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Boat shuts off in idle after maintenance.


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Took the 2004 vlx with monsoon in last week to have the fluids and impeller changed. Turns out the plugs may be original and the distributor cap was very corroded. He put all new plugs in and a new cap. Plus changed fluids and new impeller. 

Guy at the shop said it ran great. So I started it in the driveway with the hose hooked up underneath and started great. After about 2 min in idle at 700rpm it started sounding like it was struggling a bit and then slowly winded down and shut off. Started it again and gave some throttle. It ran at about 900 rpm for a few seconds sounding like it was struggling and then died. From the. On would not start in idle and with a little throttle would turn over and die quickly.  Any help?!?! 

Will bring it back to the local shop after the weekend but just wondering if you have any idea what's up. Plenty of oil in it. 

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11 hours ago, Rednucleus said:

Sounds like a fuel supply issue. Is this 1st run of the season; running on last years gas?? 

It was about at quarter tank from last year with a fuel stabilizer in it over winter never had that problem before. 

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1 hour ago, AJwakedevil said:

It was about at quarter tank from last year with a fuel stabilizer in it over winter never had that problem before. 

did you then fill the tank, or are you only running off the 1/4 tank of gas/stabil?

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3 hours ago, oldjeep said:

did you then fill the tank, or are you only running off the 1/4 tank of gas/stabil?

Did not fill up any more. 

@Sixball engine temp was good.  Did not visually check the exhaust for water so I can not confirm 

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34 minutes ago, AJwakedevil said:

Did not fill up any more. 

@Sixball engine temp was good.  Did not visually check the exhaust for water so I can not confirm 

Well, I'd start with that.  Put some premium in it to fix up the octane in the fuel and dilute the stabil

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I always check for water coming out exhausts before I start the engine using the hose, otherwise you can possibly cause damage to raw water impellor.

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8 minutes ago, malibuparadise said:

I always check for water coming out exhausts before I start the engine using the hose, otherwise you can possibly cause damage to raw water impellor.

I've never had a fake a lake seal good enough to push water threw engine without it running

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so a few things learned here. Keep it cool it's probably a fuel thing. 

Second, fake a lake is only good for a minute or two. Water doesn't push through when turned off. 

After adding premium and running it for 5 minutes in the driveway it started to get warm. Was confident enough to hit the small lake by the house. 

Ran with a substantial amount more power than last year. Felt like 10% increase. Still a studded here and there at idle but WOT she screamed with out a problem. 

 

Tl;dr old fuel giving me problems. 

In other news got the drain plug light installed. 

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Fake A Lake won't push water through without the engine running.  That is why I asked if you are getting water out the exhaust. I have only had one issue that the pump would not prime but its not uncommon. I always look at oil pressure and then water flow out the exhaust. And very soon after start up.

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This is a shot in the dark, but pull off your flame arrestor and see if it idles better. Had one this year with the same symptoms, flame arrester was plugged up and starving the motor of air at idle.... Regardless, clean it and re-install. If that doesn't do it, check with the shop and make sure they didn't mess with the timing when they changed the cap and rotor. They shouldn't have but you never know...

Edited by skurfer
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Back at the questions... took the boat out today after having it running great last weekend. Nothing changed, the boat just sat in driveway for a few days and 91 octane fuel put in the tank.
Took the boat out and as soon as I gave it throttle it bogged down. 

Under load (in gear) It will not go past 2800-3100 rpm. 

In neutral I can get it to rev full RPM range but only did it once to test. Can tell it is having some sort of fuel problem.

We could get it to hit 10mph to surf but couldnt give it heavy throttle or it would bog down. Never quit,just bogged down.

Quit trying to ride right away, and just motored around in idle for over a hour to try to run old fuel? through it. (Tank was quarter full of october fuel, filled it to top with premium fuel, and ran a quarter tank out while driving around slow)

Plan to take it into the shop this weekend unless anyone has any ideas.I know where the fuel filter is but have never dealt with that. Thats all I can think of.

reminder... it was running fine before the end of the season. Brought in in for full fluid change, replaced spark plugs and distributor cap. Dont know if the shop messed something up or if its old fuel.

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1 hour ago, Woodski said:

@AJwakedevil:  Sounds like a plugged fuel filter, dirty or plugged injectors or perhaps a stuck anti siphon valve.  Your description implies lack of fuel delivery.

thats where I was thinking. engine sounds great otherwise so not a mechanical problem internally.

 

How would you suggest diagnosing it? Where would you start... I havent touched the engine before but fuel stuff is less complicated. I can do it. Just looking for resources I guess.

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@AJwakedevil:  Looking back over your posts, it appears like an intermittent or inconsistent issue as your boat did run well one of three attempts.  Diagnosing, the injectors are a remove and either take to a shop and have them tested or set up your own rig to do it, the anti siphon valve is a remove from the top of fuel tank and check the ball check valve for being free (you can blow through it to check it or use compressed air), fuel filters are simply change them & you can check them simply by seeing if they flow free or cut them open and look for debris.  Given the sporatic nature, I would also go through and check all the ground connections, I would verify the firing order as the cap was changed and possibly look to make sure the cap is on properly.  If it ran fine going to the shop, it is very possible that whatever was worked on or changed is a probable candidate.

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  • 3 weeks later...

UPDATE....

Finally got around to checking to see if the engine was throwing any codes. Came back with Injector hi/low  code. Something close to that. Actually a couple injector codes, cleared it, and that one came back. 

What exactly does this mean, and anyone have any one/place to recommend in MN/WI to fix this for us? I am not mechanical enough for this.

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Just now, AJwakedevil said:

UPDATE....

Finally got around to checking to see if the engine was throwing any codes. Came back with Injector hi/low  code. Something close to that. Actually a couple injector codes, cleared it, and that one came back. 

What exactly does this mean, and anyone have any one/place to recommend in MN/WI to fix this for us? I am not mechanical enough for this.

MN Inboard would be the place for repairs.  If it were me I would disconnect the injector plug from each injector and use a little contact cleaner on it to see if that is all it takes.  The code should have also told you which bank it was on which should narrow it down to one side of the engine.  The newer boats tell you exactly which injector it is

 

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19 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

MN Inboard would be the place for repairs.  If it were me I would disconnect the injector plug from each injector and use a little contact cleaner on it to see if that is all it takes.  The code should have also told you which bank it was on which should narrow it down to one side of the engine.  The newer boats tell you exactly which injector it is

 

Great advice. I cant visualize where they are on my engine. Gonna start to search for resources on this. I would prefer to try that my self before hauling it a couple hours away to drop it off for a week.

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