Need some input on Evinrude Problem

[sir-vivor]

Well was all geared u to get the Sir-Vivor back on the water after a 5 month storage.I had used defogger , topped up the fuel tank and added fuel stabalized .... so should be good to go in spring when it arrives , hmmmmmmmm ????

I went dowt to the local ramp , put the boat in the water , put the Evinrude 200HP (1997-8) Ocean Pro , 6 cyl (2 stroke) into the water and turned the key ..... lots of spitting, starting and stopping and finally turns over but runs really crappy. So I thought thats ok its just the engine running the defogger and crap out .... well heres what happenes after two days of use (never had any problems last season);

- Start well and to 3500 RPMs runs fine , gets out of the hole and alls good
, but
- When I take it to 4000 RPMs (30 MPH) it begins to serge and drop to 3500,
then back to 4000 RPMs and that continues (without me touching the stick)
- At just over 4000 PRMs + it holds its RPMs and speed is good (I didnt keep it
at this range long, only 10 secs or so, dont want to blow it).

All that I did to the Engine over the winter was replaced one spark plug and put a new Racor on.

I'm thinking I might put the old plug back in and run it and see what happens (if I can find the old one) or maybe replace the plug I put in with another new one and see how it goes.

I used up 55 lts of fuel past 2 days and replaced it so maybe the new fuel will help.

So, I am thinking its the ; Spark plug , Old fuel, defogger or ???

Any suggestions ????

Clint

 

[kanuckle head]

Sounds like a carb problem, seems to starve fuel @ higher rpms maybe the float bowl is stuck @ half level

Besta luck
Kh

 

[profisher]

Why are you considering replacing the new plug? How about replacing the other 5 used ones!!! Start there...you have to determine if it is a electrical fault or fuel. My guess would be a bad coil. But pretty hard to diagnose such a vague problem without hearing it in person. Start with simple things...don't worry about blowing it up unless your hearing knocking sounds. Check the old plugs for any sign of steaming (very clean or new looking) that indicates a possible head gasket leak....did you overheat it at all last season? Just things to look for.

 

[Hindsight]

Agree replace all the plugs just not one, it will be a fuel problem just went thru the same thing look for a blocked fuel line

 

[sir-vivor]

Why are you considering replacing the new plug? How about replacing the other 5 used ones!!! Start there...you have to determine if it is a electrical fault or fuel. My guess would be a bad coil. But pretty hard to diagnose such a vague problem without hearing it in person. Start with simple things...don't worry about blowing it up unless your hearing knocking sounds. Check the old plugs for any sign of steaming (very clean or new looking) that indicates a possible head gasket leak....did you overheat it at all last season? Just things to look for.

Hi PF,
Nop never overheaded or had a problem before , its ran great (it was rebuilt last Feb 2010).
I will check the other 5 plugs like you suggest, tks !
Would it be possible to have a head gasket leak, when it only has surges between 3500-4000 RPMs and nowhere else. (including starting). If I keep it just below the 3500 , like I said if I keep at 3400 it runs great (30 MPH) or 4200 + it runs great.
I did notice that when I brought it home and started it in the driveway , while on the muffs it puffed out a few smoke rings after idealing for about 5 min and then after that it continued to idealed fine (sounded like slight misses).

Clint
PS ; Thanks for your help and response with this

 

[sir-vivor]

Agree replace all the plugs just not one, it will be a fuel problem just went thru the same thing look for a blocked fuel line

Hi Hourston,

Thanks for imput, that reminds me I did replace the inline fuel filter , along with putting in a new racor (and teed the racor to kicker) , might have to look at that too.
I notinced on my engine there is a little red lever above the inline filter and I had it turned up and the engine was stalling out, I turned it down and the engine started ..... fuel flows into this component if I recall ......
But you would think if its fuel FEED related it would at least affect the RPMS at a level and then higher , not just in a certain range and then the RPM range below and above being fine , am I wrong ??
Thanks Again
Clint

 

[profisher]

The reason I raised the coil as my most likely cause is...my 1997 Yamaha had a similar symptom. The Yami coils have 2 voltage outputs..one for lower rpms and one for higher. They switch from one setting to the other right at about that rpm range. If they are similar to Yami's coils you could have a coil that works fine at the lower rpm output then is faulty at switching to the higher rpm output, if you push it past that rpm it switches and works fine...drop back to that 3500 range and it struggles to reset to the lower output. That is what my problem was. I borrowed a couple of used coils from SG power, changed 2 coils..went for a sea trail and repeated again until the problem disappeared. I then knew that it was a coil problem and which one it was by elimination. I've had 2 coils act this way over the years. I now have a full set of used spares from a parts engine.

 

[profisher]

Clint if you can get it up to WOT then it is not a fuel restriction problem.

 

[sir-vivor]

The reason I raised the coil as my most likely cause is...my 1997 Yamaha had a similar symptom. The Yami coils have 2 voltage outputs..one for lower rpms and one for higher. They switch from one setting to the other right at about that rpm range. If they are similar to Yami's coils you could have a coil that works fine at the lower rpm output then is faulty at switching to the higher rpm output, if you push it past that rpm it switches and works fine...drop back to that 3500 range and it struggles to reset to the lower output. That is what my problem was. I borrowed a couple of used coils from SG power, changed 2 coils..went for a sea trail and repeated again until the problem disappeared. I then knew that it was a coil problem and which one it was by elimination. I've had 2 coils act this way over the years. I now have a full set of used spares from a parts engine.

Thanks again !

 

[Battle Bay]

do you have a shut off on the line to the kicker? Have had problems you the big engine pulling fuel from the least resistence. There is a anit siphon valve in in your tank on the boat that takes a bit of vacume to unseat the ball.

 

[sir-vivor]

clint if you can get it up to wot then it is not a fuel restriction problem.

wot - ???

 

[casper5280]

WOT=Wide open throttle

 

[NautiGirl]

Hey SirVivor,

I had an older Johnson/rude and had some similar problems and after ruining a season trying to trouble shoot and having good performance in the driveway and crap performance on the water, I took it to a mechanic and problem solved in about an hour and a half. Sure it is good to make sure you have good spark and flow, but sometimes it can also be a combination of things. Try not to throw parts at it, as stators and that kind of thing are pricey. After tearing my carbs down about four times and replacing thermostats myself, we determined the issue was two things. That red lever is usually the electronic choke override. Find the right position for that and then don't much with it. There is an o-ring under that red lever. My $1 o-ring was partially split and would periodically leak air in or fuel out causing odd pressure drops/crap performance. The Johnnyrudes also have an overheat cut-out feature, where if the engine thinks it is starting to overheat, it cuts the RPM down to about half throttle until it figures the temp has come down. I think it is called the SLO feature. I also had a minor short in my wiring harness that was tricking my engine into thinking it was overheating, when it was not. ( I replaced my water pump and temp sensor myself and it still did this.This usually happened about five or ten minutes into my WOT run to the fishing spot. Much swearing did not fix the problem until I took it to a mechanic. Good luck.

 

[sir-vivor]

Well thanks for everyones comments and I think rather then to go threw what Nautgirl went threw and an upcomming 2 week west coast trip with my boat , I am going to follow Nautigirls advise and take my boat to a reputable Evinrude dealer to give it a going over.

I am thinking of the guy on Victoria Street in Vancouver being Lordship Marine.

Has anyone had experience with Lorship Marine ? Only concern I have is where they store the boat when they work on it ?

PM me if you have anything you dont want to discuss on a open forum will be kept in strictest confidentiality and you dont even need to mention there name because I will know who your talking about.

Thanks
Clint

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

did you take profishers advice and replace all the plugs? If not, then definately take it to a dealer as you obviously cant see the basics. Why not pay them to do it if you cant do it yourself.

 

[Hookin'up]

Clint,
The question thats bothering me is why you only replaced the 1 plug?
what was it like and what were the other 5 like they are usually replaced as a set
just curious if it was fouled and the others were good maybe there are other issues?
Tim

 

[sir-vivor]

Clint,
The question thats bothering me is why you only replaced the 1 plug?
what was it like and what were the other 5 like they are usually replaced as a set
just curious if it was fouled and the others were good maybe there are other issues?
Tim

Hi Tim,

The plug I replaced had some rusting on the outside metal sleve and I didnt want it to rust onto the block (I thought) , probable wouldnt but when I took the plug out of the head it was fine looking the same as the others . Just being over cautious I guess !
Since I am going to take it to Lordship next week for a going threw I am now debating to replace the other plugs. I might just leave it for the Pros now !
LOL
Propable I will be told by Lordship exactly what you guys have told me (and I will let you all know for someones future referance ) but with my mechanical capabilities (which are ave at best) I think I'll stick to what I know best and leave the 200HP to the Pro.
Thanks Everyone !
Clint

 

[sir-vivor]

WOW can't it be so ...... I just replaced the new plug I put in earlier with another new plug and the engine ran fine , no more surging between 3500-4000 rpm at all.
I also noticed that the plug I took was gapped to .020 , instead of the recommended .
.030, which I gapped the replacement plug .... Could that have been it.
O well all I know is all is good
Thanks
PS didn't replace the other plugs because I don't want to mess with it, if all good