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1985 454 crusader will not restart after engine warms up

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williampatejr

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Looking for help with a 1985 454 please.. The engine will start fine, it will idle for a short while 5 or 10 minutes then just die.. it is almost like it floods out because sometimes you can manually close the choke and it will refire. I have done everything I know to do including having the fuel polished, replacing the carb with a brand new edlebrock, all new ignition parts, plug wires, plugs, fuel filter. The engine is in a 1986 32' Wellcraft Sport bridge and I have not had this issue with the other motor. I can take the boat out and somedays it will run for an hour before this condition starts. Any Ideas?? Thanks.
 
Check the main fuse or disconect, seen this on 87 270 crusader. The fuse block was cracked and as the connection got worse the motor ran worse or quit.
 
44' gibson said:
Check the main fuse or disconect, seen this on 87 270 crusader. The fuse block was cracked and as the connection got worse the motor ran worse or quit.
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Wellcraft made a plug back in the day that enabled them to just drop these motors into the boat and plug into the crusader engine..I have cut those out and heat shrunk the connections..is this the disconnect you are referring to..? Thanks.
 
I replaced the coil less than a year ago but maybe I should swap the coils on the engines just to see if the problem remains??? Thanks for the idea.. Will get back with you on that one.
 
I would start with the coil. Also, do you still have the ballast resistors? I have also seen those work until they get hot and then stop supplying volts to the distributor.

I have seen Silverton’s with the plug for the main harness that would allow them to drop in motors and hook up to Crusaders too. My buddy was having your problem and found the plug connection was corroded and would not let the boat run all the time. He cut out the original plug and just made jumper wires and solved the problem.
 
williampatejr said:
.. it is almost like it floods out because sometimes you can manually close the choke and it will refire....
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If it is flooding, closing the choke should make it worse...I'd suggest some more troubleshooting to see if the issue is lack of spark or loss of fuel. Since you haven't mentioned a heavy fuel odor in the exhaust, I'd lean towards an ignition issue...a clip on timing light is a useful tool to give you a real time indication of the ignition's function...
 
One other thing to check, I had the exact same issue. The anti-siphon valve on the gas tank. You mentioned having the fuel polished so I assume you've had some fuel issue before. Mine was sporadically clogging and would cause the engine to sputter and die. Easy and cheap fix... free if you just clean it.

Mine was worse in heavy seas as everything got kicked up in the tank.
 
A slightly but not completely off-topic question. Would the flashing of an inductive timing light with the sensor over each spark plug wire, one at a time of course, indicate whether or not the associated plug was firing?

Erich
 
erich said:
A slightly but not completely off-topic question. Would the flashing of an inductive timing light with the sensor over each spark plug wire, one at a time of course, indicate whether or not the associated plug was firing?

Erich
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I think old school we just plugged the spark plug wire into the spark plug while outside of the cylinder and turned the motor over with the plug close to the head to determine if we had spark..that is how I determined spark at each plug anyway..
 
That's the idea...much faster than doing it the old fashioned way...still need to be careful with the cables with the engine running...
 
Chris.. I am at my whits end... No points .. Converted to electronic ignition.. Put a new coil on today still the same result...engine fires runs for a few minutes then just dies...will restart but I have to grind the starter for several minutes.
 
bobct said:
One other thing to check, I had the exact same issue. The anti-siphon valve on the gas tank. You mentioned having the fuel polished so I assume you've had some fuel issue before. Mine was sporadically clogging and would cause the engine to sputter and die. Easy and cheap fix... free if you just clean it.

Mine was worse in heavy seas as everything got kicked up in the tank.
Click to expand...
Could you please explain the anti siphon for me??? Do you mean the vent that lets air into the fuel tank when you are refueling ?? Thanks
 
Well, get a can of starting fluid and see if you can get it to fire right away. If it fires right up, you have a fuel issue, if it does not, you have an ignition issue.

The Anti Siphon valve should be the nipple on the fuel tank where the fuel line attaches. There is a check ball inside the nipple. It stops fuel flow in case of a leak before the fuel on the suction side.
 
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There should also be a vent from the tank that goes overboard, that allows air into the tank when the engine is sucking out the fuel. Mine are very small and have screens on them and have been known to get plugged with spider and bug $hit.

View attachment ScreenShot001.bmp Small photo of one of the vents
 
A quick and easy test for a clogged vent line is to remove the fill cap which will let in plenty of air. Just don't do it when it is raining and don't forget to put it back on when finished.
 
Hi,
It was not mentioned as to which electronic ignition sys. the motors were converted to. I have dealt with a similar scenario twice before on engines equipped with early Mallory electronic ignitions. In my case the motors had a very weak spark. The problem was the original ignition coil. I tried several replacement coils and the motor would not even start. This system requires an ignition coil with a very low primary resistance. If you have a twin engine boat try swapping out coils,or at he very least measure the coils primary resistance which is low approx 1.0 ohm and spark output with a tester, it should generate 40k volts.I ordered a coil from Crusader based on the engine number and the resistance was to high and as result the motor would not start. Pertronix and MSD make a low resistance coil which will work. Also low oil pressure when hot can kill the power to the electric fuel pump if so equipped.This can make starting difficult. See to it that you have battery voltage at the positive side of the coil after it stalls with the ignition switch left as it is in the run position. I have ign.switches fail once they warm up also but it is rare. I hope this helps.


Good Luck,
Jon Allen
 
The anti-siphon valve is essentially a check valve that looks like the fuel nipple on the tank outlet. They can get jammed and restrict flow. Cheap and easy fix. If they clog, you end up getting vapor lock which sounds something like what you are experiencing.
 
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