1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

[Novax]

I just bought a used boat for my son who is on the Bass fishing team at his high school. I went to look at it yesterday, heard it run, it was running a little rough and the guy told me it needed plugs, he told me that he replaced the power packs and they do look new. Bought plugs, check all to make sure they were firing...now I can't get it to start and run. Cranks fine and will hit every now and then and run for a second or two but that's it. Any help on what else I can try would be greatly appreciated. The motor is a 1985 Evinrude 150xp, Model: E150STLCOH. Thanks in advance.

:mad-new:

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

hate to say it but usually when a seller says "all you need to do is X and it will be fine" seldom is that the case.

Put the old plugs back in and see if you are back to where you started.

try running off a remote tank, squeezing the bulb, and working your way throught fuel path. Fresh fuel. Bypass his old water seperator (and replace). I'm guerssing that it started at his house, you trailered it home, and now you have issues. it may have been the drive that did it. What? yes, by stirring up his old gas.

see if you are sparking when cranking. check all plug, wire and coil connections, includnig grounds (the coils ground to the block)

crank it at night in the dark and look for blue sparks where there shouldn't be one.

 

[Novax]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

I'll check all of those ASAP, my work kinda hinders me from doing alot except on my off days so it may be wed before I can get back here. Thank you for the info.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

It's either fuel or spark issue. Testing with another tank with fresh fuel is always a good idea. Try to start the engine for 20 seconds, choking it while cranking. Then pull the plugs and see if they are wet or dry. That will tell you something. wet=no spark. dry=no fuel. Also, while cranking, put an inductive timing light on each plugwire. The flashes from the gun will show: strong spark, intermittents, weak firing, or no fires. The starter has to spin the engine between 200 and 250 rpm's in order to fire the ignition. That engine has dual power packs, each of which controls the spark to each head. They can be swapped for testing purposes-if you find you have problems with spark on one head. That engine has the large 35 amp alternator with the vented flywheel. Make sure all the main electrical cables are clean and snug on the battery and engine terminals.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

Check to see if the primer(choke) is operating correctly as you practicality have to try to flood these motors to get to start...

 

[Novax]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

Small update on this. I was able to check each plug for spark (removed and crank to check for spark) and found one to not have any spark at all. All but that one is like having a lighting show on the boat. I'm going to try switching one out with another to see if I can get spark there or not. If I get spark I'm guessing the coil pack is bad.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

Usually the coils on each plugwire are pretty reliable. It is a valid test to swap one out with one that is known to work-good idea. If the no-fire situation moves with the bad coil, repl the coil. If that does not do it, swap the power packs and see what happens.

 

[Novax]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

So I go back today and recheck everything. All plugs are sparking...not sure where or what the problem is but I got some fresh gas and it fired right up, ran for a second or two then shut off. My battery wasn't up enough to restart it so I'm gonna charge it and try again tomorrow.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

When cold, the engine may run fine for a few seconds. On that model, you will need to keep choking (push in on the key) it for the first minute or so to keep it running-till it warms up. You'll want to double check that all 6 plugs are firing when warmed up. That engine will seen run fine on 3 or 4 cyls when sitting on the trailer. Make sure all 6 have fire before you go to the lake with it.

 

[Novax]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

After charging the battery it started. Got a little miss in it but idled good. I removed the fuel tank, drained it and the gas that was in it was almost brown...gonna put it back tomorrow after I get it cleaned out and dried, fresh gas and take it to the lake. I'll let you all know how it goes Thank you for your responses.

 

[Novax]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

I have checked the the firing with a spark checker and I was told to check them at 7/16" GAP. No spark at that gap, I can get closer and I have spark on all 6 plug wires. Bad coil packs, Power Packs or something else?

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

How does the engine run in the lake? At WOT?

 

[Novax]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

I've had in the water once since I bought it. The only way I could get it to run while in gear was to raise the motor up and out of the water, put it in gear then lower it back in. In the water it would go in gear and die. When I finally got it going it ran great on top end but getting there was a chore...spitting and sputtering til it got some speed up then planed out and flew.

 

[jonwilk]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

I have the engine mine is an 84 where yours is an 85 if you still have a problem after plaining out and running her for some time then you may wont to look into checking the carbs. Old left over gas can cause a lot of unnecessary problems. Good luck

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

If the engine runs fine at WOT, the ignition system may be ok. As for it's refusal to idle in gear, likely a carb problem. There are dedicated fuel passages in the carbs for idle only. They are pretty small and will accumulate dried fuel gel over time. That accumlation can restrict the passages so that some carb bsarrels may be starved for fuel at idle. In this condition, the carbs will develop a "lean sneeze"-an occasional miss at idle. Not spark related, but a lean condition in the carbs. Once you crack the throttle even a little, other jets will provide fuel and it may run ok at WOT. You may want to consider carb teardowns, cleaning and visual inspection of each jet for restrictions. A cleaner similar to the Gumout aerosol product works well to clean out dried fuel gel in carb passages.

 

[Novax]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

I'll check those carbs when they weather breaks. I did a compression test and found that all 6 cylinders are at 80. Once at WOT and on plane the motor runs like a new one (Well maybe not a new one but you know what I'm talking about).

 

[Novax]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

I did notice a kinked hose which in the parts diagram is #18 PULSE HOSE Part #0324078 on boats dot net Would this have anything to do with the running of it? I haven't tried to undo it because I figured why fix it if that's not what is wrong...I'm going to look around for maybe an elbow fitting that I can put there and get rid of the hose in between.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 Evinrude 150xp Problems

A few of the hoses on that engine are special factory-made hoses, complete with their own part numbers. Bulk hose just won't bend around sharp corners without kinking. Once kinked, that restricts the functioning of the hose. The factory specially heats/bends those hoses so that they will continue to flow properly, despite the 90 degree angle bend. I'd replace the hose with a new one from Bombardier-same part number.