No compression

[JOHN COOKSON]

Don't forget to confirm the choke is closing all the way.

TRUE GRIT

[Marty Levenson]

success!

Wired up the recharged batteries, checked one plug for spark, saw it was yellow. Tried the primary coil wire, saw it too was weak. Changed the coil and she fired right up. Ahhhhh.

Had an issue with stalling below 1500 RPM, so reset the carb mixture control. Perfect!

Next question is trusting the temp gauge, as it didn't seem to move after ten minutes running, five in gear. Next weekend they have to move the boat about two hours away, where she will be on a mooring, so a bit of a rush now. I have a cheapo infrared temp gun to loan them - would that be good enough for the journey? Can't see why not.

Thanks for all the support - writing and feedback help me clarify how to proceed. For the new boat owners it has been a quick, effective learning curve.

[JOHN COOKSON]

Three Cheers For Marty

Marty
You handled this situation like a true Afourian.
It is good to have high caliber people like you on board.
You can work on my engine any time.

TRUE GRIT

[Marty Levenson]

hook

Thanks, John. It really is fun, and they are nice people, but really the hook is solving the puzzle! (plus I brush up on my troubleshooting skills).

[CalebD]

Good job Marty. You get good karma points while brushing up your troubleshooting skills. Win-win.

[Marian Claire]

Good karma is right. Well done.
I have an inexpensive oven thermometer as a back up, the flat base is wedged in between the head and manifold. It reads about 15 to 20 degrees above my gauge. The temp sensor for the gauge is mounted at the exit of the manifold.

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=57&pictureid=611

Dan S/V Marian Claire

[sastanley]

Marty, I do not see any reason why a handheld temp gun would not be sufficient. I recommend getting some readings before the journey (tied to the dock), so they know what to expect, or to see anypotential issues before departing.

[Marty Levenson]

rich/lean

To get a good idle we had to adjust the carb's rich/lean screw all the way in (rich). I was wondering if that would indicate that the distributor needs to be turned clockwise slightly?

If so, would the procedure be to turn the rich/lean screw out a full turn, start the engine, and then rotate the dist until able to find a good idle?

Never understood why retard/advance od the dist affects richness...?

Thanks!

[JOHN COOKSON]

To get a good idle we had to adjust the carb's rich/lean screw all the way in (rich). I was wondering if that would indicate that the distributor needs to be turned clockwise slightly?
If so, would the procedure be to turn the rich/lean screw out a full turn, start the engine, and then rotate the dist until able to find a good idle?
Never understood why retard/advance od the dist affects richness...?
Thanks!

Retard/advance does not affect the rich/lean/speed idle setting on the carb.
The best way to summarize is to say is carburetor rich/lean/speed setting will compensate for problems or settings in the ignition system. Said another way sometimes it is necessary to increase to increase idle speed/richness to get the engine to idle when there are problems in the ignition side.
The first step is to get the ignition side correct or as correct as possible. Then play idle speed against idle richness until you have a satisfactory idle. If you can't get a decent idle this way you need to look a bit deeper. Maybe there is crud in the carb idle circuit or something not right with the distributor. Be sure the advance is working correctly. Often over looked.
I was able to get my idle down to ~ 600 RPM this way. I can shift on to and out of gear at idle and the engine does not die. I'm so close to the edge if I don't get the dwell setting absolutely correct the engine will not idle at all. It dies when I try to idle it.

TRUE GRIT