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Dead in the water first ski trip out


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02 slxi, monsoon, 150 hrs. Had the boat out a couple weeks ago to putt around with the kids. No issues or problems. Friday got brave enough to put on the suit and get in the 48 degree water. Skied for about 25 min. Shut it down to clean up (warm up my toes) and just hung out for about another hour. Boat would then start and die. Start and die. Tried this 4 or fives times. Acted like it was out of fuel, but I had put in 15 gals on top of what ever was there before going to the lake so I am sure we didn't burn 15+ gallons in 1 hour of running boat. Positive side to this story is my buddy was with me breaking in his boat and towed me back in.

Boat sat overnight and tonight I came home, hooked up the fake a lake and it fired right up and ran without issue on the fake a lake. Let it run for 20 minutes to get warm, shut it down and let it sit for about an hour. Started right up again and ran fine. Didn't put any extra fuel in, didn't do anything. Any suggestions?

Also I can only find one inline fuel filter just above the tank. From there the lines run straight to the fuel pump as far as I can tell. Is this boat supposed to have another filter/water separator somewhere?

Edited by krward
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carb or EFI? Im gona guess its carb, since this sounds like a carb problem to me.

I would check:

- water in the fuel? Check the fuel filter and water fuel seporater (if you have one). One of my old carb boats had a major water in the fuel tank problem, and it acted just as described when there was too much water in the fuel. Try disconnecting the fuel line from the carb, and pump some gas (by cranking the engine) into a clear bottle. If there is water or other junk in the fuel, you will see them separate. It will be very obvious.

Could also be an electrical problem due to heat and condensation (after running for a while). Check that all your plug wires coming out of the distributor are clean, dry, and the insulation is in good shape. Also check on the cap and rotor in the distributor (if you have one, im not sure…)

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A hot (warmed up) engine does funny things to electrical connections, especially loose ones. Check around the distributor cap. Starts, then stalls sounds more like a fuel problem to me though.

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It is and EFI motor (don't think monsoon's came with a carb motor in 2002). I will disconnect a fuel line and pump some in a glass jar and see what I get. Checked the electrical connections, and everything seems good. Don't think that EFI's have much problems with vapor lock anymore (last experience with vapor lock was I couldn't get it running period until it cooled down and the lock cleared). I am going to replace the inline filter again to see if that helps. Next I am going install a water/separator canister setup in place of the inline filter.

Thanks for the ideas I will let everyone know what I find out.

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This happened to me last year. It turned out to be an electrical problem. Replaced the distributor cap and it turned out to fix the problem.

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It is and EFI motor (don't think monsoon's came with a carb motor in 2002)

You are correct. Somehow i thought it was a 98.

Let us know how it turns out

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Checked the kill switch seems fine. Fairly sure I got some bad gas. Pumped all the gas I could out into my beater commuter car (94 corolla) and it has no problems with the bad gas. I heading out today or tomorrow with a new fuel filter, fresh 15 gallons of gas treated with Stabil and ISO Heat. If I still have the same problem I going to replace the distributer cap next.

Edited by krward
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I decided to call Indmar to bounce some questions off them. Talked with Larry and he said what I experienced is a common problem with gas stations that sell 'winter-blend' fuel. According to Larry winter blend fuel turns into vapor at lower temperatures than summer blend. So by me being out running the boat getting it hot then shutting it down and sitting for an hour, the heat build up in the engine compartment caused the fuel to vaporize creating a vapor lock scenario. According to him this happens every year and he fields numerous questions every year about the same issue. That is what I found out. I guess time will tell.

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I decided to call Indmar to bounce some questions off them. Talked with Larry and he said what I experienced is a common problem with gas stations that sell 'winter-blend' fuel. According to Larry winter blend fuel turns into vapor at lower temperatures than summer blend. So by me being out running the boat getting it hot then shutting it down and sitting for an hour, the heat build up in the engine compartment caused the fuel to vaporize creating a vapor lock scenario. According to him this happens every year and he fields numerous questions every year about the same issue. That is what I found out. I guess time will tell.

Indeed, time will tell...but vapor lock, either from hot ambient temps or higher vapor pressures from winter blend gasoline, is VERY unusual in any kind of pressurized fuel system.

Relative to that, consider looking at your fuel pressure. There should be a Schrader valve somewhere on your fuel rail that would allow checking that pressure with a fuel pressure gauge. They should sell that gauge and the appropriate Schrader valve adapter at most Sears or other automotive stores.

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