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Tracker 70 Novice needs to know where to start

J

jmccorison

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"I have been given a "free

"I have been given a "free" 1990 Evinrude Tracker 70. The previous owner stated that it ran fine when he took it off his boat. Unfortunately, it appears to have been taken off the boat with a set of cable cutters. All lines, cable, wires, etc. were simply cut an inch or two from the outside of the case. I have nothing except the engine and will ultimately have to replace everything ancillary to the engine. The engine is presently mounted on a stand so I can work on it. I can turn the engine over by the fly wheel and nothing sounds fugly. I have ordered a full set of manuals from marineengine.com.

I am a complete novice when it comes to outboards, especially two stroke outboards. I have always done my own wrenching on cars and am reasonably adept mechanically. I am a marine electrician by profession and therefore not afraid to charge into the electrical systems.

I am seeking advice on the best place to start, or troubleshooting sequence on the engine. I'm not seeking step-by-step instructions. Instead, I'm more looking for guidance on the best sequence of steps to take. For example, can I get the engine to turn over, or even try to run it, without the electrical harness that would go to the switches and gauge package? Do I need throttle/shift controls and cables initially, or can I wait until it is ready to go in the boat?

Any thoughts and/or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Jim
Orcas Island, WA"
 
"I guess I will chime in here.

"I guess I will chime in here...
I have been running my engines on a stand for a while, and here is what I do.

1. Fuel. Get a tank and mix your gas 50:1. Connect to VRO2 fuel pump thru standard primer bulb.
I would remove the oil supply line, and cap off tightly (no air leaks), and then disconnect the three wire VRO2 electrical connector. Once you have the engine running right, you can reconnect all these systems, and debug them one at a time.

DO NOT FORGET TO PRE_MIX YOUR FUEL!!!!

2. Electrical. Disconnect the big red plug electrical connector, and remove the cut end from engine cowl through the grommet. I would save that, because you can actually wire in an ignition switch and use it to start the motor while working on it instead of having to go up to the helm whenever you want to start it.
Because you have disconnected the electricals, you will not have an "engine kill" circuit. The engine will run at this point!!! Be careful.
The engine kill circuit is typically a black/yellow stripe wire. If you get it started, be prepared to shut it down by choking it out with rags over the carbs, or rig up a way to ground that black/yellow stripe wire. You will see it if you carefully examine the wires going into the engine harness side of the big red plug.
Connect new battery cables...being VERY careful not to reverse the polarity...as it will instantly kill your rectifier/regulator. I used to use jumper cables to the batt...no good. It is a much more reliable method to go ahead and permanently wire up the batt cables.
Now for starting...there is a yellow/red wire going to a small terminal on your starter solenoid. If you jump +12v to that terminal, the solenoid will engage and the starter will turn.
Careful, it may start. I use a remote starter switch from Sears.

3. Cooling. Small motor, so get a suitable barrel or large bucket to use to run the motor in.
Keep the hose running into the barrel, supplying cool water, because the engine can heat the water up. Obviously, make sure the water is deep enough to at least cover the L/U as if it were in the lake/river/ocean in use. I have way too much trouble with proper cooling as well as providing back pressure to the engine IF I USE MUFFS. I do not use them anymore.

4. Linkages. You can disconnect the shift and throttle cables at the linkages, and since they are cut, just discard. I would rig up some sort of throttle return spring so that it doesn't float around while you are trying to work on the engine.

So, everything hooked up, battery, pre-mixed fuel, foot in a cooling tub; pump the fuel primer bulb til tight, turn the electrical primer red lever manually (run position is with the red lever parallel with the body of the solenoid), pump the primer bulb one additional time, put red lever on solenoid back to run position, jump +12v to yel/red solenoid connector, and watch out!!!
If it starts, be ready to choke it down when you want. Watch for the pee-er to shoot water.

There are many posts on here about no spark debugging, cooling problems, cleaning carbs, but this should get you going down the debug path.
Factory service manual...it is invaluable."
 
"Doug,

That was [b]exactly[

"Doug,

That was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your time in writing it up.

An email from marineengines.com tells me that my new factory owner's, service and parts manuals are presently winging their way to my door. I'll start with some of the prep work now, but wait for the manuals to arrive before trying to get the engine lit. There are some terms and systems which I want to understand first. I'll post back later on my progress.

Jim"
 
"Good luck with it.
Hey, that

"Good luck with it.
Hey, that cut electrical harness...re-thinking this...I would start there. Buy an ignition switch and wire it directly into the cut end. That will give you your starter circuit and your kill circuit and your electrical primer solenoid circuit. No need for choking it out to stop, or external jumpers, etc.

It is not a very hard wiring job...5 wires will get you going...some ring terminals and a crimper...much easier. I think I will build such a rig...

We can help with the wiring connections...very easy."
 
"Doug, Thanks for the referen

"Doug, Thanks for the references. Good sources. I'd come across Continuouswave.com before but hadn't thought about them for this purpose. Should have though. The interesting thing is that this engine is going on my "free" Whaler Montauk 17 so the references are especially valuable. (Note, the whaler is in worse shape than the engine. But hey, it'll keep me out of the bars at night.)

Doug, I like the idea of using the cut-off pigtail for a plug in test switch arrangement. No problem with the wiring, marine wiring is what I do for a living. Got supplies till the work van's springs are about to bust. Thanks also for the link to the control box. I'm also watching an auction for a tilt/trim assembly which is missing from my engine. It was originally there, but no longer.

Jim"
 
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