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Canbt start an Volvo Penta 125A

F

firjang

New member
"Hi everyone:

This is my f

"Hi everyone:

This is my first boat Bayliner Capri with 125A Volvo Penta. The person who sold the boat to me was able to start the engine (by hooking up the water hose) easily on Sep/01 this year. After I brought the boat home after 2 hours on the road. I have no success in starting the boat.

I trun the key, starter turns, the oil gage show 40PSI pressure, and the gas flow but I never get combustion even once.

now the winter is comming in NJ, people told me in order to do winterization perperly I need the engine running so antifreeze can go through system.

My questions are in 2 direction : ( I like to believe the boat is in good condidtion, since it was working before)

1) Any suggestion of trouble shooting this starting problem.

2) if worse case, going into end of October if I cannot get the engine running , how do I do winterizing, any info will be apprecaited? So I can continue next year.

thanks in adavnce.

-Roland"
 
"To check the starting problem

"To check the starting problem, I would first test to see if you are getting spark to the plugs. You can easily do this by taking one of th eplug wires off the plug and grounding it to see if it sparks.

No spark - then I would test to see if coil is good, rotor is ok, cap is good.

Yes spark - check fuel getting to cylinders. Pull plug and see if they are wet - indicates gas is getting there.

Lastly I would then check to see if timimg is off - did timing belt slip or damaged."
 
"thanks Louis:
I have check

"thanks Louis:
I have check the spark with a primitive spark tester from pepboy I saw spark going through. and I pull one of the plug it was wet...

I don't know how to check timing belt. seems like you are talking about doing a tune up ?

to Robert:
when I push the gas handle forward, I saw gas shooting out from a very tiny bent tube into the cabeulator. (I assume this is gas flow no ?)

Thanks everyone, please give me any suggestion you can think of."
 
"spark, air, fuel.... you have

"spark, air, fuel.... you have the 3 necessary products to make it run. It should run.
The spark needs to be strong and the batteries need to be strong to get the engine cranking 250 rpm or faster.

The timing belt is a rubber belt that makes the camshaft and distributor turn. Age can rot them off. If you have spark at the plugs, you know yours hasn't rotted off."
 
"Thanks Hy_stat:

when you s

"Thanks Hy_stat:

when you speak about 250 rpm , that bring up a point , it dose sounds like dranging when I turn the key.

I have measure my battery with a voltage meter its is ~12.5 Volt. I use the 6amp charger even after hours (5-6 hours) of charging, it was still charging at ~1.5-2 amp current, I have never able to bring the current down to 0 amp. Dose this sounds normal ? Or my charger (regular car charger) is not suitable for deep cycle battery ?

I assume the amp go to close to 0 when battery is fully charged?"
 
These engines can be tricky to

These engines can be tricky to start cold. You may have flooded it. Try push the throttle all the way forward.
 
"Hi Hy_stat:

I have just ch

"Hi Hy_stat:

I have just checked, when I turn the key the best the start can run is about 150rpm not more than that, do you think this is a battery problem ? the battery is at 12.5V. but I was never able to charge it to bring down to below 1amp.

to David:
I have tried pushing all the way, or use the starter spray fulid, did not have success.

Thanks everyone for your support, I will try everything I can, please don't hestitate to give suggestion."
 
"You can try to parallel anoth

"You can try to parallel another battery and see if the RPM increse during start-up. Also, make sure there is a good ground between the engine block and the (-) of the battery. Another trick you can try is to temporarily hotwire the + of the battery with the + of the battery, then remove the jumper when the engine starts.

You may also want to check that the timing belt is actually in place and moving.

If you intend to do your own repairs to your boat (a wise approach IMO), then consider investing a few bucks in the Seloc and/or Clymer repair manuals. You'll be glad you did."
 
"The real test for the battery

"The real test for the battery is to measure the voltage AT THE BATTERY TERMINALS while the engine is being cranked. Anything under 10 volts indicates a weak battey. The other place you need to measure the battery voltage assuming that the voltage at the battery is OK is at the starter itself. If that is low, then you may have a crappy connection somewhere, most likely at the battery islef. Buy youself a battery post cleaning tool. Cheap and often handy.

Measuring thebatteryvoltage at other than cranking times is of limited use. I've seen batteries that read 12 volts no load and went to 6 when you tried to crank the engine.

A "Deep Cycle Battery??" Marine batteries come in three "flavors"...Starting, deep cycle and combination (starting/deep)

Deep cycle batteries should be not be used as the only battery on a power boat. They are usually used as auxiliary batteries to power electronics or on sailboats.

See: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/boat_battery_basics.htm"
 
"Hi Robert:

I have measured

"Hi Robert:

I have measured the battery ,
it was ~11 volt when cranking,
and 12.5-13 volt when not running.

Is there a way to make sure air and gas is making a mixture for combustion? is there a way to make more air go into the gas and mixing perperly? I remember when I had and oldsmobile many years ago, I can use a clamp to open the air valve on the caburater and the car will start easily even in cold winter. but this VOLVE Penta engine dosen't seems to have this same valve , if I look down into the cabureator it is just a straight tube and the buttom seem like a solid plate do not have flipiable valve mechanism to open.


also when I pull the spark plug earlier, it was wet but the yellowish wet not clear wet, is this normal?"
 
"If the engine ran recently, I

"If the engine ran recently, I would expect the problem to be a simple one. Since you are getting spark and fuel. And since the timming belt is OK, then I would put in new points, rotor and condenser and set the timing."
 
cleaning the points with a pei

cleaning the points with a peice of folded over fine sandpaper sometimes gets that fine white corrosion dust off the contacts.

While you have the cap off the distributor- crank the engine and watch the rotor go around to make sure it is in fact turning and the timing belt isnt jumping

I dunno what a pepboys spark tester is but I'd toss it and just watch it jump to ground to see how blue and bright it is. If its a yellow weak spark that's the issue
 
"Thanks Hy_stat:

The pepboy

"Thanks Hy_stat:

The pepboy spark tester has 2 pointy screws can adjust distnace, I adjust them about 1/4 apart. and plug inline with the circuit.

I have tested the spark it was yellowish and redish not very strong. only one of the cylynder comes with blueish light. What dose it means, and how do I proceed from this clue."
 
"If you think you are getting

"If you think you are getting a weak spark, then I would suspect the coil. Not sure on how to test - maybe some one out there has a method."
 
"Thanks Louis and Hy_stat:

"Thanks Louis and Hy_stat:

I am not very mechanical :) , so I am going to go out on a limp here....

Is it expensive to replace a coil ? Can it be done by myself ? or there is a way to repair/adjust the coil ?"
 
One other suggestion before yo

One other suggestion before you spend $$$$ for a new coil. Check the condition of the wires. Are they cracked or dry which may lead to leakage and a weak spark.
 
"If one of the cylinders shows

"If one of the cylinders shows a decent spark, then its probably not the coil.... Check (replace!) wires, dist cap and rotor..."
 
"Sounds as if you have a weak

"Sounds as if you have a weak spark.....Try a pertronix ignition kit with a new coil, and it should start. OH!!!! Change the plugs! you have probably fouled them out with all that gas!"
 
"Thanks everyone:

To update

"Thanks everyone:

To update my story. I have did all the simple test and spark seem weak. Since its getting colder. I finally gave in and dragged the boat to a mechanics. They suggested a tune up then do timing belt replacement. To my supprise the price tag is high. This year the work is tough I try to tie down the budget, a repair like that post a big pain.

The wether in NJ is going below 29F next week. I am trying to expore more optionss to keep the boat safe:

1. will this temperature will freeze up and damage my engine (fresh water inside).
2. is there easy way to winterize the engine without running the engine (some cheaper temporary solution for this winter).
3. what is a reasonable price for (a) tune up (b) timing belt change."
 
"As long as there is antifreez

"As long as there is antifreeze in the engine you can winterize without starting it. The manual tells you how to drain the water. changing the timing belt is not difficult, I have done it on my boat and I have no training, just follow the manual, same with a tune-up. It is a good idea to learn how to change the timing belt since you will change it more than you think."
 
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