Honda Outboard problem

[seahag]

Hey,
I've been a little frustrated with our dinghy motor, a Honda 2HP four stroke. Since we got the boat, it has not been the best running motor--it seems to start and run okay only with the choke pulled out (fully closed). As soon as I close it even slightly it dies. As for running it with the choke closed, that works at idle and if you very slowly increase throttle, but never more than about 1/2 before it starts to kill.

I took it all apart, cleaned the dirty carb, put in a new plug, and changed the gas to fresh high octane. Same basic situation.

Any thoughts?

[freshalaska]

Replace the carb and gasket with a new one, they aren't that expensive.

[seahag]

Originally Posted by freshalaska

Replace the carb and gasket with a new one, they aren't that expensive.

I did that. It now starts, runs, idles perfectly. Thanks- $160 fix. Very happy now, wish I'd messed with it 3 years ago.

[freshalaska]

Now that your kicker is running good, take your old carb and put it into some boiling water for half an hour. Usually that will recondition it and you will have a good spare.
Nothing worse then an inproporly running machine. Glad it worked out.

[freshalaska]

At the end of the season run the kicker completely out of fuel by choking it when it starts to die. This should help future carb problems.

[SeaSon]

If your not using the dingy for a couple weeks, you'll find a small horizontal screw at the base of the float bowl. Loosen a turn and the tablespoon of fuel will come out. You'll never need another carb.

[Lepke]

Current fuel is unstable and needs conditioner to store. Fuel and fuel deposits are the usual outboard problem.