Engine Quits

[bht737]

I have a 99 Sunsetter VLX with a 325 Monsoon. Been on the water all summer having way to much fun until the second to last outing. After about an hour of surfing, the motor quit on me with the throttle just in gear (slow speed to pick up surfer). The engine would turn but no fire in the hole. Sat for another hour thinking of ways to fix, but nothing came to mind and the engine still would not fire up...got towed to launch and took boat to mechanic next day. As I was leaving I mentioned that we should try to crank it, and yes you guessed it the motor fired right up, but was running rough (yes we hooked up water). I left it with him and he replaced two fuel filters (which were clogged) and I got a new battery (old one was not the right one according to him). He can't find anything else wrong so the boat comes back to me.

Next week out on the lake, this time I get an hour and a half of surfing in and the boat dies, in gear, at wakeboard speed...same as before, lots of crank, no fire in the hole. Towed back, boat in driveway next day, I do a quick crank and it starts right up! I have read most of the posts about engines dying due to vapor lock, and other electrical issues (no spark), but didn't find any that were an exact match for my problem...so I am looking for some input, even if it is a "hey dummy did you..." I don't profess to be smart on these mechanical issues, but I was wondering about the possibility of water entering in through my fuel vent on the back, while loaded with ballast and going slow...any help would be much appreciated.

Edited September 12, 2008 by bht737

[Chia]

I have a 99 Sunsetter VLX with a 325 Monsoon. Been on the water all summer having way to much fun until the second to last outing. After about an hour of surfing, the motor quit on me with the throttle just in gear (slow speed to pick up surfer). The engine would turn but no fire in the hole. Sat for another hour thinking of ways to fix, but nothing came to mind and the engine still would not fire up...got towed to launch and took boat to mechanic next day. As I was leaving I mentioned that we should try to crank it, and yes you guessed it the motor fired right up, but was running rough (yes we hooked up water). I left it with him and he replaced two fuel filters (which were clogged) and I got a new battery (old one was not the right one according to him). He can't find anything else wrong so the boat comes back to me.

Next week out on the lake, this time I get an hour and a half of surfing in and the boat dies, in gear, at wakeboard speed...same as before, lots of crank, no fire in the hole. Towed back, boat in driveway next day, I do a quick crank and it starts right up! I have read most of the posts about engines dying due to vapor lock, and other electrical issues (no spark), but didn't find any that were an exact match for my problem...so I am looking for some input, even if it is a "hey dummy did you..." I don't profess to be smart on these mechanical issues, but I was wondering about the possibility of water entering in through my fuel vent on the back, while loaded with ballast and going slow...any help would be much appreciated.

have you checked the fuel filters again, if they were plugged maybe there is something that is plugging them again? vandalism in your fuel tank?

[95Sunsetter]

What was the weather like? Was it unusually humid? I have a vapor lock problem with my 95 Susnsetter but it is usually only an issue after I turn the boat off for an hour or so, and it appears to only happen when weather is humid. It seems unusual that it would die while you're running, even at surfing speeds. If I prop open the motorbox to let it cool off it usually does the trick. Unfortunately I haven't been able to come up with a solution other than that. Do you run regular gas or premium? Premium vaporizes more easily than lower octane gas. My .02.

[Surfin247]

I have a 99 Sunsetter VLX with a 325 Monsoon. Been on the water all summer having way to much fun until the second to last outing. After about an hour of surfing, the motor quit on me with the throttle just in gear (slow speed to pick up surfer). The engine would turn but no fire in the hole. Sat for another hour thinking of ways to fix, but nothing came to mind and the engine still would not fire up...got towed to launch and took boat to mechanic next day. As I was leaving I mentioned that we should try to crank it, and yes you guessed it the motor fired right up, but was running rough (yes we hooked up water). I left it with him and he replaced two fuel filters (which were clogged) and I got a new battery (old one was not the right one according to him). He can't find anything else wrong so the boat comes back to me.

Next week out on the lake, this time I get an hour and a half of surfing in and the boat dies, in gear, at wakeboard speed...same as before, lots of crank, no fire in the hole. Towed back, boat in driveway next day, I do a quick crank and it starts right up! I have read most of the posts about engines dying due to vapor lock, and other electrical issues (no spark), but didn't find any that were an exact match for my problem...so I am looking for some input, even if it is a "hey dummy did you..." I don't profess to be smart on these mechanical issues, but I was wondering about the possibility of water entering in through my fuel vent on the back, while loaded with ballast and going slow...any help would be much appreciated.

have you checked the fuel filters again, if they were plugged maybe there is something that is plugging them again? vandalism in your fuel tank?

Check your safety halyard switch and the cannon plug. When it dies like that its usually something electrical. Could also be your TPS throttle position sensor going bad.

[bht737]

I have a 99 Sunsetter VLX with a 325 Monsoon. Been on the water all summer having way to much fun until the second to last outing. After about an hour of surfing, the motor quit on me with the throttle just in gear (slow speed to pick up surfer). The engine would turn but no fire in the hole. Sat for another hour thinking of ways to fix, but nothing came to mind and the engine still would not fire up...got towed to launch and took boat to mechanic next day. As I was leaving I mentioned that we should try to crank it, and yes you guessed it the motor fired right up, but was running rough (yes we hooked up water). I left it with him and he replaced two fuel filters (which were clogged) and I got a new battery (old one was not the right one according to him). He can't find anything else wrong so the boat comes back to me.

Next week out on the lake, this time I get an hour and a half of surfing in and the boat dies, in gear, at wakeboard speed...same as before, lots of crank, no fire in the hole. Towed back, boat in driveway next day, I do a quick crank and it starts right up! I have read most of the posts about engines dying due to vapor lock, and other electrical issues (no spark), but didn't find any that were an exact match for my problem...so I am looking for some input, even if it is a "hey dummy did you..." I don't profess to be smart on these mechanical issues, but I was wondering about the possibility of water entering in through my fuel vent on the back, while loaded with ballast and going slow...any help would be much appreciated.

have you checked the fuel filters again, if they were plugged maybe there is something that is plugging them again? vandalism in your fuel tank?

No, but it ran the first time out after they were changed, and since it ran also just before they were changed, I am suspecting something else

[bht737]

What was the weather like? Was it unusually humid? I have a vapor lock problem with my 95 Susnsetter but it is usually only an issue after I turn the boat off for an hour or so, and it appears to only happen when weather is humid. It seems unusual that it would die while you're running, even at surfing speeds. If I prop open the motorbox to let it cool off it usually does the trick. Unfortunately I haven't been able to come up with a solution other than that. Do you run regular gas or premium? Premium vaporizes more easily than lower octane gas. My .02.

Weather in Utah is pretty dry...so I'm not suspecting that, cooling off didn't work, and I run regular

[bht737]

I have a 99 Sunsetter VLX with a 325 Monsoon. Been on the water all summer having way to much fun until the second to last outing. After about an hour of surfing, the motor quit on me with the throttle just in gear (slow speed to pick up surfer). The engine would turn but no fire in the hole. Sat for another hour thinking of ways to fix, but nothing came to mind and the engine still would not fire up...got towed to launch and took boat to mechanic next day. As I was leaving I mentioned that we should try to crank it, and yes you guessed it the motor fired right up, but was running rough (yes we hooked up water). I left it with him and he replaced two fuel filters (which were clogged) and I got a new battery (old one was not the right one according to him). He can't find anything else wrong so the boat comes back to me.

Next week out on the lake, this time I get an hour and a half of surfing in and the boat dies, in gear, at wakeboard speed...same as before, lots of crank, no fire in the hole. Towed back, boat in driveway next day, I do a quick crank and it starts right up! I have read most of the posts about engines dying due to vapor lock, and other electrical issues (no spark), but didn't find any that were an exact match for my problem...so I am looking for some input, even if it is a "hey dummy did you..." I don't profess to be smart on these mechanical issues, but I was wondering about the possibility of water entering in through my fuel vent on the back, while loaded with ballast and going slow...any help would be much appreciated.

have you checked the fuel filters again, if they were plugged maybe there is something that is plugging them again? vandalism in your fuel tank?

Check your safety halyard switch and the cannon plug. When it dies like that its usually something electrical. Could also be your TPS throttle position sensor going bad.

I did some "wiggling" of the safety switch, but got no result...I have read a few posts about how to check it's functionality and will try that this weekend when I get home. The TPS is something that I will also check, thanks for that...obtw where is the cannon plug?

[electricjohn]

It sounds like a problem of building heat causing an electrical connection in the engine room to go south on you. Heat will do that to a loose connection. There are so many wire connections needed to keep your engine running, it is hard to tell you were to start. If you want to start from point A, a purple wire supplies power from the keyswitch to the engine. It powers up the EFI relay which powers up everything else. Another good place to check are the connections to the distributor and coil.