Evinrude 35 Rebirth!

[TeanawayDave]

Restoring an old Whaler with a '77 Evinrude 35. The boat sat for almost 15 years with no use and though structurally sound it needs much work. The engine was pretty darn rusty inside but all there. After being cleaned up (still rusty but WD40 makes everything look better) and a new starter it turned over and with a squirt of gas in each can, it fired right up. Then things got weird, and/or I'm losing the few marbles I have left. Now the engine will not turn over with the key at all. When I arc from the battery side of the starter relay over to the other side, which should bypass relay and kick in the starter, right? Well instead the whole engine system goes dead. After about 2 minutes I have power back. I can't even get my 12 volt continuity light to come on from the hot battery lead at the relay to a ground!!!!

Again, after a few minutes I can get the light to come on again until I try to arc over to rotate the starter. I hope this makes sense to you all. Its like getting in your car, turning the key to on and all is fine, then you turn key to start and dark! (for a few minutes).


help please

 

[boobie]

Sounds like a bad battery or connections.

 

[oldboat1]

^^agree. At least think that would be the prudent place to start. Shine up battery connections (sandpaper works wonders). Check keyswitch connections.

 

[TeanawayDave]

Thanks you guys but the battery is new and most all connections have been restored. But, I will do more of that.

-Is there a main ground besides that which attaches to the block, just behind the starter relay?

-Could this be caused by a bad starter relay?

Thanks,

DM

 

[F_R]

Didn't you say you bypassed the relay?

 

[Crosbyman]

cable crimps do go bad with oxydation or mechanical breaks in bends etc...

you have an electrical problem so you have a wiring issue to track down with a volt ohm meter (VOM)

while it is dead and no wires smoking…. turn the start key to start (use a helper) then go wiggle all the wiring you can access till something happens if you are not familiar with using a VOM

 

[TeanawayDave]

FR, yes I did bypass the solenoid and when the demons aren’t laughing at me it works. During the dead couple of minutes even that won’t work
Crosbyman, those are good ideas and I will try that today!

Thanks you guys! I post a update:joyous:

 

[TeanawayDave]

OMG! Figured it out. So simple. Took your advice and checked out main leads from battery. I had put one of those screw down cutoff switches on and it’s connection was bad. 12v getting through but little amperage!!! Started right up! Thanks you guys for making me think!!!

Great forum!!

DaveM

 

[oldboat1]

Try operating the remote lever backwards and forwards, then back to the neutral indent. Turn the key to the start position, and move the lever a bit in the neutral position. See if the starter operates at any point.

In any case, concentrate on the starter circuit. Shine the battery cable ends. Wiggle the wires and listen for any crunching sounds.

 

[TeanawayDave]

Hi you all. First off thanks for all the help so far ))) With your assistance I figured out the battery connections were bad and also that the starter solenoid was faulty. Thats all been repaired . Also, my concern that the impeller was not good? Well the tell-tale was plugged. A new impeller is coming! I put in new spark plugs also which helped a smidge. Other concerning issues:
-It will not idle down to a reasonable RPM unless I pull out the choke!? What's with that? I've adjusted the idle screw to 1&1/2 turns.
-The engine, though it continues running, repeatedly cuts out like for a fraction of a second, every 2-3 seconds. When I pull out the choke this is mostly stopped. Yet when I do pull out the choke it struggles to rev up.
-Lastly, it is smoking really bad and the water in the cooling tank gets very oily black. I suspect I put way too much oil in the gas :blue: and that doesn't help.

More ideas and thoughts? All are appreciated!

DaveM

 

[Crosbyman]

-It will not idle down to a reasonable RPM… engine repeatedly cuts out like for a fraction of a second, ….

have you tried adjusting the S needle either way ? have you cleaned the upper drip chamber on the LS circuit ?

did you clean out the air silencer in front of the carb…. does it run any better without it ?

oily tank…. Don't worry to much make certain the engine does not suffocate on it's own fumes


btw.....what is the compression ...did you measure it ?? ​

 

[TeanawayDave]

Thanks Crosbyman! The diagram is helpful.
-The S needle, the slow adjusting dial, yes I have tried every which way to adjust that. If I turn it all the way in the engine dies. If past 1 1/2 it just runs gradually worse. Except for the turn in shut off, it does not seem to do all that much...
-The LS circuit? Thats a new one to me... Do you mean Low Speed circuit? I see in the diagram and I will check that our later.
-The air silencer seems completely clean but I will check again. I have pulled off the plastic plug on the silencer to spray in some carb cleaner but it doesn't seem to effect operation with or without it.
-I did a rough compression test and I believe both cylinders were up around 90-110.

These are all good questions and give me more to consider and try. If problems continue, a carb cleaning and rebuild are probably in order. Make sense? As maybe already noted, this motor sat outside for about 10-15 years unused. The starter motor was TOTALLY fused together with rust. I/m actually surprised it runs at all!!!

)

 

[Crosbyman]

carbs have 2 means of sending fuel inside the engine under the pull of the crankcase suction when pistons move towards top dead center
the low speed PRMs are fueld via the top needle which sends (allows) fuel to enter that small chamber then get sucked in via 3 very small holes .." dripping" fuel near the back choke plate. carefully drilling the plug on top and removing the dime size plug with a small prick or finishing nail will give to access to the 3 drip holes ( gas goes up on top via side channel in the carb body

for high speed ….the fuel is sucked out the bottom of the carb bowl & up the fuel post centerd in the carb

engine have a " cross over" point between LS HS operation

this is all well describded in the johnson bible red book page 101 (basic) and 146 for the RD

BTw you did do the electricals…. and timing adjustments ..yes...no ??



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