Alight I’m looking for some advice to help get me boating again. Motor in question is an 1996 Erude 150 with disabled VRO. The one with the 6 plastic one barrel carbs. So I’m ideling around Saturday for a couple of hours when all of a sudden it won’t stay running under 1500 rpm. I smell unburned fuel and have little rainbows all around the boat. I start to head back in and she’s just not running right but we made it to the ramp. Well I get it home and start to diagnose. Three plugs on the same side of the motor are fouled and it’s making an oily/fuely mess of the drive way running on the hose. Verified that all six cyls have spark, a couple the hard way.Oouch!! So i swap the plugs around and no change. I knew it wasn’t just plugs. So I figure I got fuel problems but I’m not an expert. I have pulled three of the carbs and they are soking in a bucket as we speak and I’ll start on the other three tonight. BUT there is a cast aluminum manifold(???) behind each bank of three carbs which seems to be part of the fuel delivery system(???). What is it’s function and could the idle/fouled pluggs problem be deeper than the carbs and be in these manifolds? I have yet to see any trash that would be the likely culprit. I have a water seperator and filter. Thanks in advance
Had a similar problem on an old 89 225 johnson,wouldnt idle below 1000rpm turned out to be a bad piston ,rings were wiped out compr was 30psi,do yourself a favor and check compression before you go further then go from there.Chris V can help you out any further drop it by him for a look you wont be sorry,they are highly reccomended here.
03 1720 Key West
Thanks for you’re advice RT. I’ve used Chris before and you’re right. He got me back on the water quickly.
I found some water in the carbs last night and three of the plugs are brown so I think I’m on the right track. Two carbs cleaned and four to go, then I get to dump the tank. It’s odd that the water seperator had no water in it but thats just my luck.
18’10"
ActionCraft
Flats Master
more than likely its bad gas especially if it has been sittin for a while, im tellin u that ethanol is horrible if it isnt burned in 3 weeks!!
19’ Key West CC 140 Johnson
16’ War Eagle 40 Yami
12’ Alumacraft 1954 Johnson 5.5
I’d rather be a conservative nut-job than a liberal with no nuts and no job!!
It’s only been sitting for a couple of weeks but I’ll admit I havn’t used star-tron in a few months. I’m sure I will be more vigilant in the future.
Anyone want 15 gallons premix 50/1 free?
18’10"
ActionCraft
Flats Master
sounds like they would be inheriting ur problem lol, find a gas station that will take it, or try running it thru ur lawnmover. Exxon on folly road near smith cleaners takes it i believe!!
19’ Key West CC 140 Johnson
16’ War Eagle 40 Yami
12’ Alumacraft 1954 Johnson 5.5
I’d rather be a conservative nut-job than a liberal with no nuts and no job!!
if you have 3 dead cylinders on one side, I would bank on electrical
I’m now at www.teamcharlestonmarine.com
Chris, can you have spark but not enough? When I first pulled the plugs and saw that all three on the same side were brown and fouled I thought POWER PACK but I then went on to verify that I have fire from the plug wire to each of the plugs. I did this by running the engine and individually pulling a plug wire from the plug and looking for the arc. Next I removed each plug, one at a time, and spun the engine over and determined I have a spark on all six. Thats what led to think fuel problems. Thanks for you’re time and advice.
18’10"
ActionCraft
Flats Master
its possible, but not likely.
about as likely as having all 3 carbs on 1 side of the engine being bad.
neither is very common, but yes, I have seen coils and or powerpacks fail under load.
the reason I think its not carbs, is the unburt fuel is present
I’m now at www.teamcharlestonmarine.com
Chris, thanks for taking time to respond. I’m sure you have plenty of paying customers you could be talking with. I’ll be putting all the carbs back on tonight and see if it made any difference. Someone else suggested intermittent failure of the power pack and that would explain alot. Do you stock a power pack and what is a ball park price? Again it’s a 1996 Erude Ocean Pro 150 V6 and has loop charged written on the breather. About 3 years ago you installed a wire harness on the same boat. It hasn’t missed a lick untill now. I suppose I should be thankfull in that, since I have to pre mix, if the power pack is the culprit at least it was getting lubrication on the 2-3 mile run in.
18’10"
ActionCraft
Flats Master
What Chris V said… you can pull a plug out and see it spark or feel it…but reinstall it under compression and air/fuel mixture it may not. 110 volts will shock you but it takes 10,000-40,000 volts to fire a plug correctly.
The thing behind the carbs is the reed valves as long as they are still there and not broken you should be OK.
26’ Twinvee
Suzuki 175’s
www.creeksidemetalworks.com
Y knot, you mentioned finding some water in carbs. Have you recently changed fuel filters and possibly forgot to pretreat it with gas? I would still listen to Chris and the others. The only reason I mentioned that was the first time I put one on my boat I didn’t presoak. The next one I bought the man told me about it.
A big thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to a complete stranger and a half a$$ boat mechanic. I ran out of daylight last night but I got the carbs back on, tank emptied, and compression check completed. The old gas smells like diesel fuel but it was getting dark so I couldn’t tell if there was water present. Plan on fresh gas and plugs tonight and if it still runs like crap I’ll be hunting a power pack. Since some of you have been kind enough to offer advice I’ll be sure to post the out come.
18’10"
ActionCraft
Flats Master
If your power packs are universal(can be switched left/right) trade sides and see if the problem follows the power pack.
Power Pack is my bet also check for corroded wire ends on your power pack wires and grounds. Fixed one like this just the other day doing the same thing.
Rick
I’ve got a 110 johnson that had a faint skip that bonly I noticed when running.Nobody else in the boat seemed to notice even after I mentioned it. I more of less heard it than felt it. Boat sat up for a long time and now no fire on one plug. Process of elimination led to power pack not putting out on one wire.
Had the same problem… Switch box.
pull all three plugs off one side of the motor, see iff it runs the same. then you will atleast know which side the issue is.
2502 trophy twin 175 mercs
“The Rum Runner”
under construction
I think the power pack is priobably the issue but it’s $240 and not returnable if it’s something else. So i’m letting a pro take a look this afternoon whit the tools to properly dignose. I’ll post back with the outcome.
Thanks for all the advice.
18’10"
ActionCraft
Flats Master
Alright all. I just got a call from the repair shop and I was way off base. They are telling me that my VRO/fuel pump has a leak and won’t build up any fuel pressure. I’d have never figured that one out in a million years. They ran diagnostics on the power pack, stator, a couple of other electrical components, and said they all check out ok. Looks like I’ll get to stop pre-mixing right after I get my wallet out.
Thanks one last time to all who tried to help. Boy do I have a lot of shrimp & fish to catch to justify this bill to the wife.
Maybe she won’t notice.
18’10"
ActionCraft
Flats Master