www.iFourWinns.com

I have a 1990 190 freedom With a 4.3 OMC Cobra . I had a corroded check valve on my gas tank. I replaced it with the regular brass fitting and rebuilt carburetor. I get gas all the way to the carburetor. the boat starts fine but will not run and I can't figure out why my gauges aren't working checked all the fuses and they are good. any ideas would be helpful

Welcome to the forums! Sorry your first post is about a problem with your boat. When you say it will start but not run, does it idle at all? Or just catch, then stall? If starts then stalls, I would suspect fuel starvation prob somewhere, maybe fuel pump, or fuel filter(s).

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1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

Starts in fires but does not idle

With a boat that age (old but not as old as mine LOL) it could be a lot of things. If the anti siphon was corroded (mine was also and the problem I had was it would start fine, run fine in neutral but would not plane out the boat at all) I'd be looking at the rest of the fuel system as well. First of all don't just replace the anti siphon with a regular fitting (except for testing). It is there for safety in case the line from the tank to the pump leaks gas will not siphon out of the tank into the bilge. I would remove the fuel filter and pour the gas into a glass jar and let it sit. Look for a layer of water on the bottom. If so then you need to get the gas tank pumped out. You can remove the hatch covering the gas tank and remove the plate that holds the sending unit for the gas tank (5 bolts be careful not to strip them). Then look in the tank and you can see if there is water in the bottom or debris in there. If it has a Rochester carb there is also a filter on the fuel inlet that can get clogged.
Lastly the ignition system needs to be checked too, these old engines still used points and condenser ignition in those model years so you need to check that, and the plugs/cap/rotor/wires.
The gauges, there are 2 large fuses that are in rubber holders on top of the motor, one of those could have blown. Also check all the fuses under the helm.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Did the engines using points also use a ballast resistor ? An engine which fires and runs with the ignition switch in the "start/ turn starter" position, then stops as the switch returns to the "run" position is a typical symptom of a faulty ballast resistor........but if it doesn't have one, then ignore what I wrote !

I have rebuilt carburetor, Replaced fuel water separator And tested fuel pump by taking off line to carb. Pumped out massive fuel. I emptied out all old fuel. Fuel pump is manual. as for the gauges I checked all fuses and they are good

What about the ignition?
These models used a resistance wire instead of a ballast resistor.
Which carb is it? Rochester 2bbl or 4 bbl Quadrajet? Did you replace the thick gasket under the carb? Check for vaccum leaks.
If you go on to www.fourwinns.com
look in customer service, you can find the owners manual for the older models, and they have the wiring diagram in it. That way you can trace where the gauges get power from.

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser-i-o ... 67035.html

take a look at this sticky in the iboats forums and the other ones too, they cover most of the causes of similar problems. Even tho they list it in the Merc section the OMC is similar.

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser-i-o ... 35407.html



http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser-i-o ... 34348.html

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser-i-o ... 83269.html


some reading that will keep you busy for a while....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

this sounds stupid, but I have been stranded many times by overlooking the Kill switch.

The on my Horizon right above the key the dead mans lanyard popped off, or the dead mans switch is bad.

Mine would turn over, and not start, nor would I have anything registering on the gauges. Check this and see what happens! It is so simple to over look.

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Rob

Present: 1999 Formula 280SS
Past: 1989 180 Horizon

http://www.robcamerondesign.com

Whether it's a resistance wire within the harness, or a separate resistor unit, the effect of a failure is the same. I had the resistor wire fail on a 1970s Ford I sold in the 1980s the morning the guy I had sold it was due to pick it up !

Checking it is easy; just have the ignition on, engine not running and check the voltage at the end of the wire feeding the coil. It should be something like 7- 9 volts I guess, depends on the coil they used:

Lou do you know what voltage should be there ?