Couldn't restart engine

[Sarns]

Brand new to the forum. Just motored 5 hours to a secluded bay along the coast of Nova Scotia, dropped the "hook" and turned off the engine. I needed to restart the A-4 approximately 5 minutes after initially turning it off and nothing... nada... The lights on the instrument panel worked ok and there was plenty of battery power. My knowledge of engines is limited (very) so a cursory inspection revealed little. I let the engine sit for approximately ten minutes, tried the key once again, and lo and behold it started. Clearly something is amiss, any suggestions.

[smosher]

Hi Sarns and welcome to the forum. It could be several things either gas or electrical. Tell us about your engine, old or new style, mechanical fuel pump, or electric pump, points or electronic ignition. What boat you have etc..

3 things to try next time it happens to narrow it down. Take off the flame arrestor and see if there's gas in the bottom of the throat. Take out a spark plug and with the lead still attached lay it against the head. Turn the engine over and see if you have spark. Lastly from me anyway, unscrew the gas cap and try it again.

Let us know what you find / have

Steve

[romantic comedy]

Welcome to the forum. You will find some great guys here, and very helpful too.

When an engine will not start, there is a simple way of trouble shooting. Steve was was on it.

You need 3 things: Gas, spark, compression.

First thing I so is remove a spark plug and smell for gas, or look at the plug.

Check for spark, buy hooking plug to wire, grounding plug, and cranking engine. You can also just take coil wire and hole it 1/8 inch away from the ground, and crank away.

Check for gas. I keep starting fluid on board. (ether) You squirt it in the spark arrester, and crank the engine. If the engine starts, and runs for a few seconds, then you know it is a fuel problem.

99 percent of the time, the issue is not compression. This just means that the mechanics of the engine are working. The pistons are going up and down, and the valves are operating, etc...

[Marian Claire]

Welcome to the forum. When you say "nothing" do you mean it did not start or it did not crank? Dan S/V Marian Claire

[Mo]

Sarns....where exactly are you. Look for spark, if no spark or yellow spark ...and if you are points and condenser... change the condenser. Happened to me once. Took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on...sometimes corrosion builds around the condensers and after a long run fire is affected.

If you don't have EI give Ken a call at MMI and pick up Electronic Ignition and a 4 ohm resisted coil...will take care of that stuff. If you end up in and around Halifax let me know. So friggin busy this weekend (my friend was killed in a motorcylce accident on Thursday and his wife was killed three years ago in a car crash... so helping the kids with all sorts of stuff). If you are still experiencing problems after Wednesday by all means send me a PM. I will be heading out on the boat next weekend myself...will need a break by then.

[zellerj]

poor connection

My guess is that you have a poor connection that sometimes lead to nothing happening when you turn the key. Since starting the engine draws a lot more juice than lights and instrument panel, a poor connection will manifest itself with a "nada" when the key is turned. Start with the batteries, then the connections of the large wires to the starter and ground - those circuits carry the most juice. If they have not been cleaned in a few years, now would be a good time to clean them up with emery cloth or fine sand paper. Then make sure all the wires are in good condition at the switch and the solenoid of the starter.

Best,
Jim

[Sarns]

Couldn't start engine

Thanks everyone for the responses. Once I return to home port I'll begin to narrow down the possible causes. For those interested my present location is 44 degrees 28.496 N, 63 degrees 45.342 W. Also known as Rogues Roost.

Cheers

[Sarns]

smosher et al

To answer your question, which would make answering mine far easier ... it's a newer model (1979) with a mechanical pump, points, a mind of her own and installed on a home made 34' sailboat.

[Marian Claire]

Digging the home made boat part as the MC is the same. Still need to know what " nothing, nada" means. Be safe out there. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[Al Schober]

Sarns,
Until we hear otherwise, we have to assume than even the starter doesn't turn when you turn the key. That would definately be 'nada'.
Bad ignition switch comes to mind (& easy to fix). Use a test light to see if you're getting power to the small connection on the starter solenoid when you turn the key to start. If not, it's the switch or wiring. If you get power there but no starter action, it's the solenoid, the starter, or a bad connection to the battery.
Give us some more info. What do you do, and what happens??

[Mo]

Sarns, you are at the Roost...one of my weekend hiding spots. Remove the distributer cap and remove the condenser...scrape the metal on the plate and on the condenser and re install. Sometimes corrosion causes problems on the grounding.

I live in Halifax area Shearwater Yacht Club...902 461 122 eight if you need to call me. Home right now.

PS .. the bottom is terrible there....all kelp and rock. If you are not on a mooring throw down a Bruce or CQR and throw it in reverse until you hook something solid...terrible to try and get a hold with a Danforth. FWIW.

[Sony2000]

5 hours of motoring and then after 5 minutes it wouldn't restart.
Did you use the choke?
Where was the throttle set?
I think I wouldn't use the choke, and add a little bit more than usual throttle.

[romantic comedy]

Thinking about this, I remembered that this was fairly common, back in the eighties.
I had this issues with a VW bug. I would be on the hwy and stop for a few minutes. Then when I tried starting it, it would stall. Waited a few minutes, and it would start with no prob.

The same thing happened with a 1969 johnson 40 hp, i had. It was a hand pull start. When I had t he cover off, I could see fuel foaming out the carb....

Anyway, a friend or mine, went to a Chrysler conference. They told them that this problem was do to fuel foaming, or some such expression. It had to do with the fuel in the bowl being hot, and the incoming fuel being much colder. It would cause fuel to spill into the engine, and cause a rich condition.

With the Atomic Four, we have an updraft carb, but it still may be the cause.

Just something to consider.

[Carl-T705]

Hi Mo, That is very very kind of you to help that family,What a tragic set of circumstances. It's situations like that I'm reminded of, when I think I'm having a bad day.

[Sarns]

Couldn't restart engine

Returned to home port motoring entire way. As before, once I turned off the engine I couldn't restart it. Now the detective work begins... Once again here are the symptoms: I ran the engine for approximately 4 hours. I then turned the engine off and tried to restart and nothing happened. The starter didn't turn, no whirs, bangs or grunts... nothing. Once the engine cools down (about 20 minutes) it will restart as if nothing was wrong. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions.