E-tec cuts out at idle sometimes

[Oceanic Dave]

I don't know what it is but i have only ever had 2 strokes and they all but 1 of them (mariner 40hp) cut out at idle. Not all the times but sometimes. Is this normal?

current motor is a 225 E-tec 2005 model. No issues besides this really.

any ideas?

[Ocean_Spirit]

I wouldn't be too concerned. Likely TPS (Throttle Position Sensor). Easily rectified and inexpensively. Worth a trip to Huett's. I can also recommend an upgrade for your old throttle to the newer BRP part matched with new cables - much easier to use and nicer to operate.

[scottar]

When was it last serviced. They can start and do these sort of things due to a few reasons - mine was plugs needing replacement. New plugs and a service - been fine ever since

[creat]

Mine was also stalling when first starting cold. New plugs (indexed of course) and has never stalled since.

[Oceanic Dave]

It has been serviced last august, new plugs etc.

what plugs do you guys use?

[creat]

Champion plugs from the dealership, look for a pen mark to make sure your service guy indexed them if u didn't do them yourself.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi658MThS9o

[Oceanic Dave]

Awesome video, thank you. Wasn't aware of this.

[Chimo]

Indexing..................probably not on Old-Tecs but on an unrelated issue, do fuel injected car engines benefit from having their plugs indexed?

Answering my own question, Maybe.
Indexing spark plugs
A matter of some debate is the "indexing" of plugs upon installation, usually only for high-performance or racing applications; this involves installing them so that the open area of the spark gap, not shrouded by the ground electrode, faces the center of the combustion chamber, towards the intake valve, rather than the wall. Some engine tuners believe that this will maximize the exposure of the fuel-air mixture to the spark, also ensuring that every combustion chamber is even in layout and therefore resulting in better ignition; however, others believe this is useful only to keep the ground electrode out of the way of the piston in ultra-high-compression (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compression_ratio) engines if clearance is insufficient. In any event, this is accomplished by marking the location of the gap on the outside of the plug, installing it, and noting the direction in which the mark faces; then the plug is removed, and additional washers are added to change the orientation of the tightened plug. This must be done individually for each plug, as the orientation of the gap with respect to the threads of the shell is random (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random). Some plugs are made with a non-random orientation of the gap and are usually marked as such by a suffix to the model number; typically these are specified by manufacturers of very small engines where the spark plug tip and electrodes form a significantly large part of the shape of the combustion chamber. The Honda Insight (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Insight) has indexed spark plugs from factory, with four different part numbers available corresponding to the different degrees of indexing to achieve most efficient combustion and maximal fuel efficiency.

[scottar]

It has been serviced last august, new plugs etc.

what plugs do you guys use?

Not the ones that came with the earlier engines from the factory. There was a change from champion QC10PEPB to Champion QC10WEP being the recommended plug. The others work but typically don't last as long. When your engine was serviced was it done by an E-Tec dealer or otherwise?

[Oceanic Dave]

Looks likeHonda has put some thought into it.

If you buy 4 plugs and the thread is different in all of them then you can't index them properly. Might take a few plugs?

[Oceanic Dave]

Not the ones that came with the earlier engines from the factory. There was a change from champion QC10PEPB to Champion QC10WEP being the recommended plug. The others work but typically don't last as long. When your engine was serviced was it done by an E-Tec dealer or otherwise?

It was done by an etec dealer but when i get home i will double check