Honda 50hp 1995 dies when you put in gear

I brought PONTOON with a 1995 Honda 50hp idle with a little miss dies out when put into gear and at time back fires . I am in the process of checking filter , replaced plugs, all plugs are firing , in process of checking timing.Do anyone have other ideas on what I need to check .carbs header has new gaskets I will check sync on them

After you check the timing, do a compression check. Fresh battery, remove all plugs, pull kill switch, throttle wide open, crank engine for over five seconds for each cylinder tested.

The backfiring says this to me:

Yes, check the timing.

A compression test, as chawk_man suggests, is a good idea but I would go ahead and check all valve adjustments first...paying special attention to the intake settings. Then perform the compression test as he describes. If the test comes up "short", then you can eliminate tight valves as a cause and focus on what else might make it fail the test.

Another reason for a backfire is a lean fuel mix condition. The new carburetor gaskets tells me someone else may have had the same idea.

If it seems to run better with a little choke left in it, or it backfires less or not at all, that might indicate she's lean.
Good luck.

chawk_man said:

After you check the timing, do a compression check. Fresh battery, remove all plugs, pull kill switch, throttle wide open, crank engine for over five seconds for each cylinder tested.

Click to expand...

Did pressure check each cycl 120 psi check each one twice . timing was ok both arrow was together on #1 compression stroke going to check carb sync next also notice that fuel was low in fuel

Compression and timing checked out ok 120 psi on compression , will try the chock tomorrow . if I slowly easy the throttle forward or backward it will run ok some times

Compression should be around 200 psi if you had the throttle wide open.

I am with jgmo...pull the choke open a little and see if that improves it. Also, drain one of the carbs into a glass jar. Check for water in the fuel.

You said all cylinders where firing...I assume while engine is idling, you did a cylinder drop test.

Mike

I did the drop test and then open throttle full and did another compression test 150 each cycl. check with Honda dealer and they said the compression should be around 120 for a 195 . then I pull the coke out about 1\4 way and it picked up good . its a inline filter on going t get right filter ad check the carbs

Sounds like you are on the right track.

Just for the record, though....I disagree with the dealer. Specs say minimum 199 at 500 rpm. I have had 45 HP's that are the predecessor to the 50 have 190 to 200 psi. I am not saying I am right and he is wrong....just that I disagree...

Your compression is the same in all cylinders, which is good. The difference could be starting battery; not cranking enough times; not having all spark plugs out; motor not cranking fast enough; low reading gauge......who knows?

I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you go through the carburetors and there is still a problem. The valve clearances could be an issue....but it is very unusual for clearances to be out "exactly" the same in each cylinder.

Let us know the results of your further testing.

The 50 is a strong engine and can put up with a lot of abuse. At least the previous owner did not kill it....so you will eventually get it straightened out. It sounds like you know your way around engines.

Mike

I simply don't understand the "they said the compression should be around 120 for a 195"....makes no sense to me.

But I will say 120 is LOW compression for that engine and 150 is ACCEPTABLE. Other than that I trust Mike's judgement and knowledge on the matter. He know his sxxt.

I don't, however, think that it would be unusual to find tight valves, across the board, on an engine. Theoretically, that's exactly what you want...everything wearing evenly and at the same rate. If they've never been checked or adjusted, then it IS entirely possible that they are uniformly tight. I don't think that is the cause of your issues in this case but making sure your valves are in adjustment might still increase the engine's compression and, as a result, performance.

The fact that it "picked up good" with 1/4 choke means she's running lean and, again, I agree with Mike that you are probably on the right track. If it's not the filter being somewhat plugged then it's likely to either be a weak fuel pump or some dirty carburetors causing the missing and backfiring.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you find.

A inline fuel filter is hooked to pump . when the engine is running the filter is just about empty . pull the line loose at the quick connect and hooked to filter .pump the bulb to fill filter the engine runs better until fuel runs low in filter. can anyone tell me if the pump suppose to pull fuel from the tank or is it gravity flow from the tank ?

The purpose of the fuel pump is to pull it from the tank. If the motor runs good as you squeeze the bulb, you are the fuel pump.

You could have a bad pump, clogged filter, loose hose fittings, bad quick connect, wrong connector coming from the tank, bad pickup in the tank, or poor venting in the tank. There may be more possibilities, but those are the most common.

Your vintage of Honda may still have the engine fuel connector that has two round peg looking things. If so, I have seen many people try to use an Evinrude fitting to plug into it.....it will not fit right. Honda no longer make that fitting and both the fittings on the engine and on the hose need to be changed.

It sounds like you have bypassed all that and connected the fuel hose directly to the filter. If so, try a different tank.

Mike