honda kicker help please

[kidkodger]

My 9.9 honda dies at low idle, sometimes quickly sometimes 10 or 15 minutes but always dies. Spark plugs are clean and dry the motor sounds and runs smooth. It was tuned and went back for this problem but those guys say it fine. This is making me more bald than I already am! Any thoughts about what I might try would be great, thanks.

[Chrome Bumper]

Drain the float bowl, there is a little drain screw and tube. A little water in the bowl will cause that.

[GSD]

:yeahthat:
Old or contaminated fuel in the tank could be the problem too.

William

[Starfish]

Also check your fuel line and see whether your fuel bulb is firm when it dies. If you have a small air leak or a faulty squeeze bulb your fuel pump may be unable to pump enough fuel. If it's a very slight leak your fuel pump may be able to do fine at higher flows but not at low RPMs. We had that problem in my buddy's boat last week and it turned out that a freshly installed water separator filter was just barely leaking and was cured by tightening it. If the fuel bulb is firm it's still possible that you have a leak at the o-ring where the fuel line plugs into the quick disconnect at the motor. One way to troubleshoot both problems is to pump the bulb vigorously anytime the motor starts to sound like it's going to die... if it picks back up each time you squeeze it you'll know it's a fuel delivery issue. (Another fuel delivery possibility is a faulty fuel pump.)

[kidkodger]

great ideas guys I'm going to try all three tomarrow and hope to be fishin' on Sat. Thanks

[ReelAttitude]

dont loose your hair over this, I almost did, apparently there is an issue with these carbs, mine went in 3 times untill one service guy told me its fairly common with these,
anyways the small orifices in the throat of the carb can plug easliy with the smallest of particles, grab a spray can of carb cleaner with the red delivery straw (like on wd40) jamb it in tight against the holes and spray,
I carry a can onboard now & have also installed a backup fuel filter

hope this helps with your issues

[Smj]

Assuming primer bulb is firm at idle...You don't mention how old the motor is. After first 20-50 hours or so the valves need adjusting, the motor will run OK at higher RPMs but won't idle. Find out if a valve adjustment was part of your tune-up.

'Nother thing...In the past ten years or so the manufacturers have set these small motors to run as lean as they can, with out burning the engine down. There WILL be an idle air/fuel screw on the carb, it may be under/behind a plug of some kind but it will be there. You need to find the screw, turn it in gently seating it while counting the turns, then reset it to where it was, then start the motor in a tub/can of water so you can put it in gear/under load. Warm the motor up and turn the screw OUT a tiny bit(from the original setting) as you set the idle to run as low as you want. These motors need a slightly richer mix to troll super slow, but the EPA and such want them running super lean, so this is what they've done.

A smaller prop, if available, would allow you to run the motor at a higher RPM and still troll as slow as you want, but I'm willing to bet there's not a whole lot of prop selection for a 9.9 kicker!

Smj