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E30ELCDM is missing badly

B

ba_50

Regular Contributor
What electrical problem would cause the motor to run eratically after say a 15 minute warmup? It will be running along and than speed up quite a bit by itself. Or start missing either after getting up on plane or acts up while idling and sometimes quit. I tried two other used plugs with the same results. Power pack or wire grounding out? Thanks.
 
Use a timing light to determine which cylinder is acting up.------Will also help determine if it is fuel or spark related.--------Waterpump has been maintained ?
 
The timing hasn't changed so I doubt if that's it. I checked the fuel pump, cleaned the carb, new fuel lines, fuel/water separator. I can check the spark jump but I don't have a timing light. The connector plug looks good. I've got a couple of used coils I can stick on, but I might try to locate which one is missing tonight. Plug wires look ok. Is .40" spark plug gap correct?
 
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Timing on an outboard generally does not go out of adjustment !!--------BUT you can use a timing light as a " poor man's scope "-----when the light does not give you a steady flash then you have ignition trouble.----------Trouble shooting is the best path towards affordable repairs !
 
Most of the motors I've set gaps for were .30", but I didn't know about this one. A lot of info pointed to .40. It took awhile but a list of gaps was found and saved to my boat repair file. It is .30". That solved most of the problem but it gagged some at around full throttle. I will double check the throttle plate to make sure it isn't going to far tomorrow.

I knew the wrong gap would make them run rough, but .10" off really throws them off!
 
Chris,

This one doesn't have a separate oil pump which is what I think the VRO is. It is the larger fuel pump, not the little square one. It might not be the exact one on the parts list, but I think it should be ok. It may have come off a 35hp and one might be a little smaller than the other.
 
I have to mix the fuel and oil. The throttle plate was opening too much which probably accounts for the gag at full throttle.
 
Throttle link ( part # 82 ) is often adjusted because when it is correct , it appears to be " wrong " to the untrained eye.----------If this linkage opens throttle too early you will have idle / acceleration problems.
 
I took the boat out last night and noticed that when close to idling, and the thottle was advanced, it jumped in rpms rather abruptly, like the trottle plate might be sticking. Otherwise I went a mile to get out of the no wake zone, than ran up the power for 3/4 mile. Seemed ok till the throttle was brought back to idle and it would barely run or quit.

This morning I tried to put a wire on the carb roll pin but it wouldn't stick so I just eyeballed it. When the throttle plate started to open it was at the two marks. I'm not sure what the WOT stop is. If the remote cable isn't attached and moved by hand, the plate went just so far and could be forced to go further which is what the remote lever did.

But that still doesn't account for the idle problem.

I put a spark tester on both plug wires and both had a spark.
 
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Drop past the idle setting? If that means the roller started out before the two marks, yes it does.

I don't have a compression gauge and none of my neighbors do either.

Not sure where high idle is and I don't have an RPM gauge. The timing was ok before this happened and it wasn't changed.
 
Yes it idles. When first started it seems normal but not quite like a '79 Johnson 35. After going at high speed and backing off it makes me wonder if I will get back or not. It only quit 4-5 times the last two times out.
 
I put the thermostat in boiling water and it functions ok. The back was pretty clean.

A neighbor asked about a compression tester but his boss didn't have one.
 
Well as it turns out, it doesn't appear to be a motor problem after all. The compression was #90 on each cylinder. I switched fuel pumps which didn't help. My neighbor told me that if ethanol is left in the lines, it will soften them and at higher power settings will suck the hose closed or partially closed. I have been keeping two separate fuel lines in the boat because one is hooked up to a water/gas separator canister and would sometimes quit working. The other one had an inline filter.

I bought 5' of new fuel line and as I already said replaced all the lines on the motor. The bulb on the canister line had a slight leak so it was taken off. One Omc clip at the motor was leaking a little so I got rid of it. These clips go bad all the time. Anyone have an answer for that one? Anyhow, the new system had a new line to the tank, and then directly to the motor. At full power and idle it ran fine.

I then hooked the new line to the metal canister from the tank. It quit after a few minutes. The line from the canister to the motor was open but when replaced, the motor ran fine. I think the problem is solved. The line between the canister and the motor was two years old and maybe older.

A fuel additive was used but not all the time and maybe only for the last year or so, and not all the time.

The solution is to drain all lines after using and use a fuel additive.

I learned a lot about this motor which was new to me, and ethanol.
 
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