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Honda BF8D idling issue

N

NHfisherman

New member
To start off I am a newbie when it comes to outboards so please correct me if anything I am saying doesn't sound right.

I recently purchased a boat that came with a 2003 Honda BF8D. It starts right up first or second pull with the choke pulled out, however it stalls out when the choke is pushed in unless I am giving it some throttle. I did some research and this sounds like a common issue with these little outboards. Mostly what I am seeing online is that the carburetor and or the idle jet screw need to be cleaned. I have no experience cleaning carburetors and can't find where this idle jet screw is located.

I attached some images of my motor, if anyone is familiar with this could you help point out where the screw is? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
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The idle screw "location" is in your upper photo. It is the semicircular opening with what looks like a small bolt head protruding from it. I know some of the other models have chrome plated, plastic "anti tamper" covers but I've never seen one that looks like yours. No matter though, if you've been turning that and causing no.change in the way the engine runs, it is a tamper device meant to fool you into THINKING you're making an adjustment. The actual screw head will be underneath the fake one. It's either that or someone has tampered with the screw already.
Look in the link below at item #4 and compare to your photo.

https://www.boats.net/catalog/honda...l-range/8hp/bfp8d3-lha-2003/carburetor-manual

Now.....the not so bad news.....adjusting that screw won't solve your problem. When the carb is clean and functioning properly, the idle mixture screw NEVER needs adjusting.

Your carb needs to be cleaned with particular emphasis on the accelerator pump circuit. That's the passages and parts underneath that little rubber bellows with the chrome pin sticking out of it. See items 21-22 and 23 in the above link.

I'll tell you now that most inexperienced owners can tear these carbs down and clean "at" them 10 or 15 or 20 times and still not have them working properly. The carbs are very serviceable but they can be difficult to get completely clean without some specific insight into how they work.

I always recommend that anyone trying to clean one first get the HONDA MARINE CARBURETION MANUAL so that they have a reasonable chance of accomplishing the task in one try. The manual is about $35 + shipping through Amazon.

If you decide that's not for you, then I say the next least expensive, effective solution would be to buy a new carburetor and gaskets and just bolt it on because finding a tech to do a rebuild for you is really a crapshoot.

THEN....when you have her purring again like she should, DO NOT NEGLECT TO DRAIN THE CARB anytime you won't be using the motor for more than a couple of weeks.

Good luck.
 
jgmo, Thank you so much for the useful information! I will do as you suggested and hopefully tackle this tomorrow.

I will keep you all posted on the results
 
We're here 24/7 and we're interested in what you have going on. Don't hesitate to ask questions if you need to.

Again,
Best of luck.
 
*UPDATE*

I cleaned the carb and did find a small amount of debris in the bowl. The idle screw was in fact a tamper device and didn't change a thing when turned. I wasn't able to remove it to get to the real one underneath. Either way I put it back together and took out on the water for a couple hours and she ran like a champ. No more issues with idling!

Thank you for the help!
 
Ok well, I can't argue with success. Glad you got it working and I hope it stays that way.

Don't forget to drain your carb and store it dry to keep deposits from forming in the bowl.

Cheers to you!
 
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