How do i know if my outboard motor getting spark some times

If the engine takes a little bit longer to fire up when turning the key and getting the engine to turn over. Double-check that the motor hasnt been left in gear by moving the shifter in and out of gear a couple of times.

A good strong spark means the air and fuel mixture in the cylinder will be ignited properly.

How do i know if my outboard motor getting spark some times. Hold the plug wire about 14 inch from the powerhead not over the spark plug. Turn the motor over one time only either with the recoil starter or the electrical starter. Watch for a spark and observe its character.

A good strong spark means the air and fuel mixture in the cylinder will be ignited properly. If an outboard motor is missing that means that the spark required to ignite the fuel and air mixture from the carburetor is either weak or absent altogether. This means that you are wasting one cylinders worth of fuel with each full revolution of the motors flywheel.

Either the spark plug is damaged or no power is reaching the plug. That would mean that the motor is getting air and spark because it did run for a second. Your troubleshooting would then immediately move to the fuel phase.

If it wont start at all this could be due to an issue with the spark plugs these are often overlooked as everybody thinks the battery is. If you regularly foul the spark plugs this is one indication that your boat is suffering from a weak spark. If the engine takes a little bit longer to fire up when turning the key and getting the engine to turn over.

This is another sign of possibly a bad coil or missing spark on one cylinder. Cracked or Broken Coil. Like everything that is on a boat engine the coil inside your outboard is sealed component.

Yep weve all been there. Hunched over the back off the boat yanking the pull-cord with increasing desperation. Guest poster Mindi Braswell from Aboard Marguerite shares how to quickly diagnose and troubleshoot outboard motors.

Plus weve a included a bonus T my engine wont start checklist at the bottom of the post. Im not a professional marine mechanic but Ive. If you do not see a spark there is an ignition problem.

Remove a plug wire and insert an old spark plug or a spark plug tester into the end of the wire the plug boot. Place the spark plug on a metal surface on the engine or ground the spark plug tester to the. Either way the symptoms of a bad fuel pump on an outboard motor can be a headache you didnt see coming and now you need to know how to tell if your outboard motor fuel pump is bad.

Now for some good news. If youre wondering how to test your fuel pump troubleshooting the system can take less than 30 minutes with minimal cost to repair. This in turn starts the outboard engine.

A faulty solenoid could prevent the starter from getting power so ruling this out first before condemning your starter is a must. To determine whats causing your starting issue follow these steps. Place your voltmeters positive lead to the positive terminal of the battery.

The way you do that is to mark on the outer casing which way the spark plug is facing and that way you can see that mark you can see the injector coming in so you know it needs to face that way. The instructions for doing this basically say bring it down finger tight till the crush washer touches the block and then turn it until the index mark faces the injector. Especially if your outboard motor has a few years of wear on it replace all spark plugs and spark plug wires in the engine.

This will ensure that the air and fuel mixture is introduced to the cylinders ignites without even the most minor misfires which can add up over time to. I think my outboard was running on one cylinder. If you electrocuted yourself then you might be using the spark-plug-held-to-the-engine-block method of checking for spark.

This is a good way to tell if there is no-spark but. Check the spark plug. To know for sure if a fouled or damaged spark plug is the cause of your boats engine issues youll need to examine the spark plugs.

Inspect the spark plugs for damage to the insulator tip boot and upper and lower insulators. Next check the spark plugs for signs of fouling. Check spark plug for a strong blue spark if you dont get one a service engineer should check the ignition system for fault if your spark is blue continue to 5 Install plug and test run in the boat for 10 minutes then reinspect plug.

Replacing your fuel filter is vital in your boat motor service list. The component will remove debris and water from the fuel before it reaches the inner workings of your engine. You need to know what kind of engine you have in order to choose the right filter.

Some motors will use a two-phase two filter system. Replace the Engine Oil Filter. First check the green wire for 12v.

Next we need to remove one at a time the purple and the white wire. One of those is the kill switch. Try one and test for spark then try the other and test for spark.

If the capacitor shorted out that would shut down the spark system or if the trigger failed. Sometimes getting your socket to reach the spark plug can be tricky with all the other parts on the motor getting in the way. Often you may need to use a 3 inch or even a 6 inch socket extension bar to reach the spark plugs properly and have enough clearance to use the socket wrench without hitting anything on the motor.

If you find water in your fuel you may want to check that the pump is in good condition. You can perform a Mercury outboard fuel pump test by removing the spark plug wire boot from the spark plug and then removing the spark plug with a plug socket and wrench. Attach a compression gauge into the spark plug socket.

Outboard Troubleshooting Tip 1. The simplest things that would prevent an engine from starting can be easily overlooked but start with the obvious first. Most outboards wont start unless the shifter is in neutral.

Double-check that the motor hasnt been left in gear by moving the shifter in and out of gear a couple of times. To measure the spark on my Johnson I made a air gap measuring device. This disregards the plug altogether.

Yes they are nails. The black tape helps you see the spark and I used a jump lead to connect the earth contact to the motor. You need to check the air gap for your motor.

When theres an imbalance of these elements the motor may fuel with an excess amount of fuel. As a result starting the engine may prove difficult due to the wet spark plugs. So what are some of the common causes of flooded boat motors.

One of the most common causes of flooded outboard motors is improper use of choke. How much do you really know about carburetors. If youre like me not much beyond the fact that if a gas engine isnt running right its probably the carbs fault.

While some gas engines inboards outboards generators being the most common on cruising boats have direct fuel injection most have a carburetor.