Community Forums

pinkey · 06-29-2015, 10:10 AM

I bought an 89 southwind and need help getting it started again , I think the first problem is the batteries are loosening charge and there's not enough juice to power the starter ( previous owner might have cut some wires or taped them up and hid them ) so a picture of how batteries are connected would be super helpful

Engine Sat for min 5 prob 10years not being ran

The best I got was the engine to start to crank with carb off with a big puff of black smoke coming out of the carb so that's a good sing and the fan turns about 1/8th turn

Any tips on getting engine running again would be greatly appreciated , once I get it to run for a little bit I plan on replacing head gasket , water and fule pump and line, all rubber hoses, probably starter ,spark plugs and cords also

Any help with finding guilds to replace parts would be helpful also

Thank you in advance

superk · 06-29-2015, 05:07 PM

well, i would change your fuel and oil filters. change the oil as well before starting it. clean air filter. inspect your belts.

put some seafoam in the gas too.

if it turns, but wont catch, see if its getting gas. if it is, but it wont start, next check your spark plugs and wires. maybe check distributor cap.

if it has spark on all 8, has fuel, and still wont start, then you have low compression, and lets hope you never have that problem.

here is a good guide How to Start an Engine That's Been Sitting

bamaboy473 · 06-29-2015, 05:29 PM

SuperK....it is amazing what we learn when guys like you pull information out of their hats that is so valuable.

Elf111 · 06-29-2015, 05:44 PM

I would check the fuel tank if it was left with fuel in it. It will need to be cleaned out old gas will foul every thing it touches.

Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

Bob55 · 06-29-2015, 08:07 PM

I agree with all of the above! Make sure the fuel is good and replace all of the fuel filters along the fuel line. Check the spark plugs to make sure they haven't rusted/corroded to the point of not having a sufficient or too wide of a gap to spark. Make sure to change the oil and oil filter, there might be a bunch of water in the oil pan from condensation over time that you really need to get rid of.

Talking about low compression, did you put any WD-40 or other lube in the cylinders and turn the motor over before trying to start it?

pinkey · 06-30-2015, 09:41 AM

Thanks for the tips

I was trying to start with carb cleaner just to make sure it would fire before going to town dumping couple thousand dollars into parts

Was waiting on replacing fluids till after I Gerard her fire up(since I'll have to replace them all again when I do head gasket water pump and the tranny n oil pan gasket , along with all belts n hoses...... basically bringing everything back to like New standards ) , she wants to run but i really think there's a short somewhere or some extra drain on the batteries preventing her from getting enough juice to turn fully over since the battery gage goes from 12v to 0 when u turn the key

Would tossing a 3rd battery ( I forget off top of my head if in paralerl or series ) but where u connect on positive to the negative to double voltage to 24 volts, or would that fry the electronics

gfs1943 · 06-30-2015, 10:06 AM

If you can follow the procedures in the guide provided by superk, especially the pre-lube, that could save the engine. Also, I would rebuild the carb before trying to start the engine. Gaskets in the carb dry out while sitting, and it could leak fuel all over the engine as soon as you put fuel pressure to the carb.