'88 Johnson 8hp

oldcatamount

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This motor starts fine, idles good, and will run at full speed, if you are quick with the throttle. Turning throttle slowly from idle to mid range, it's ok, but, at mid range it will flood and die. I replaced the power pack and both coils along with new plugs with the same result. I removed the flywheel and looked at the driver coil and sensor but have no way to test either. I looked for chafed wires but all appeared ok. I took the throttle grip apart thinking a chafed kill wire but they are in good condition. Looking for help and suggestions as I am stumped with this problem.
 

ondarvr

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Why do you say flood if you're looking for an electrical issue? The first place you need look is at the carb, pull it off and clean it.
 

oldcatamount

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I cleaned the carb a couple of times and it appears to be ok. Completely disassembled and thoroughly cleaned, with new kit. I say it's flooding because of excess fuel in the exhaust and the plugs are soaked after it dies. That's what is leading me to ignition problem.
 

racerone

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Do a compression test first.----Then check the thermostat.------Then check the fuel pump diaphragm.----Proper inspection / trouble shooting must be done.---As you have found out replacing parts is not the way to go and does get expensive.
 

oldcatamount

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The compression is 140 on each cylinder. I haven't run the motor long enough to get it hot so I will check the t-stat. The fuel pump diaphragm sounds like a good idea and I will look at that too. Thanks for the advice!
 

oldboat1

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Do a compression test first.----Then check the thermostat.------Then check the fuel pump diaphragm.----Proper inspection / trouble shooting must be done.---As you have found out replacing parts is not the way to go and does get expensive.

^^ Having very similar issues with an '83 9.9. Took off fuel pump this a.m. -- diaphragm appears to be intact, but has a set -- stiff, not flexible. Will repair or replace pump before anything else. Lower cyl. compression on mine showed slightly lower when hot (120 rather than 122/3), and not sure what that is about yet. (Maybe my testing procedure.) On t.stat -- know you said you hadn't run enough to overheat, but cold running could be an issue too. Mine runs with a head surface temp around 120F. On the boat, think my t.stat seemed to open after maybe a minute or so of idling (maybe less) -- not a lot of time, anyway, so believe engine will warm to proper temp and hold there pretty quickly if the t.stat is working. If yours is stuck open, after a couple of minutes of running, it's probably still cold -- runs rich, can't dial in, etc.; poor combustion.

believe mine will be the fuel pump issue, but think the three items are top of the list for troubleshooting.
 

oldcatamount

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Thanks for the advice, I haven't taken the fuel pump apart yet but I will when I get the repair kit. I like to have the kit in hand before I take those things apart!
 

oldboat1

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yeah, smart to wait to have the kit and diagram in hand. I usually just replace the pumps because parts are a little small for old eyes and big thumbs. In the current case, it kind of looks like a PO might have been in there before, and I can't tell without looking closer whether everything is properly in place, so will start with a new unit. Kind of expensive little buggers -- kits a cheaper alternative.
 

oldcatamount

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Update: I have rebuilt the fuel pump and re-cleaned the carb and it still starts good, runs good at full throttle, but stalls out at half throttle. When it is stalling out, there is no "catching" it, it just dies. The carb has a plastic top and it's cracked but has been repaired with what looks to be epoxy. Wondering if that could be causing this?
 

oldboat1

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Sorry to hear the fuel pump rebuild didn't do it.

Let's see, the low speed passage is up there in the plastic top, and probably other vents that could have been blocked with a bit of epoxy, or the mend wasn't complete. Don't seem to have an idle problem, but carb venting could be an issue. (The top assemblies appear to be available at about $70 or so.) Think you hadn't run the motor much before, so might not be able to tell if there was a preexisting problem (carb body repair). If you have never run the motor successfully through mid range, wouldn't rule out that earlier repair. But would look elsewhere if the problem came up suddenly.

You might try to replicate the stalling or stumbling, running in a barrel. With a timing gun, you could check to see if spark is cutting out when rpms are advanced. Works for dropping one cylinder, of course. If the engine is stalling for sudden loss of spark on both, test wouldn't help (ain't a whole lot of spark generated if the engine flat out quits -- just doesn't help much to know spark stopped at that point.) You are then into testing or replacing ignition parts. Standard spark testing with a tester is always a good idea, of course, but chances are you will have good spark when testing. (I think I would do it anyway, just to be sure.)

If up for some CD ignition testing, there is a good site that is often referenced: http://www.ebasicpower.com/downloads/cditech/CDI-Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf
I've had a little success with testing, but honestly would not have solved problems on my own stuff without swapping out parts between motors (and I still ended up with an extra working power pack, when I was absolutely sure the unit was bad).
 

oldcatamount

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Well, here is the end of a long story; I replaced the ignition (power pack, coils, sensor, and driver coil). Motor now starts, idles, but wouldn't rev up, so, I cleaned the carb again and discovered that I had reversed the fuel lines (one is the Primer and the other is the main fuel line and both are the same size). After wiping tears from the laughter, this motor now runs pretty good.
 

oldboat1

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Thanks for the come back, oldcat ... good info. for the next guy's checklist. Glad you got it up and running.
 
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