Please Help! 1991 Rude 90 Hp Died on Lake

[whess3298]

I was fishing this morning and pulled the troller to move to another part of the lake. It ran fine to my spot. I killed the Rude and dropped the troller and fished for a while. When I tried to start the motor again . . . no start. It cranked fine, but would not start. I have it home and tried to check for spark. I sprayed fuel into the air silencers to try to get it to hit, but still did not fire. I can't see any spark on any of the plug wires. I am mechanically inclined, but a newbie to boat motors. Any diagnostic procedures or "most likely problems" would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. . .

 

[ezeke]

Re: Please Help! 1991 Rude 90 Hp Died on Lake

First, carefully check your emergency kill switch to be sure it is not engaged.

Then try disconnecting the black and yellow wire at the powerpacks to insure that it is not grounding out the powerpack. If it starts with the black and yellow wire disconnected, it may be a bad ignition switch or a short. Be prepared to stop the engine by fllooding it with the primer or pulling plug wires.

Disconnect the large red plug at the engine and clean the terminals.

 

[whess3298]

Re: Please Help! 1991 Rude 90 Hp Died on Lake

It now runs, but I have concerns because I don't know what was wrong. Thanks for your response. I checked the kill switch on the lake first thing. After posting, I checked wires and took off the black box on top of the motor that all the individual coil wires connect to. I bolted it back on and hit the switch and it fired right up. Could it have been a loose wire somewhere? I rechecked the kill switch here, but it was disengaged, and looked ok. I redid the kill switch again anyway. I will take it back to the lake this evening to check it out again. I'll post again if the problem returns. Thanks again for your response. This is a great forum!

 

[ezeke]

Re: Please Help! 1991 Rude 90 Hp Died on Lake

If it were my motor, I would begin a systematic check of every connection; take them off, clean them thoroughly, and tighten them up. Then coat with liquid tape. Especially, check the ground wires.

There is nothing more unpleasant than a dead engine when you are on the water - except for the fish that gets away.

 

[whess3298]

Re: Please Help! 1991 Rude 90 Hp Died on Lake

That is a good idea. A few days ago I had lots of trouble pulling my fishfinder cable through the boat conduit that holds all of the control cables. I had some trouble with my live well pump and gauges. I took a panel off and straightened out some cables to get them working again. I think my kill switch wires run in the same conduit and right by the kill switch. I'll find time to check each wire and cable to make sure everything is ok. Thanks for the advice!