Nissan 5hp Issues

s20guy

Recruit
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
4
I have a Nissan 2 stroke 5hp outboard that just died on me while on a recent cruising trip.

It was running great humming along -then wham - Dead, and it would not restart.

Where should I begin on the troubleshooting process.

Thanks
 

pvanv

Admiral
Joined
Apr 20, 2008
Messages
6,579
Re: Nissan 5hp Issues

Your problem could be almost anything, so start with the basics... Fuel, Ignition, and Mechanical. The NS5B is pretty bulletproof mechanically, so the most effective, quickest and easiest things to verify are spark and gas. If it "just stopped" without any unusual sounds, etc., you may have lost ignition, or stopped delivering gas.

If you have a Factory service manual, cool... that gives ohm readings for the ignition components. Verify that the stop switch is not killing the ignition. If the black and brown wires to the stop switch are connected electrically, the magneto is grounded out, and it will not fire. Even without a Factory service manual, you can pull the plug, inspect its condition (tells volumes about running conditions), and then hold it to block ground (with a glove-insulated hand) to see if you have spark when cranking. If not, you need to troubleshoot the ignition system.

Assuming you have spark, verify gas. Fuel flow can be verified by disconnecting the fuel hose at the carb and turning on the gas ****. If fuel flows, you have gas to the carb. Also make sure that you don't have any water in the gas. If fuel flows OK, and there isn't water in it, the next step would be to see if the carb is mixing fuel and air. If a bit of debris made it through the fuel line, it could clog the float needle. Checking that will require pulling the carb and disassembling it for inspection.
 

s20guy

Recruit
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
4
Re: Nissan 5hp Issues

Thanks,

Now I am confused.

I got the motor home today and it started on the first pull. It ran for 10 minutes until I shut it down. Does that eliminate any possible causes or give me something to zero in on?

The motor would not even begin to start out on the water, I must have tried a hundred pulls. It did seem pretty warm though. Water had been running through though, is there an overheat shutdown on this outboard? I used the same fuel on my nissan 3.5 later in the day and it ran fine, so I am guessing the fuel is fine.

s20guy
 

pvanv

Admiral
Joined
Apr 20, 2008
Messages
6,579
Re: Nissan 5hp Issues

No sensors of any kind on the old 5 hp 2-strokes. So no overheat shutdown. However, if the kill switch wires are worn/chafed, and touched ground, they could cause the ignition to be "off".

You may have had a stuck carb float or needle (when was the carb last cleaned?), that could have shut down the fuel.

In any event, now that the problem is gone, try it on the boat again. Hopefully it was just an anomaly. Intermittent problems can be difficult to isolate, so check everything over, and if the problem doesn't come back, you're good to go.
 

Wee Hooker

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
618
Re: Nissan 5hp Issues

Have you checked the water pump indicator ( aka pee stream) thouroughly? Sounds like it may have overheated and shut down due to friction. That will allow it to restart once cooled. Mine ( 5 hp tohatsu) did the same recently. had a weak stream at some RPMS but not consistant. Turns out the impeller was running on 2 of 6 vanes and the motor just overheated.
 

s20guy

Recruit
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
4
Re: Nissan 5hp Issues

How strong should the pee stream be?

The motor did seem quite warm after it stopped.
 

pvanv

Admiral
Joined
Apr 20, 2008
Messages
6,579
Re: Nissan 5hp Issues

How strong should the pee stream be?

The motor did seem quite warm after it stopped.

If it only dribbles (after cleaning it out with a stiff wire or compressed air), the pump probably needs service.
 
Top