E90TLESB - Son-In-Law's boat. Runs good but has to squirt Premix!

[bonzoscott]

Runs good but has to squirt Premix in one or more carbs to get started and runs fine rest of the trip. Before this problem, had serviced and shop stated just wrong plugs. Son-In-Law mentioned oil in reservior is pink - that was my first suspicion. When he bought the boat, there were a lot of spark plug boxes in the boat - another clue. Can folks elaborate for us?

 

[racerone]

Are you giving it some throttle for cold starting ?---Are you pushing the key in WHILE cranking it over ?-----Lots of sparkplugs ??----Sounds like someone is guessing at what might be wrong.----Post your compression values.----And does spark jump a gap of 7/16" on a proper test device.

 

[tphoyt]

What is your starting procedure?
I have seen oil come in red, blue, green and purple. They may even be more colorful oil out there.

 

[dingbat]

Son-In-Law mentioned oil in reservior is pink - that was my first suspicion.

This color “pink”?

 

[bonzoscott]

Are you giving it some throttle for cold starting ?---Are you pushing the key in WHILE cranking it over ?-----Lots of sparkplugs ??----Sounds like someone is guessing at what might be wrong.----Post your compression values.----And does spark jump a gap of 7/16" on a proper test device.

Racerone - again this is Son-In-Laws's boat aquired beginning the past season and trying to help him out. Thank you for your response. What does "Pushing the Key in" do? Is that a priming function? Also, 7/16 is huge! I always heard 1/4 maybe 5/16. Is it known that this engine needs 7/16 spark? I just felt this boat had inferior oil thus causeing the number of fouled plugs. I will check the compression next, but he stated the boat runs great once started. Thanks again!

 

[racerone]

How did this boat run for the son in law last season ?----Or is this a new toy ??-----Pushing the key in OPENS the electric primer valve.-----This valve then squirts fuel directly into the airstream while cranking.-----This wonderful item replaces " choke flappers " of years gone by.----The ignition system is capable of jumping a gap of 7/16" and is the accepted test.-----Yes I know that plug gap is smaller.----But testing is done to check the health of the system including the battery and starter motor !----Agreed the pink oil might indicate a very high quality oil !-----If previous owner felt the need to check / change sparkplugs once a week , it is a huge red flag for me !!

 

[bonzoscott]

This color “pink”?


View attachment 352411

Dingbat! Thanks for the photo. The OMC oil I used years ago was blue. He said there was an oil bottle in the boat (pontoon) but the label was missing. I passed the photo along. Thanks again!

 

[bonzoscott]

How did this boat run for the son in law last season ?----Or is this a new toy ??-----Pushing the key in OPENS the electric primer valve.-----This valve then squirts fuel directly into the airstream while cranking.-----This wonderful item replaces " choke flappers " of years gone by.----The ignition system is capable of jumping a gap of 7/16" and is the accepted test.-----Yes I know that plug gap is smaller.----But testing is done to check the health of the system including the battery and starter motor !----Agreed the pink oil might indicate a very high quality oil !-----If previous owner felt the need to check / change sparkplugs once a week , it is a huge red flag for me !!

RacerOne! Yes, somewhat new toy. He bought at the end of last season (2020), Took to a shop first and asked to check / evaluate. Plug change is all that occurred. Thanks so much for the valuable information as I now know where to start!

 

[Vic.S]

RacerOne! Yes, somewhat new toy. He bought at the end of last season (2020), Took to a shop first and asked to check / evaluate. Plug change is all that occurred. Thanks so much for the valuable information as I now know where to start!

In addition to what Racerone has said you might find this video about the primer valve, and testing it, informative.

 

[racerone]

Maybe the filter screen INSIDE the primer valve is plugged / partially plugged ?----This hard starting should be easy to figure out !

 

[oldboat1]

QL77JC4 would be the recommended plug. Gap at .030. Get an open air spark tester to check ignition (auto parts store). Use a fully charged battery, or jump directly to the starter from your vehicle to test.