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Intermittent jerking and stalling

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fnveenie

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I've got a 1989 Evinrude VRO that's had ongoing issues with sudden, erratic bumping/jerking while under load. It feels as though the engine has shut off for a split second, then re-engages. It can be quite jarring, as it is unpredictable, aside from it only happening while on the water. It almost feels as though I hit something. Never happens at idle, although it started off only happening at wide open throttle. Now, it happens at various speeds.

Sometimes it will happen a couple times and not do it again the rest of the day. Some days it doesn't happen at all. Others, the engine will suddenly shut off while driving and not restart. It still cranks, though. What's strange is it will fire up again on muffs pretty much as soon as it gets home.

Yesterday, it shut off and left me stranded. I tried to restart it, and it suddenly stopped cranking. It would only click once. I get it home, and realize that the starter motor has jammed the flywheel (This is the first time this has happened). I unjammed it, and it immediately started up. I took it out on the water again, and it worked fine, although I didn't really push its limits.
I've cleaned the carburators, replaced the fuel filter, bulb and the spark plugs. I checked the carb bowls for water and there was none. I also replaced the fuel pump, as it was bad. I didn't think this was a fuel issue, but I hoped that would solve it.
Seems like it could be any number of things, but I'm stumped.
 
What power ?----Model # ?----Drain the gear oil and look for metal bits.-----If oil is OK then run with a timing light one cylinder at a lime.-----Observe the flashing light.----No light means no spark.
 
racerone said:
What power ?----Model # ?----Drain the gear oil and look for metal bits.-----If oil is OK then run with a timing light one cylinder at a lime.-----Observe the flashing light.----No light means no spark.
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It's a 60 HP model E60TLCEA. I changed the gear oil before I put it away for the winter and it was fine. This issue ended my season last year. I'll have to get a timing light. I'm pretty new to all this.
 
A classic description of a motor that is coming out of gear, rotating 1/2 revolution, and slamming back into gear.....violently
 
fdrgator said:
A classic description of a motor that is coming out of gear, rotating 1/2 revolution, and slamming back into gear.....violently
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I'm not sure if it's the motor slamming or just the jump you feel from the water resistance due to the sudden cease of propulsion. Would that cause the starting issue afterwards? So strange because like I said, if it stalls, it won't start up on the water but will as soon as I get it home. Saturday I had a friend I was with tow me back, I loaded up, brought it home and got it to start again. I took it out for a test an hour later and no issues.
 
When was the water pump serviced last ?----Have you tested the overheat horn ?-----Not sure if that 89 model had the S.L.O.W. function.-----That limits RPM in an overheat situation.
 
racerone said:
You did nothing during the off season ?-----Your location ?
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Everything I listed, I did in February and March. I had some health issues in the fall shortly after these problems arose, and the winters here in Ontario are cold. I have nowhere indoors/heated to work on it. I identified the fuel pump problem in March but didn't think that was the cause of this. So I sent it off to someone to look it over. He told me he'd check everything else, but I think he just assumed it was the fuel pump and replaced that. I had no issues the first couple times I took it out since the pump replacement, but it got progressively worse from there.
 
racerone said:
When was the water pump serviced last ?----Have you tested the overheat horn ?-----Not sure if that 89 model had the S.L.O.W. function.-----That limits RPM in an overheat situation.
Click to expand...
I bought the motor about 18 months ago. Not sure when the pump was serviced last. Seems to be pumping water okay, but now that I know the problem isn't resolved, I'm going to open it up and have a look at it. It hasn't shown any signs of overheating though.
 
racerone said:
Where in Ontario ?
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Kingston area
racerone said:
When was the water pump serviced last ?----Have you tested the overheat horn ?-----Not sure if that 89 model had the S.L.O.W. function.-----That limits RPM in an overheat situation.
Click to expand...
But, it's not a loss of engine power or RPM. Feels like I shut off the key while moving. Sometimes it's a split second and it re-engages, but others it shuts right off and won't start again. It will crank, but won't run.
 
Ended up picking up a in-line ignition tester instead. Cylinder 1 spark was significantly weaker than the others. Could not consistently jump a gap of 7/16 inch. I switched the wires around and no change. Switched coils 1 and 2, and the issue followed coil 1 to cylinder 2. Going to order three new coils and replace all of them just to be safe. Hopefully that's all it was.
 
Just a quick update. I replaced all coils and spark plug wires. Spark was good. I also opened up the control box to check the lanyard kill switch. One of the kill switch wires was damaged and wire was exposed. This is exactly the kind of l thing I've thought might be causing this, just because of how unpredictable and sudden the engine shut off is.

Took it out today and let her rip at WOT for a good 5 km and no issues.

Thanks to everyone who replied. I appreciate your input.
 
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