Twatsoo let me down!

spartacus · 04 May 2013, 20:13

Totally hacked off. Been working like a dog all winter. Planned to go fishing tomorrow. Hauled the boat out, but engine won't start.

I service the engine over the last couple of months - new impeller, high performance gear oil, new sparks, cleaned thermostat and renewed gasket, new fuel pump rebuild (cost a small fortune), replaced fuel/water separator filter, cleaned inline fuel filter.

New fuel today, tank vented, safety lanyard fitted, pumped fuel till fuel bulb was hard, opened cold start lever to increase revs, plenty choke and then turned the key. Engine turns over but not even a hint of ignition.

Tried everything. Even drained the carbs. Fuel looked a little dirty. I normally run the engine with the fuel hose disconnected to drain the carbs after washing, so might have been old fuel that was in the engine. Checked sparks (holding spark plug against head) so sparking on all 3 cylinders. Opened electrics on the engine side and cleaned all bullet connectors and checked inline fuse. Pulled sparks as it could be flooded. Dried them off and reconnected. Still nothing.

I'm at a loss unless carbs are dirty. It's an autolube incidentally.

Battery took a hammering this afternoon, so its back on trickle charge overnight. Still going fishing... just without the boat.

Any help appreciated.

Ribtecer · 04 May 2013, 21:07

Should have bought an Etec!!! Just started mine after the winter and BANG straight in to life...

Bigmuz7 · 04 May 2013, 21:15

didnt flush my old Yam and havent run it since July last year

.. Ive been naughty I know ... last years fuel & no servicing work .. starts & runs after 4 goes, as good as.. just 2 days ago... didnt post that to annoy you or feel smug .. cos I know the hassle of the problem, but it proves how little effect some of these things can have.

The fuel pump would be my first port of call if its had work.. can you see the plugs getting wet ? and were the plugs exactly the same type?

*edit * Ah I see you dried them

Nos4r2 · 04 May 2013, 21:24

Did you empty the stale fuel out of the line from the tank?

C-NUMB · 04 May 2013, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by spartacus

Totally hacked off. Been working like a dog all winter. Planned to go fishing tomorrow. Hauled the boat out, but engine won't start.

I service the engine over the last couple of months - new impeller, high performance gear oil, new sparks, cleaned thermostat and renewed gasket, new fuel pump rebuild (cost a small fortune), replaced fuel/water separator filter, cleaned inline fuel filter.

New fuel today, tank vented, safety lanyard fitted, pumped fuel till fuel bulb was hard, opened cold start lever to increase revs, plenty choke and then turned the key. Engine turns over but not even a hint of ignition.

Tried everything. Even drained the carbs. Fuel looked a little dirty. I normally run the engine with the fuel hose disconnected to drain the carbs after washing, so might have been old fuel that was in the engine. Checked sparks (holding spark plug against head) so sparking on all 3 cylinders. Opened electrics on the engine side and cleaned all bullet connectors and checked inline fuse. Pulled sparks as it could be flooded. Dried them off and reconnected. Still nothing.

I'm at a loss unless carbs are dirty. It's an autolube incidentally.

Battery took a hammering this afternoon, so its back on trickle charge overnight. Still going fishing... just without the boat.

Any help appreciated.

What type of choke You have on the engine, some towatsoo has a solenoid powererd choke and if that fails, starting can be hard?

PeterM · 04 May 2013, 21:34

Had similar on one of my engines..a squirt of petrol direct into carbs bought it to life......

Once it sucked new petrol through from the tank started fine...

Tim M · 04 May 2013, 22:31

My money would be on the carb/s. I would say 90% of my engine troubles with engines (with them) have been carb related.

Locozodiac · 05 May 2013, 00:26

When having starting issues with choque working ok, having spark on all plugs, used to sing Happy Birthday to them...

Remove all plugs, place them in a small metal container, place a piece of cotton at botton, pour some alcohol, place plugs tips on top cotton and light it. Once flame is out put warmed plugs back. Electric start engine while spraying some fuel at each carb throat, should have a instant ignition...

Happy Boating

spartacus · 05 May 2013, 04:49

Thanks for all the replies pointing me towards fuel, choke, sparks and the dreaded carbs!

Worked on the engine until the early hours in the garage. Stripped the carbs down, and there was a dirt, but no gunk or glue residue. On reassembling everything, I noticed the top carb (which activates the butterfly valve) was sticking when electric choke was pressed. On closer inspection - there was a little bit of white surface corrosion on brass spindle and it was enough to stop all three carbs opening. Now swings open (like a saloon door) when pressed just the way it should.

Typical, when stripping the mechanism out of the top carb I had to remove a tiny circlip. I'll need a new one as the original looks stretched. In addition a little spring flew out of the aperture into oblivion. Can't even see it marked on Tohatsu's part diagrams. I'll check the garage again this morning see if I can find it. One of the brass screws on the butterfly valve stripped - so that needs to be replaced.

Anyone have a part number for the spring that sits in this aperture? It's the hole next to the brass bush. Basically puts tension on the choke lever so can be manually opened and held if need be.

Engine is a 2006 M60C.

spartacus · 05 May 2013, 06:58

Had 4 hours sleep and back To work on the engine. Found the spring and there was a little ball bearing which I found in the engine tray (just eases the choke rotation lever movement and clicks into place at 2 settings). All back together. Haven't fired her up - but sure it will spring into life.

Battery now on trickle charge. Will test on Monday night.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ribtecer

Should have bought an Etec!!! Just started mine after the winter and BANG straight in to life...

Indeed... but these things are sent to try us, plus I've learnt another valuable lesson in fault-finding. Just don't want to make it a regular feature! Besides, Etecs have their own issues with split saddles and such like!

two stroke mick · 05 May 2013, 09:24

not nice to gloat. as a fellow etec owner i am sure that some day i will have problems of my own and i hope my request for help is not replied to with "you should have bought a ***"

tsm

Locozodiac · 06 May 2013, 15:51

Have seen various Tohatsu with choque solenoids starting issues mostly due to solenoid not maintaining paralelism with respect to plunger and plunger jamming inside solenoid when key is released.

The spring alone doesn't have sufficient back pressure to pull stucked plunger out if missaligned. Will produce unwanted flooded engine if trying to restart engine with repetitive key starts. A slight lube of plunger and related moving parts will help choke system to work trouble free.

Everybody is happy with their brand engines, constant maintenance is key, all brands have, will have tech issues, are not bullet proof.

Happy Boating

spartacus · 06 May 2013, 22:38

Thanks loco. I'll lightly grease the choke plunger/actuator too.