Engine Help- On vacation- Desperate

[Rick_Seebeck]

I am leaving next week for a houseboat vacation to Lake Cumberland and am taking my 83 ss along for some slalom fun.

Big problem:
I just finished a set and was idling back to the dock and the motor just quit- just like you turned the key off. Thought it was out of gas so I checked the tank and had 2 inches in the bottom.

Paddled back to shore and filled up the gas just to make sure and tried to restart the boat. It would fire but not run. If I pump the h@## out of the gas and close the choke the boat will start but if I let the RPMs drop to 1500 or less it just quits. Then it is bear to start again. When it does start it does not seem to run that well.

It had been running perfectly up to this point. As part of the rehab I have already done the following:

Fuel water seperator filter change
Ballast resistor
plugs
wires
cap
rotor
reluctor
magnetic pickup
coil
ECU
1000 CA battery
rebuilt starter
set the timing at 5.5 degrees btdc

Ya gotta help a brother out!!!

[Rick_Seebeck]

I forgot to mention that the tach is doing crazy stuff when I try to start the boat. It goes to 6000 rpms when i turn the boat over. If it starts the tach reads normal. When it turns over it is not spinning at 6000 rpms.

[Monte]

Fuel filter would be my guess..

[sethro]

I have read where the tachometer can actually cause problems. I don't recall not starting being a symptom, more of rough running sysmptoms. No experience with a tach causing problems, just reading about it in a fourm such as this.

Seems like I remember you saying you installed a new set of gauges to include a tach. Put the old one there just to be sure that's not it.

[mayo93prostar]

fuel pump?

[ChrisG]

fuel pump?

x2

That would be my guess too...since I just got done replacing mine. Not sure why that would affect the tach though.

[Bellinghamster]

Symptoms sound like possibly a heatsoaked carburator - pull the flame arrestor and see if there is fuel dumping into the carb throats immediately after cranking.

The funky tach sounds interesting and may be related... You can disconnect if from the ignition coil (the grey wire on the (-) side of the coil, I think) and see if that makes a difference.

[zberger]

fuel filter OR carb is gummed up.

83 boats had an ECU?

[denverd1]

not the fuel pump. mechanical on this boat.
since your coil is new, i wouldn't mess with the tach.
i would put a little more advance in the timing. what engine?

I'd start with fuel filter, for sure.

[canadianskier]

check and see if you have fuel going to the carb,pull the fuel inlet pipe/hose dissable ignition crank engine check for fuel. If the power wire on your tach is grounding out engine will cut out or not run.

[Cloaked]

not the fuel pump. mechanical on this boat.
since your coil is new, i wouldn't mess with the tach.
i would put a little more advance in the timing. what engine?

I'd start with fuel filter, for sure.LOL......Mechanical fuel pumps break. Been through several of them from failure...

[Rick_Seebeck]

The boat has a 440 Chrysler in it. I checked the fuel pump- lots of pressure. Replaced the fuel filter. Still no go. Took the boat into a mechanic and he pulled the carb off and tore it down. The inside was filled with sh*&t. It also showed signs of having water in it. Lots of rusted parts in the guts.

249 dollars to boil and rebuild. It should run good when done.

Yep, the 83 Chrysler 440 has electronic ignition and an ecu.

[SierraDump]

If its not the carb (and carbs do get dirty over time - so gunk in the carb doesn't necessarily mean its bad) -

This sounds electrical to me??? Have to leave it running above 1500RPM to keep it running? Maybe check the wires that run to the coil (would also explain irratic tachometer behavior?)