Outboard trouble

[smithrandall]

Went out to the boat this weekend and started up my old 1988 Honda 10 h.p. but everytime I rolled the throttle from the start position to the idle position the engine would shut down. It would continue to run if I kept it at a high setting.

Everything seemed to be fine when I took the cover off. I made sure the sparkplug was seated properly. Fuel line seemed fined.

The only thing different from last time I ran the motor was I apparently didn't tilt the engine out of the water. It could have been messed with by someone else but I probably forget to raise it after I locked it. But that shouldn't have done anything.

Any ideas?

[James V]

check for bad fuel or stuff in it and filter. Check Idle adjustment screw.

[Don T]

Hello,
What James said, since we don't know how long it's been since the last time the motor ran I'll take a guess. If fuel sits in the carbs a long time it can gum up the pilot (idle) jet. Tilting the motor up probably stops this from happening because the pilot jet is no longer down in the fuel when it evaporates. Also, water can collect in the bottom of the float bowl. The pilot jet is the lowest point so a small amount of water will stop it from idling but the main jet is clear. Try draining the float bowls, collecting what comes out to see if there is water.

[smithrandall]

I will check that. Thanks.

!	Hamin' X:
	Note: I have cross posted this topic to the Performance & Tuning Forum. This should give your question more exposure. ~Rich