1976 85HP Evinrude will start with ether but won't stay running.

[rs2k]

My 1976 85 HP Evinrude does not seem to be using any gas. It will fire right up with ether starting fluid but it only runs for about 3 seconds. I do not smell any gas coming out of the exhaust when the engine is cranked.

The fuel filter is not clogged and to eliminate the possibility of a bad fuel pump I kept fuel pressure using the fuel bulb primer.

MY first guess is a clogged carb, but it seems unlikely both would be clogged. Does this thing have some come of fuel cutoff I don't know about?

 

[5150abf]

Re: 1976 85HP Evinrude will start with ether but won't stay running.

DO NOT use ether to start your motor, no oil in it and it takes off the oil that was on it.

First of all , get an OEM manual( not Clymers/Seloc or any CD) it will go over specific trouble shooting to find what is causing this situation and tell you exactly how to fix it, get one here at iboats or on Ebay if money is tight.

do you have compression and spark?

Yes both carbs can be plugged at the same time, if they haven't been cleaned recently that is a good place to start as it needs done anyhow.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1976 85HP Evinrude will start with ether but won't stay running.

read this, http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158071

using anything other than premixed fuel, is the easiest way to ruin a motor is starter fluids.

 

[crb478]

Re: 1976 85HP Evinrude will start with ether but won't stay running.

Don't use ether! You can use pre mix in a spray bottle spraying it directly into the carbs. If it fires and runs that way clean your carbs, you should probably clean them anyway. Do a compression test and write down the results if they are good for a baseline. Check for spark on all four. I would bet that your carb are the problem.