lovedr79 said:
i would try it with a full battery before i took the carbs back off. i have seen some ATV's run like crap with a dead battery. one inparticular would idle all day long. tuoch the gas it would die. for giggles i got out jumper cables and a car battery. ran like a champ.
yep. Kawasaki Prairie 300 and 400, Bayou 300 and 400, some Honda ATV's, Kawi Prairie 360, 650, 700, many kawi motorcycles (750 vulcan I'm working with currently, requires a GOOD battery to run properly), etc etc. I haven't heard of any outboards requiring a battery to run properly. Doesn't mean that they will ALL run right without a good battery, just means I've not heard of it (yet). Maybe the bigger motors. EFI anything for the most part, requires a battery-with the exception of a very few machines....Merc 25hp EFI is one of them, and now the Suzuki outboards (both are batteryless EFI). Lot of the motocross bikes 250cc and 450cc are EFI and no battery but the technology behind this is still a little behind, in that you can't slowly kick it over and expect it to start...it takes a swift kick of the start lever (or a swift pull of the starter rope).
Those are the ones I know of off the top of my head based on my personal experience with them.
Most everything is a CDI style ignition, especially the newer (1980 and newer) japanese stuff. There are two main types of CDI systems. AC-cdi and DC-cdi. AC will have a coil on the stator assembly that powers the CDI (aka source coil). DC CDI systems require 12v to run properly, usually in the form of a good battery.
Most older carbureted outboards don't NEED a battery to run correctly, but if the system is electric start and has a charging system, it's hard on the regulator/rectifier to continue to use the motor without a battery.
In the original poster's case I doubt the low battery had anything to do with the running problem, but I'm not an Evinrude guru either. Could be a hundred things causing the poster's problems. Timing, carb(s), linkages, etc.