1990 150xp starting problems

[procraft1780]

Hello all,
I am normally the type of person that reads as many posts as possible before I start a new one but I've got 2 1/2 days to get my boat running before we leave for a week of camping and fishing at the lake, so I'm desperate.
I took the boat out last Saturday and it started fine, ran it only about 200 yards from the ramp and started fishing. 20 minutes later started her up, put it in gear, and it bogged down and died. Restarted, it revved up good in neutral but as soon as I put it in gear and gave it gas it would die. After several more attempts I couldn't even get it to start. Figured it was flooded. Well between work and my daughters softball practice I finally got time to install new plugs and took it to a near by pond to try it out. I could bearly get it started, plugs were not the culprit. What I did notice though while I was trying to get it started (which I think is quite unique to the posts I have read on starting problems) is that if I kept the key turned all the way to the "start" position it would start and run (roughly) but would bog down and die as soon as I released the key to the run position. I finally got it to stay started but had to keep a little throttle on it to keep it going.
Tonight I took resistance reading on the ignition coils. 0.05 primary to ground on all and 241-249 between primary and secondary on all. I pulled the intake cover off and I unless I'm wrong I think I could see the reeds through the carb throats. Couldn't see any foreign objects stuck in them. I checked all the fuel lines for cracks and leaks but all look good. It has a VRO pump even though its been bypassed so I'm gonna put a fuel only pump on it tomorrow along with a new fuel filter and water seperator. I will also pick up a compression tester since the one I have won't fit and do a spark test. Anything else I should throw at it? I consider myself lucky to have a wife that loves to fish, but its a curse when the boat won't run or the fish aren't biting.

 

[jonesg]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

Sounds like a plan,
get all the vital signs first,
compression and spark test,
make sure it can jump 3/8ths inch gap.
Post back the results.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

Also, check the plugs are they wet or dry? If they are wet, you have fuel, but may have no spark. If they are dry, you may have a fueling issue. You need to know which it is. Follow Jonesg advice.

 

[procraft1780]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

The plugs were very wet and there was evidence of fuel when I removed the air intake cover. Should I still replace the fuel pump? I'm in total knee jerk reaction mode right now.

 

[cdoliver]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

When is the last time you cleaned/rebuilt the carbs? Compression numbers? start with the basic checks before you just throw money at it

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

A simple test. Put an inductive timing light on each of the 6 plug wires when you are running the engine. All 6 plug wires should flash strong, white flashes. Look for intermittent or no flashes as problem wires.

 

[procraft1780]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

Good idea with the timing light, I'll give that a shot. A friend just lent me his CDI peak adapter and I was looking online to make sure I was hooking this up in the right place. Might as well ask on here. I'm sure my stator is good because when I did get it to run yesterday I noticed my dash volt meter was in the 14v range. Can I assume my stator is good? As far as checking coil reading this do I pierce the wire between the power pack and the ignition coil with one lead and connect the other lead to engine ground? Their are no plugs between the two. Or do I pull the primary wire off the coil and sick the probe in there? The instructions aren't very specific but do state that the piercing probe set are highly recommended.

 

[procraft1780]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

Eureka!!! The timing gun showed good strong flashes for #2, 4,& 6 cylinders and intermittent, weak, and erratic flashes for #1, 3, & 5 cylinders. When the odd cylinders (no pun intended) would flash I could hear the motor rev up to a normal idle speed but when the flashes stopped it would go back to spitting and sputtering. Sounds like power pack to me. Whacha think?

 

[jonesg]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

I'm not sure if this will help, but it might give you some tips on testing the PP with your DVA meter.
http://www.maxrules.com/fixomcoisignition.html

If that doesn't apply to your engine look at this,
http://www.maxrules.com/cdi/TroubleshootingGuide.pdf

anyway it sound slike you're hot on the trail, other things that can cause one side to go intermittent is the shift interupt switch, not sure of the 1990 models have them, mine is a 1994. Unplugging it (black/yellow wire) removes it from the ignition circuit.

Also the tan wire from the heat sensor in the head might cause problems if its routed against plug wires, caN CAUSE ENGINE TO GO INTO SLOW MODE.

The odds of 3 coils going bad on one side are kinda slim though, but I know on mine the charge coil uses seperate outputs for each cylinder bank so I had to test that.

If it turns out to be the PP , the CDI unit is supposedly the best.
http://www.maxrules.com/fixomccdi11.html

 

[cdoliver]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

sounds like a possible pack problem. Check the grounds to the coils and the ground to the pack to make sure there is a nice and clean contact point. Its a cheap and easy check. Make sure you have no wires that have rubbed somewhere causing them to ground out. especially around the flywheel.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

The older units had a power pack for each side of the engine. Since yours is newer, it only has one pack , and it's in the $290 range. Odds are that it is the culprit and should be replaced. If the misfire problem distributed itself throughout all wires, it could be a weak stator. Since it is on one side only-probably the pack. 14 volts is good. Bad rectifer-regulators cause erratic tach readings and low volt readings. If the tach seems to indicate properly throughout the entire range, you should be good to go.

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

Saw new CDI powerpacks on ebay yesterday for $165 and free shipping

 

[procraft1780]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

Well I got my new power pack installed and had just had enough time to crank it up in the driveway before we left for the lake. It started right up and idled smoothly, whew! But when we got to the lake I realized all wasn't good. From idle through half throttle everything runs good but after that it skips and hesitates. It didn't much matter anyway, the fish weren't biting, the water was so muddy it looked like chocolate milk, the wind was howling, and it got down right freezing cold. We packed it in and headed home a day early. I might just take it to a repair shop and get an estimate. Thanks to all who helped me.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1990 150xp starting problems

You could take the timing light to the lake with you. Check the plug wires when you get it up to half throttle and it starts to miss. It will tell you if you have electronic misfires and which ones. If the timing light flashes are ok on all wires, then you need to look for a fuel problem.