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Old 02-10-2012, 06:59 PM
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TomG TomG is offline
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Engine very hard to start after cleaning distributor advance mechanism

Well, today was to be the day when I ran the engine long enough to confirm the new standpipe corrected my problem of water entering the carb from the exhaust manifold.

Alas.

After getting to the boat, I checked the fuel tank and the carb fuel bowl for water. All was good; no water or separation. Engine fired up after a fuel seconds (the fuel pump had to refill the carb fuel bowl). Ran at idle nice and smooth for few minutes and the residual MMO burned off. Once the engine was warm, I gave it a little throttle and it didn't want to accelerate. Everything else seemed fine - water temp, oil pressure, sound, etc. It seemed like the timing didn't want to advance so I shut her down, popped the disty cap and pulled the plate with my petronix EI module. Sure enough (and somewhat surprisingly) the flyweight advance mechanism had a fair amount of rust and gunk on it. I took it completely apart, took a little emery cloth and cleaned off the rust, sprayed a little T-9 (anti-rust/lube) on the pieces and reassembled the advance.

Congratulating myself on a job well-done, I tried to start. No bueno. Hmmmm. Throttle off the stop, full choke, nada. Hmmm. Throttle off the stop, no choke, no joy. Try a couple of iterations. Finally, with no choke and what would normally be 3/4 throttle, she came to life, but really sounded awful... like she was lugging at 900 rpm. She wouldn't take any more throttle or any less. Hmmmm... must be the main jet got clogged after the new fuel went in and something settled down in the jet once I stopped the engine to check the advance mechanism.

Congratulating myself on my keen troubleshooting skills, I removed, drained, and thoroughly cleaned all the ports and passages in the carb. The good news was, everything looked good inside the mighty Zenith. Reassmebled and reinstalled the carb. Not good. Same as before. Hmmm. Must be something in the disty!

Congratualting myself yet again for superior troubleshooting and courage under fire, I took a long, close look at the whole enchalada. Cap looks fine, rotor looks fine, and the advance mechanism seems smooth.

Re-tracing my steps, it seems strange that it go from running smoothly at idle (but not taking additional throttle) to barely running at all. She has never run this poorly since I've had her.

Questions I have:

1. Could removing the petronix EI module cause these symptoms? I would think that the EI would either work or not... not in between.

2. Could a bad coil cause these symptoms?

3. Could I have inadvertently damaged the EI, the coil, or the disty by my gentle and straightforward machinations?

4. Any recommendations on what to check next?

Thanks in advance,
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