If anyone can help with this I will be eternally grateful.
I inherited a 1980 50 HP Thunderbolt about 2 1/2 years ago. It had sat in a garage for the better part of 4 years before I got it. It fired right up and after splicing a good wire in place of a corroded trigger wire I was off and fishing.
It had been pretty much trouble free until this past Labor Day when the throttle cable broke. I replaced it and all was well until the end of October. It started to bog down while running at almost WOT. I could reduce the throttle and it would eventually pick back up and go.
Suspecting they needed it, I went ahead and had the carbs rebuilt. I also replaced the fuel lines inside the engine (dry rot city). In the process I found two corroded wires going from the stator to the rectifier and spliced in good wires as I had done before with my trigger.
The carbs are back on now but the engine will only run for about 20 seconds when I start it up. When it starts to die I can pump the bulb and it picks back up. This leads me to believe that fuel is not being pumped to the motor but I don't understand how the fuel pump system works on these motors. I was told that the fuel pump is the piece that sits on the side of the carb and connects to the fuel line. These pieces are fine and the screens underneath are clear of debris. I see nothing mechanical involved so what makes the fuel flow? Is it a vacuum? When I do pump up the bulb, I see no leaks anywhere so I figure the parts are all together snugly. Is there another place where the fuel could be getting blocked from flowing properly? Or, am I barking up the wrong tree?
I also replaced the trigger last week but I still have the same problem.
Thanks for reading through all of this and once again, any ideas will be greatly appreciated.
I inherited a 1980 50 HP Thunderbolt about 2 1/2 years ago. It had sat in a garage for the better part of 4 years before I got it. It fired right up and after splicing a good wire in place of a corroded trigger wire I was off and fishing.
It had been pretty much trouble free until this past Labor Day when the throttle cable broke. I replaced it and all was well until the end of October. It started to bog down while running at almost WOT. I could reduce the throttle and it would eventually pick back up and go.
Suspecting they needed it, I went ahead and had the carbs rebuilt. I also replaced the fuel lines inside the engine (dry rot city). In the process I found two corroded wires going from the stator to the rectifier and spliced in good wires as I had done before with my trigger.
The carbs are back on now but the engine will only run for about 20 seconds when I start it up. When it starts to die I can pump the bulb and it picks back up. This leads me to believe that fuel is not being pumped to the motor but I don't understand how the fuel pump system works on these motors. I was told that the fuel pump is the piece that sits on the side of the carb and connects to the fuel line. These pieces are fine and the screens underneath are clear of debris. I see nothing mechanical involved so what makes the fuel flow? Is it a vacuum? When I do pump up the bulb, I see no leaks anywhere so I figure the parts are all together snugly. Is there another place where the fuel could be getting blocked from flowing properly? Or, am I barking up the wrong tree?
I also replaced the trigger last week but I still have the same problem.
Thanks for reading through all of this and once again, any ideas will be greatly appreciated.
