A couple of mysteries;
Yesterday before trying to start my usually trusty A-4 for the first time this spring, I tried removing spark plugs and shooting a little Marvel Oil into each cylinder. The idea was to lubricate the pistons to reduce wear when starting after they dried out over the winter. Plugs went back in, but the engine wouldn't start. Spark looked ok. Today I noticed the telltale red color of the oil coming out the bottom of the carb at the choke valve stem fitting. The carb had a lot of red-colored gas in it. No junk in it otherwise. I removed it and cleaned it, putting carb cleaner through the jets, and reinstalled. She started right up and ran fine after some smoky exhaust at first. I didn't think the Marvel would work its way into the carburetor and make the gasoline less flammable, but it did. I guess I put too much Marvel in the cylinders, and/or did it too soon before starting.
The other mystery, and the reason for the thread, is this:
After running for about a half-hour the engine suddenly lost some RPM and sounded different, as though some additional load was on it. It was in forward about 1200 rpm at the time, in the slip. I tried putting it in reverse for a while, in case something was in the prop, to maybe back it off. No change.
Then, after running the A-4 for an hour, I shut off the fuel upstream of the RACOR filter, and waited for it to run out of gas. I do this sometimes to keep the carb clean of fuel that may have dirt in it while it sits unused. It's not a problem as long as I remember to turn off power to the coil after the A4 shuts down. I had the blower running during this time, which is not usual, since I leave the engine compartment open and am there sniffing for gas. This time, when the engine shut down after a few minutes, the lights in the engine compartment and the blower shut down at the same time, but only for two seconds or so. Other electrical things may have stopped too, I don't know. This has never happened before. What could it be? Is there an alternator problem?
Appreciate any thoughts, thanks.
Yesterday before trying to start my usually trusty A-4 for the first time this spring, I tried removing spark plugs and shooting a little Marvel Oil into each cylinder. The idea was to lubricate the pistons to reduce wear when starting after they dried out over the winter. Plugs went back in, but the engine wouldn't start. Spark looked ok. Today I noticed the telltale red color of the oil coming out the bottom of the carb at the choke valve stem fitting. The carb had a lot of red-colored gas in it. No junk in it otherwise. I removed it and cleaned it, putting carb cleaner through the jets, and reinstalled. She started right up and ran fine after some smoky exhaust at first. I didn't think the Marvel would work its way into the carburetor and make the gasoline less flammable, but it did. I guess I put too much Marvel in the cylinders, and/or did it too soon before starting.
The other mystery, and the reason for the thread, is this:
After running for about a half-hour the engine suddenly lost some RPM and sounded different, as though some additional load was on it. It was in forward about 1200 rpm at the time, in the slip. I tried putting it in reverse for a while, in case something was in the prop, to maybe back it off. No change.
Then, after running the A-4 for an hour, I shut off the fuel upstream of the RACOR filter, and waited for it to run out of gas. I do this sometimes to keep the carb clean of fuel that may have dirt in it while it sits unused. It's not a problem as long as I remember to turn off power to the coil after the A4 shuts down. I had the blower running during this time, which is not usual, since I leave the engine compartment open and am there sniffing for gas. This time, when the engine shut down after a few minutes, the lights in the engine compartment and the blower shut down at the same time, but only for two seconds or so. Other electrical things may have stopped too, I don't know. This has never happened before. What could it be? Is there an alternator problem?
Appreciate any thoughts, thanks.
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