I'm the new owner of a 1978 Johnson 6HP Seahorse "Mag-flash" long shaft outboard. It's the kicker for my 25 foot sailboat. The motor was giving some stalling problems. I rebuilt the carburetor, freshened the fuel, re-roped the starter, and today was out testing the motor. It started well, idled well, accelerated well, and I cruised along at various speeds for perhaps 25 minutes. On the way back to the harbor, though, the engine stalled after I intentionally gradually decelerated it to near-idle speed. It started and idled well with just one pull. Again, it reached a point in deceleration under load where it just gave up, and even quickly opening the throttle didn't bring it back. Again, one-pull start to smooth idle. Buzzed back into the harbor at slightly higher speed than I wanted and was able to save the engine from dying under slow load a third time. The engine was allowed to idle in neutral for perhaps 15 minutes and showed no signs of quitting or sputtering.
I'm scratching my head because this behavior generally leaves me losing engine power just as I'm entering the harbor mouth, which is a very poor place to lose steerageway. Why would an engine that starts, runs strongly and continuously, and idles well, lose it while decelerating in the no-wake speed phase?
Compression is equal between the two cylinders. Spark plugs give off a strong blue spark. Reeds appear to be in good shape.
I'm scratching my head because this behavior generally leaves me losing engine power just as I'm entering the harbor mouth, which is a very poor place to lose steerageway. Why would an engine that starts, runs strongly and continuously, and idles well, lose it while decelerating in the no-wake speed phase?
Compression is equal between the two cylinders. Spark plugs give off a strong blue spark. Reeds appear to be in good shape.