Need a little help 89 Force 150

[cid067]

Took the boat to the lake this morning put her in battery was dead. Charged the battery put back in water started right up. Go boat loaded to go fishing idled good did some circles by the marina to see how motor was running before I took off across the lake. Evey thing seemed fine took off hit WOT for about 1 min then it just died. Got boat back to ramp with trolling motor and it would not start again. Got it back to the house 75 miles from lake put ears on it charged battery again and it started right up. Anyone have any idea of what might be the problem? I know that on the ears there is no load on the boat but would make it just die? No sputtering before it died it just went from WOT to uh have to use the trolling motor to get back to dock.

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[john from md]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

Give us a little history on the boat and engine. Has it been maintained? How old is the battery? Have you put a voltmeter on it when it is running? If so, what was the voltage? Does the ball get soft when the engine shuts off? Does it crank after it shuts off? Is it firing or just cranking?

We need more details.

Regards,

John

 

[cid067]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

The battery is less than a year old. Had the boat out all last summer with no issues other than needing to replace the starter. Boat ran in water for about 15 min this morning then when I started out at WOT ran for about a min then just died. No sputtering just died. Got it home jumped the battery and about three tries it cranked right up. Took it off the truck it ran fine in the driveway.

 

[cid067]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

Also had to replace the plastic piece that holds the timing rod at the end of the summer last year. So if the timing rod is off as far as adjustment would the engine idle fine but once at WOT die?

Thanks
Jason

 

[john from md]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

When an engine shuts off that abruptly, it is usually related more to electrical problems rather than fuel problems. Is the reason you had to jump the battery because you ran it down cranking the engine?

You say you replaced the nylon swivel on the tower shaft. Could you have loosened a connection or moved the trigger or stator wires so that the fly wheel is hitting them? When you move the trottle to WOT, you move the trigger coil and the wire bundle attached to it. Take a look and see if anything is loose or hitting when the trottle is in WOT.

Have someone move the linkage while you look at the wires moving. Also, I suggest you do this with the engine off in case you didn't assume that already.

If it happens again, pull a plug out and hook the wire back up and motor the engine to see if you have a good blue spark.

Let us know,

John

 

[cid067]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

I did not run the battery down cranking had some friends over about a week before and thier kids where in the boat playing much to my dismay. When I got to the lake the battery was dead. I assume they where hitting switches and ran down the battery. Will look into eletrical today after work will have to by a volt meter.

Thanks
Jason

 

[cid067]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

Would a low battery cause this to happen? Put the battery on the charger last night and it took all night and half of the day to get a full charge on the battery.

Thanks
Jason

 

[john from md]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

Not unless the stator and rectifier are not working properly. Once started, the engine generates it's own electricity to keep running. With the engine at fast idle, @1500 RPM, you should have 13.5 to 14 volts at the battery terminals. If not, then you are not generating and the engine is running on battery power. Once it gets below the threshold needed to operate the CDI units, ( I don't know what that voltage is) it will shut off rather suddenly.

The easiest check for this is:

1. Check that the battery reads 12.7 to 12.9 volts before you install it. Start the engine and run to fast idle and check the voltage. If it doesn't go up, your charging system is not working. The fix could be as simple as cleaning the connections on the wires or replacing the retifier. Then again, it may be an expensive problem if you have to replace the stator.

If you look in the electrical section of your manual, it will tell you what volts to expect where.

Regards,

John

 

[cid067]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

Checked battery before was at 12.65 hooked it up and ran registered at 14.75 and going up.

Going to take to get tune up and have them check engine over. How much should I expect for tune up wife is questioning and we all know that we have to keep those happy.

Thanks
Jason

 

[john from md]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

I do all of my own work so I really can't tell you how much it costs to have anything work done on an engine. I have heard that it is not cheap.

Make sure you find someone who knows Force engines. They are quite a bit different from the majority of engines out there.

Good luck,

John

 

[cid067]

Re: Need a little help 89 Force 150

Thanks for all the help I really do appreciate.

Jason