35 Chrysler dies?no start?

[dwarf717]

I have a 35hp Chrysler. It has electic start, which I believe is an add on as the coils are not on the side of the block, and it would not have a charging system.I had the boat in my driveway, got it all set up for use, it started, and ran great! Got it out on the water, and it ran great there as well. BUT.... it died, just lost power and quit (not like the ign. was shut off) It would fire right up again, and run fine! and off we would go.Then it died again, fired up, and off we went again. It died again, and this time it wouldn't start. I cranked, and cranked, but nothing, once in a while, it would kind of fire then nothing. I pulled the fuel line, and cranked her. No fuel pumped out, yes, the tank was full, and vent open and working. I squeezed the bulb, and got fuel. I cranked again, and no fuel. I figures the fuel pump was shot. We walked 2 and a half hrs back! I towed the boat back, and pulled it out of the water. I charged the battery, and cranked it over, and over. It would half arsed fire once in a while, but overall nothing.I now had fuel squirting from the supply line. I pulled the pump apart anyways, just to make sure everthing was good.I had good spark on both cyl.I even pulled the carb apart, and everthing looked fine! It still wouldn't start. It would turn over, and start picking up faster, and faster like it was going to fire, and would then give a little muffled backfire through the exhaust and turn over much,much slower. I gave up, left the charger on the battery, and left for a few hrs. I came back, gave the carb a good shot of ether, and she fired right up! I checked it out a couple of times, and she fired right up as though nothing was ever wrong. I put the boat back in the water, and had no problems. Went out that night fishing, and after multiple starts, and runs, had no problems. Went out the next morning, same thing, she ran fine. I even tried to get her to act up, and got no problems. I took the battery out, and charged it for an hour. After lunch I put the battery back in, and convinced the wife it was fine, and to go for a scoot on the lake. I right away the motor didn't seem to turn over quite as quickly with the freshly charged battery. We took of anyways, and tooled around all over the lake for about a half hour, to 45 minutes, and at speeds ranging from wot to putting at idle. At one point I idled it to low, and it died. It would not start again, and seemed like the battery was pretty low, even though my voltmeter said it had 12 volts. I gave it some ether and got nothing. I got the boat out of the water again, and have the same problem all over. I give it ether, crank it, it picks up and almost starts, then gives a muffled backfire, then turns over slowly. I figured maybe the battery was done, so I swapped the battery from my truck, and it did the same thing. ANY HELP WITH THIS ONE?

 

[eurolarva]

Re: 35 Chrysler dies?no start?

First off welcome to Iboats. When you ran it out of the water did you have it in a tank of water or use muffs? If you used muffs was water coming out of the backend of the motor? Most of your experiences in your thread sound like a motor overheating. Also when a battery reads 12 Volts on a volt meter it is almost dead. A fully charged battery will read around 12.6 to 12.75 Volts and a half charged battery will be around 12.3 Volts. I would change out impeller first then rebuild carb and fuel pump because they are cheap. Stay away from using either. Maybe buy a can of fogging oil and use that as a starting fluid instead. What ever fuel you use to start needs to have oil in it or you could damage the motor. The kits you want for the fuel system are 18-7806 and 18-7037. Both can be purchased here at Iboats or at a NAPA dealer.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 35 Chrysler dies?no start?

Chrysler made an electric start, non alternator, magneto ignition engine in the 35,45,55 range for a number of years. My 55 is one of these and your 35 is probably also one.

It sounds to me like the engine has multiple problems so giving you hints would yeild a 3-4 page reply thread.

Buy a Clymers manual and use it to check out the fuel system, and the ignition system. Your engine probably has points and condensers. If it starts and runs at all, the points are probably ok but the condensers and the magneto coils could have an intermittent short due to heat build-up. Also, the kill wires from the points can be cracked, causing an intemittent short and no start. These two wires will run from under the flywheel to the white and blue terminals on the engine terminal board.

So: First thing I would do (since it is regular maintenance anyway) would be to change the fuel pump diaphragm, change the points and condensers, put in new plugs, and change the water pump impeller. Double check the plugs to be sure the correct type are installed. (I think Champion L4J or NGK B8S or equivalent). Be sure that surface gap plugs are NOT installed. They will cause numerous starting problems on these magneto engines.

If you do pull the flywheel to change points and condensers, be aware that you will need a heavy duty flywheel puller or gear puller. Also be aware that the flywheel nut MUST be properly torqued upon installation or the first time you try to start, the flywheel key will be sheared off.

These parts are probably not available through your local Merc dealer, however, you should be able to find them on an old engine site or through Franz Marine and through the Chrysler Crew.

 

[dwarf717]

Re: 35 Chrysler dies?no start?

Thanks for the replies! I really don't think it's a heat related problem, as the motor won't fire... even long after it has cooled. Plugs, points, condenser, and impeller were all changed last yr. by previous owner. Water is coming from the hole at the rear of the motor while running. How much flow am I to expect? Also, when the motor is running, it does run real well..... until it dies out. I have been running the engine on an older car battery, maybe that's a good place to start right there! Do I need a good marine type battery? I installed another car battery this morning, and she fired, sputtered, and eventually cleared out and ran. I did not expect it to fire as quickly as it did, as I forgot to disconnect the fuel line while towing it home, and had fuel running from the carb, out the back of the motor and all over the place!!! Oops! Is it possible, that my battery does not possibly have enough volts, and or amps to fire the engine efficiently enough to run the motor, after running for some time? The last time it died, the motor did re-fire, and run but as soon as I got it in gear it would die. It did this a few times before it eventually would not start at all.

 

[byacey]

Re: 35 Chrysler dies?no start?

This engine if well tuned you could start easily with a half turn of rope on the flywheel. If it requires excessive cranking and / or the starter is cranking sluggish, this is probably more likely a symptom rather than the cause of your hard starting problems.

I wouldn't use ether for starting, it washes lubrication off the bearings and can also damage the head on a small engine because it is much more explosive than gasoline.

First thing to do is check for healthy spark with a spark gap tester when it does act up. Are the points dry and free of any oil film under the flywheel? A leaky upper crank seal can quickly contaminate the points to where they are intermittent.

 

[eedwards]

Re: 35 Chrysler dies?no start?

Just a side note if you have a motor new to you try to stay close to the docks and have a phone to call someone.
Of course hind sight is 20/20.
And if you are running on a river try to run up river so you can a least float back down with your paddle.