Please help , engine wont start..

[findinghomer]

i have an 90 force 125hp, had it out every single weekend all summer, no problems. however its now been sitting for a month and i wanted to take it out today but it wont start.... it turns, and cranks, but wont start.. to trouble shoot i checked for spark,, im getting spark, so i checked fuel delivery. my primer bulb , pumps and pumps, but never gets firm. so i disconnected it from the engine side to see if i can get it to pump fuel out, nothing comes out but air. . is this a bad bulb? i sprayed fuel directly into the intake and it seemed to want to start, so im pretty sure its not gettin fuel. when i would have the boat out during the summer, the bulb always was full and only take a few pumps to get started, now its not sucking anything. i took bulb completely off to see if it sucks at all , it does but not a whole lot, but im not sure how strong the siphon should be? any help would be appreciated, thanx

 

[further]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

I would start by replacing the bulb and inspeting the fuel lines, replace if needed. If that doesn't work then move to the fuel pump and replace the diaphram.good luck

 

[pnwboat]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

Make sure you have fuel in the tank and the fuel tank vent line is not plugged. To check the vent, take the gas cap off and squeeze the primer bulb. If it starts to squirt fuel, the vent line is closed or plugged.

To test the primer bulb, take it off completely and attach a two or three foot 5/16 inch hose to the suction side. Put the free end of the hose in a full gas can. Squeeze it four or five times to fill it up. Squeeze it again and you should get a good solid squirt of gas each time. If you don't get a good solid stream with each squeeze, replace it. If you do get a good solid stream, then there is something blocking either the fuel pick up in the tank, or the fuel line between the tank and primer bulb.

 

[findinghomer]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

ok, thanx for the advice . is the fuel pump typically attached to the engine, or is it in the fuel tank? this is an outboard motor btw.

 

[findinghomer]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

is it really possible for the bulb to go bad? i took it apart and they seem to be a pretty simpled design, i put it back together correctly, but still same results

 

[roscoe]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

Yes, the primer bulbs do go bad.
The check valves usually.
The cheap Walmart/Kmart brands have a terrible failure rate. Many are bad right out of the box.

Pick up a new quality hose and bulb. Securely attach with new clamps.

The fuel pump is attached to the side of the block. Simple to rebuild, parts are under $20.

 

[JB]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

Check your fuel tank pickup. Sometimes they break off at the top from the vibration of towing. Then the fuel line only has access to the air at the top of the tank.

 

[findinghomer]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

Check your fuel tank pickup. Sometimes they break off at the top from the vibration of towing. Then the fuel line only has access to the air at the top of the tank.

is this fuel tank pickup inside the tank? or is this where the hose attaches at the tank?

also if the primer bulb does go bad , shouldnt the fuel pump still be able to pump fuel out of the tank eventually? if so can i try to bypass the bulb, just for diagnosis?

 

[Stachi]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

the pick-up tube is inside of the tank , connected to the other side of the fitting that the fuel line that your bulb is attached to at the tank ...no , the fuel pump will not pull fuel up a line that is full of air , that is why there is a primer bulb, to fill the line full of fuel up to the fuel pump... look inside of your fuel tank with a flashlight and see if there is a line laying on the bottom of the tank....let us know what you find ...good luck bro !

 

[findinghomer]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

the pick-up tube is inside of the tank , connected to the other side of the fitting that the fuel line that your bulb is attached to at the tank ...no , the fuel pump will not pull fuel up a line that is full of air , that is why there is a primer bulb, to fill the line full of fuel up to the fuel pump... look inside of your fuel tank with a flashlight and see if there is a line laying on the bottom of the tank....let us know what you find ...good luck bro !

awesome would never have known that, ill check it today, thanx alot

 

[findinghomer]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

ok,,, you called it, the hose broke completely off the fitting, inside the tank. so the feed line was just lying inside the tank (about 4ft long?) then the vent fitting had nothing attached to it either, but i dont see anything else inside. there is a clamp as if there had been a hose on it at one point, should the vent have a hose on it too?

 

[Stachi]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

no ,the vent fitting is to let the air escape , so , no hose on it inside the tank,only outside of tank and this hose should be run to the atmosphere OUTSIDE of the bilge area without any kinks in it. Glad to hear it's just the pickup line and not something more costly to repair......tight lines bro !

P.S. JB nailed it on the first try...he's the one you owe thanks to

 

[Stachi]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

by the way , Force did not make a 125 hp in 1990, if it truly is a 1990 , it is a 120 hp....

 

[findinghomer]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

by the way , Force did not make a 125 hp in 1990, if it truly is a 1990 , it is a 120 hp....

yea its actually an 89, boat is a 90, i forgot...

yea thanx alot guys was an easy fix, im really glad it eventually broke while in the driveway, and not out on the ohio river. i would never have known to look in there! it was bound to break, evidently the hose was already broken (not the fitting) and someone patched it by putting a wider tube between the now two separate pieces then put clamps on the two ends of it. the patch tube eventually disinigrated. i just pulled the hose off the fitting and threw away the small part , and attached the long end. lost a few inches. unless this is exact length is essential not sure why the person who added that patch, didn just do what i did. it runs great

 

[findinghomer]

Re: Please help , engine wont start..

so uh, took it out this weekend, got stranded on the water. Started and ran ok for awhile, then the rpms started goin up, and down and then shuts off. i had to constantly keep starting the motor drive alittle, shut down, restart, drive a little, shut down. also i had to choke it every single time to get it to start.... then finally it just flat out wouldnt start anymore.

in the morning i started it up, it fired right up, but stalled after 2 minutes or so, then back to stall, run , stall, run, DEAD. seems like its getting flooded somehow.

i took the carb bowl off and checked the float, even adjusted the fuel screw, nothing, same problem. whats goin on with this thing???

prior to taking it out, i used sta-bil, guesstimated on how much is in my tank and i think i used too much. could this be the problem?


its a 89 125hp outboard.