1967 Evinrude Lightwin won’t start/run

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  • August 19, 2020 at 11:27 am #212048
    mierla
    Participant

      Hi folks, I’ve got a 1967 Evinrude Lightwin I’ve been trying to get running reliably and it’s got me stumped. It’s my first outboard, and my ebay-ed service manual and limited experience have hit a wall.

      It cranks and sounds for all the world like it’s going to start, but never does unless you squirt gas mix directly into the carburetor, at which point it starts and runs for a few seconds, as seen here: 1967 Lightwin won’t start

      Prior to this, I had it running pretty smoothly, until the recoil spring broke. I had that replaced, and then ran it for about half an hour during which it sounded a little off, but I thought maybe the low speed needle had just gotten bumped, so the next morning I set out to re-dial in the carb and couldn’t get it to start, and it hasn’t at all since then, except as you see in the video.

      Since the fateful day, I’ve tried different spark plugs, drained the tank and tried fresh gas, rebuilt and tried two different carburetors, inspected the leaf valves (they don’t seem to be cracked or chipped), replaced all the intake gaskets and the head gasket, cleaned carbon out of the exhaust chamber, the adapter plate, and the silencer, and replaced the coils, condensers, and points. The fuel line drains from the tank with a good flow. The carburetor bowl is filling up. The motor has about 70psi on each cylinder, and a spark plug tester shows good spark on each one.

      What have I missed? Why can’t I get the gas to go from the carburetor to the cylinders?

      Thank you,
      Lauren

      August 19, 2020 at 11:57 am #212051
      Ronaldu
      Participant

        Are the spark plug wires on the correct plugs. When rebuilding carb. Did you check all the ports that are cast into the carb body and clean.?? Try starting with out the silencer if possible on that model . I am not

        August 19, 2020 at 11:58 am #212053
        Ronaldu
        Participant

          I’m not familiar with that model

          August 19, 2020 at 12:22 pm #212056
          mierla
          Participant

            Thanks for the reply, Ronaldu.

            I did try it without the silencer after I shot the video, with the same result: no go unless you shoot fuel straight into the carb.

            I’ll double-check, but I believe the spark plug wires are on the correct plugs. The top one still has the little metal band that says “top” on it, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that whoever had the motor before me had them swapped around. I’ll give that a go.

            As for the carb(s), for the first one, I did remove the welch plug and the lead shot, sprayed/soaked it all with carb cleaner, ran a strand of wire through all the little holes, and cleaned it out with compressed air before putting it back together with a carb kit. That first one has what I now think is a not-quite-compatible high-speed adjustment needle kit, and the threads were pretty well stripped on the bowl where the needle valve goes. When the motor started..not..starting.. I noticed it was leaking a little fuel around that adjustment valve, so I thought, ahha, that’s the problem, and ordered a second carb from Ebay.

            That second carb just has a high-speed plug, not a needle. When I took the bowl off and inspected the jets, they all looked clean so I didn’t go as far as pulling out the welch plug or the leadshot, though I did spray carb cleaner through all the orifices like they do on the Lightwin carb tune-up on outboard-boat-motor-repair.com

            Maybe I should try the second, non-leaking carburetor bowl on the body of the first carburetor that I completely cleaned and rebuilt?

            August 19, 2020 at 12:40 pm #212058
            oldcollector
            Participant

              US Member

              When you tried the other carb,did you take it apart and clean it first and make all the adjustments? The floats are noted for having many problems. The float level should be adjusted to be set closed when the carburetor is upside down and the float level,level with the bowl gasket . Hope this makes sense to you,if not refer to repair manual. Initial high speed needle adjustment should be 3/4 In. open from the closed position. The slow speed needle should be set at 1 1/4 to 2 turns from the closed position.

              August 19, 2020 at 2:41 pm #212071
              mierla
              Participant

                Thanks, oldcollector – on the second carb, I only went so far as to take the bowl off to check the high-speed jet was clear and look over the float – it was indeed level with the bowl gasket when upside down, but the float needle was missing the little hook-shaped spring, so I put one on.

                I guess my next step is to do a more thorough teardown cleaning on the second carb, huh? When I get it apart this evening, I’ll be sure to take some photos to add to this thread.

                Thanks again, folks – I very much appreciate your time and insight!

                August 19, 2020 at 3:57 pm #212079
                terriblecj
                Participant

                  For whatever reason, they need to be really clean to run properly. I went through several carbs until I realized I wasnt doing a thorough enough job of cleaning the thing. Once something gets in there, you gotta get it out or it just wont do well. Have you inspected the magneto?

                  • This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by terriblecj.
                  August 19, 2020 at 5:49 pm #212087
                  Tubs
                  Participant

                    A "Boathouse Repair" is one that done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.

                    • This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by Tubs.
                    August 19, 2020 at 9:31 pm #212111
                    need2fish
                    Participant

                      If the plugs are dry fuel starvation is the problem. When you hold the carburetor upright with the lower bowl removed, does the float hang at an angle. I.e. is the float valve opening to let fuel into the bowl?

                      Stupid question, but is there a butterfly on the throttle arm ? As a naive teenager I spent the better part of a day trying to get my newly aquired RD to run only to find that someone had removed the butterfly plate.

                      Usually the lead for the top plug enters the magneto plate at the front of the engine.

                      Ya, I’d ditch the carb body with the stripped threads. How the heck does that happen ?

                      August 20, 2020 at 9:46 am #212136
                      lindy46
                      Participant

                        How do you know the carb bowl is filling up? Did you check the carb before re-installing? With carb right-side up, if you blow in the fuel inlet, air should pass. Turn the carb upside down and blow and no air should pass. If the float needle is stuck in the orifice, the bowl won’t fill with fuel and the motor won’t start. Also, if the bowl vent is clogged, the bowl won’t fill. Also, did you check the fuel filter in the tank? Once they’re clogged, they’re clogged and need to be replaced. They clog from the bottom up, so motor may run on a full tank but not on a near-empty tank.

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