle for the past five years so I drained all the old fuel, flushed the tank, had the quadrajet rebuilt, replaced all filters, replaced fuel pump, changed plugs, points, condensor, rotor and dist cap. Timing is set to 8 deg. btdc. It will start and run with no problem but after about ten minutes, it will just die at anything above 1000 rpms. After a cool down break of about 10-15 minutes, it will run fine again for about 10 minutes then I cannot throttle up at all, it will only idle up to 700-1000 RPMs."
 
Check the distributor advance

Check the distributor advance weights for rust and broken springs under the points/condenser plate.
 
"Might be the coil. Having a s

"Might be the coil. Having a similar problem with my old MCM170 and just replaced the coil. So far no repeat of the problem. Keeping fingers crossed. Also check the coil resistor wire, if it has one. I am only getting 5 volts on the coil so will replace the resistor next. Good luck. JW in Dixie"
 
"After checking all of the abo

"After checking all of the above check to see if you get a good steady fuel squirt down the throat of the carby when you give it throttle. Your carb may need rebuilding. After sitting for five years you have a lot of stuff that gets corroded, gummed up, rusted, etc."
 
"Thanks all. I did not know ab

"Thanks all. I did not know about the counter weights under the distributor plate, tore it down and they did seem to be a little tight so I cleaned and lubricated them. I also replaced the coil, it did seem to be getting hotter then it should. As for the carb, I had it completely rebuilt by a professional rebuilder. I will find out tonight when I take it out for another shake down run. Again, thaks all."
 
"With the motor running, check

"With the motor running, check the voltage between the + terminal on the coil and ground.
Check it again after the motor reaches operating temp. If it has a resistor wire it may be geting old and gaining resistance. Good luck. JW in Dixie"
 
"I replaced the coil but still

"I replaced the coil but still having the same problem. With the engine running, I have about 5.7 volts at the + side of the coil. What are tha chances of the shift interrupter switch causing the problem? I am pretty sure I have it adjusted properly. It seems to me that it would not run at all if the switch were bad or grosly out of adjustment. Where does the resistor wire originate? I tried to trace it but it gets lost in the harness that goes down toward the solenoid."
 
"What are tha chances of t

"What are tha chances of the shift interrupter switch causing the problem?" A big "0".

The coil does not have enough voltage; it needs 8 to 9 volts. It is on the + side of the coil. It will feel very hot to touch.
 
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