Motor difficult to start?

[rtoon]

I have a 97 150 Johnson FICHT. Motor starts well on first/cold start. After fishing a couple of hours, then ready to move, motor is difficult to start. At frist cranks like no spark. Then eventually starts to hit. Then smells as though flooded. After 15-20 minutes it will finally start. But then has a bad miss. Changed plugs and this didn't help. What next? Thanks--R.t. MOTOR NUMBER: J150ILEUC 049295248

[chrisbil]

Rtoon

Are the plugs you have in the motor indexed?

[rudetech1]

Make sure the battery cables are tight(no wing nuts). Make sure you have a good battery. Is it large enough, early edition fichts required a lot of cranking amps to get the voltages up. Group 29, we used group 31. If the crank rpm is low, the engine will not fire.

[rtoon]

chrisbil,

thanks for your reply. i'm mechanically illiterate and do not know what it means by having the plugs indexed. they were replaced with the same make and type plug that was taken out. the motor ran fine until recently.

thanks-- RT

[rtoon]

rudetech1,

thanks for your reply. the battery has not been tested for its strength. however, it sounds strong as it cranks. even after attempting to start it for several minutes, it never acts as though it is weak. i also don't understand how this would cause the motor to miss after it finally starts. it can be ran for a few minutes at WOT and then shut down to idle, it still misses. I will test the battery and make sure it is of a group 31 variety.

Thanks--RT

[rudetech1]

The spark plug index refers to the Gap on the spark plug facing the injector. This must be done correctly, if not, the engines do not want to light off and run rough. As far as the battery connection and strength, think of the engine as a PC, if you have a bad power supply or interruption, Your PC and all of its functions do not operate properly. At w.o.t. the engine is making a surplus of energy to run the system, at idle, there is less energy to run the system, or to start. When you start the engine, the starter takes energy, the ecu takes energy as well as all of the injectors,fuel pump, sensors. If the crank rpms are too low, even a little bit, the ecu will not fire the engine. It has to have the correct rpm signal from the CPS to fire it up. If the energy is low, so will the RPMs, therefore the engine will not start.

[rtoon]

rudetech1,

i truly appreciate the service you provide to us. if there are things we are able to diagnose and repair ourselves, it saves a significant amount of money on mechanic labor. soooo, thanks. Now to the questions.

1. I now understand why it is important to index the plugs. The next ? is how do you know the plug gap is properly aligned?

2. If the battery is weak, this could explain why the motor lights off & runs fine on first start of the day. Then on next start after a couple of hours of fishing, it is dfficult to start & runs rough. I also noticed after running the motor, turning it off, then restarting, the motor will start right back up. I will make sure connections are tight & clean, and probably replace the battery. Hopefully this is the solution.

Thanks again-- RT

[chrisbil]

rtoon,

I have a 1998 Evinrude FICHT with 157 hours. If you can purchase a laptop and BRP's 142b Diagnostic software you will be able to look at the ECU's readout.

I purchased both and can trouble shoot any problems with the motor.

[rtoon]

chrisbil,

a laptop is not a problem. is an omc dealer the place for brp 142b diagnostic software?

thanks--RT

[chrisbil]

Yes....

You need the cable and diagnostic hardware. My dealer in CT ordered it for me and its the best thing I ever did next to signing up on this board. These guys really know there outboards. My program runs off DOS not windows. So you may have to configure your laptop.

[ChampioNman]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rtoon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
1. I now understand why it is important to index the plugs. The next ? is how do you know the plug gap is properly aligned? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Take a black magic marker and make a line above the air gap on the ceramic of the plug. Install the plug in the cylinder and tighten it down. the line should face the injector. If not try it in another cylinder. Ideal is facing it you have 90* to play with you just don't want the gap facing away from the injector.

[SEAHORSE]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rtoon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">rudetech1,


1. I now understand why it is important to index the plugs. The next ? is how do you know the plug gap is properly aligned?
</TD></TR></TABLE>


http://www.boatsetup.com/PlgIndexing.html