Higher altitude issue?? with a Honda BF8A Idles but wont run

[kokaddict]

SO I will try to explain best I can; however after having run this motor on the same lake since August of last year; I am a bit perplexed why this would be an elevation issue but since I have ruled out almost everything else; I needed help and made the mistake of going to the local boat shop. $185 later, the motor still run exactly the same AT THE LAKE, which is to say; it basically doesn't. Still just idles.

Temps have dropped and I have been fishing 3 days week since I got it in August with that kicker and had no issues. EVER

Temps warmed back up a week ago (around 30 or so), but for some reason, the motor would idle but not run (or even rev up) at the lake.

Brought it home, (1300 feet lower elevation) engine runs, and revs perfectly. (about the same temp too)

Took it back the lake, again, same issue. Will start with minimal gas, but any more than that (regardless of choke setting) and the engine would die. I changed spark plugs on the lake; they were not fouled but no change in motor functionality.

Brought the engine back to the house, ran sea foam through it at a medium rev at the house for 45 minutes....again, no issues. Runs perfectly here.

Can anyone please share ANY help here...I'm almost certainly going to get back on the lake tomorrow and find that I have to rely on my main motor again for trolling.

Sadly my nearest Honda dealer is over 2 hours away.

Can anyone help me please with suggestions with something that I could try on my carburetor possibly?

Thank you!
-Fishing Junkie

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Higher altitude issue?? with a Honda BF8A Idles but wont run

How high is that lake ? Engines performs quite different at sea level and different altitudes, if very high, the worst. Manufacturers sells high altitude carb kits, the issue, don't expect to perform nice at sea level once with the high level kit changed, could ruin your engine. You could have 2 carbs, one for sea level, other for higher altitudes and swap them accordingly...That I know, engine starts having issues above 800 meters above sea level.

Happy Boating

 

[kokaddict]

Re: Higher altitude issue?? with a Honda BF8A Idles but wont run

First off thank you for the update!

To answer your question, not really that high, lake level is 6,000 feet.

The motor from the dealer was "tuned" at the time of purchase to run at 3,500. However, despite that, it has been performing beautifully on that lake at 6,000 feet for 8 months now with ZERO issue. It's been an incredibly dependable engine and there have been no issues with it up until the noted problem.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Higher altitude issue?? with a Honda BF8A Idles but wont run

First off - I can't give any help on why your Honda is running poorly, but I can tell you one thing. It has nothing to do with altitude. You say it ran beautifully for 8 months on the high altitude lake. You would have running problems from the very start if the motor wasn't tuned for altitude. I'll let the Honda guys make suggestions.

BTW - Welcome aboard, Fishing Junkie.

 

[isaksp00]

Re: Higher altitude issue?? with a Honda BF8A Idles but wont run

Could it be a fuel flow issue? A partially bad fuel pump, or a bad hose or maybe a partially blocked vent in the tank cap? I'm thinking maybe the thing impeding the fuel flow (if there is anything) is marginal, so that the higher flow rates needed for higher revs can't be supported, but at lower altitude the higher ambient air pressure provides just enough extra "push" to make it work. Would be very hard to diagnose. Maybe remove and check the fuel pump - easy to do on my BF8A. Check the hoses, or try another set if you have one. Take the tank cap off entirely when you try it at the lake. Other than that, possible a clogging issue with the high speed circuit in the carb - if so, if you haven't had it totally cleaned (carb dip, etc.) try that - the carb is fairly easy to remove and disassemble.

If you fix it, let us know so we can learn.