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Trouble Starting???


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Last weekend I was at Berryessa and I was having a problem with my Bu :( . I was having trouble starting it after it was warm. I dont have any issues with starting it cold or while right after shutting it down. While after an afternoon of towing I was just hanging out in a cove for about an hour it took me almost 20 min to get it started. I did a search and came up with Hard start due to a bad temp sensor and Vapor lock. Are these issue still prevalent with my '06 VLX with a 340 Monsoon Dontknow.gif ? If anyone has dealt with this issue could you please help a fellow Bu owner out. I would take it to the dealer, but I dont want to wait a few weeks for them to figure out what the problem is, but if I need to I guess I will.

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  • VLXRonnie

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i am not sure what could cause it, but when i was out yesterday and i went to start it back up after about 1 hour of just letting it set, it took about 10 secs for it to turn over. not no 20 mins but it is longer than it should take. i also have a 340 monsoon

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My 06 does the same dam thing, but not at every warm start. And I don't believe a fuel-injected motor can get "vapor lock". It's one of those buggy things that will most likely have to get worse before the dealer is able to fix it...

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When you say trouble starting, does the engine crank over or does it just not start? Vapor lock would cause the pistons to freeze up and not move!!! I really don't think that would be the cause with the weather as hot and dry as it is.

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Vapor lock (boiling gas in the fuel lines) was a nightmare for inboard engines when EFI was introduced in the 90's. If you think you have a vapor lock problem, try keying up and off a few times with 5 second intervals in between. This will run your fuel pump in two second bursts which may clear the air pocket in the fuel lines or rails.

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The trouble I have is that the motor will not start after sitting for 15min or longer. The engine cranks just fine, it just wont fire up. I don't believe that it is a vapor lock. I do however have the same problem that most of you are having which the problem is intermittent. Just that weekend it may have gotten because it was happening more often that not. The only thing that I am worried about is we are going to Bullard Bar for the week of July 4th. If the boat really had an issue that would ruin the week for us :( . I am going to try to call the dealer to see what advice they could give besides letting them.

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When you say trouble starting, does the engine crank over or does it just not start? Vapor lock would cause the pistons to freeze up and not move!!! I really don't think that would be the cause with the weather as hot and dry as it is.

68;

You may be thinking of hydrolock.

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Ok, this is likely too simple, but if your lanyard switch is not making contact 100% of the time your engine would turn over but not fire.

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If it acts like it is flooded.

If it will restart only if you pull your neutral knob and give it full throttle.

If it smokes like crazy for 10-15 seconds once you do get it re-started.

If it starts just fine some times when hot, and not others.

Then there is a high probability that the engine temperature sensor is sending eratic info back to the computer, bascially saying it is cold when it is not. The computer says "go rich" which in turn makes a warm engine very hard to start without mashing the throttle (like we had to do in the 60's and 70's on flooded cars before EFI).

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Vapor lock is still a problem for some boats it seems. Sitting with a hot engine really heats things up under the engine compartment. This causes expansion of gas vapors in the fuel rails that the fuel pump is not able to overcome. Try removing the cover from the schrader valve on the fuel rail. Depress the center of the valve like you were letting air out of a tire. Do this with a rag around the valve to catch the fuel. Let things sit with the motor cover open for a while to make sure you don't have fuel vapors floating around in there. If it starts just fine, you were vapor locked.

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If it acts like it is flooded.

If it will restart only if you pull your neutral knob and give it full throttle.

If it smokes like crazy for 10-15 seconds once you do get it re-started.

If it starts just fine some times when hot, and not others.

Then there is a high probability that the engine temperature sensor is sending erratic info back to the computer, basically saying it is cold when it is not. The computer says "go rich" which in turn makes a warm engine very hard to start without mashing the throttle (like we had to do in the 60's and 70's on flooded cars before EFI).

You are describing my symptoms to a T. Is there a way to diagnose the problem or better yet fix the problem? It seem to me that quite a few people are having this problem. I found a thread here where they were having the same problem with an earlier BU and replaced their temp sensor which fixed their problem. I wonder if this would also be a remedy for my issue.

I am curious if this is just an issue with the Monsoon engine. Has anyone been experiencing this problem with the HH or some other motor combination?

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When you say trouble starting, does the engine crank over or does it just not start? Vapor lock would cause the pistons to freeze up and not move!!! I really don't think that would be the cause with the weather as hot and dry as it is.

68;

You may be thinking of hydrolock.

You are totally right, I had just gotten up and didn't have any coffee yet. I also was just about killed behind Stewarts 247 on sat. so my brain must have not been in the right place. That is what I was thinking.

Sorry, my bad :blush:

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If it acts like it is flooded.

If it will restart only if you pull your neutral knob and give it full throttle.

If it smokes like crazy for 10-15 seconds once you do get it re-started.

If it starts just fine some times when hot, and not others.

Then there is a high probability that the engine temperature sensor is sending erratic info back to the computer, basically saying it is cold when it is not. The computer says "go rich" which in turn makes a warm engine very hard to start without mashing the throttle (like we had to do in the 60's and 70's on flooded cars before EFI).

You are describing my symptoms to a T. Is there a way to diagnose the problem or better yet fix the problem? It seem to me that quite a few people are having this problem. I found a thread here where they were having the same problem with an earlier BU and replaced their temp sensor which fixed their problem. I wonder if this would also be a remedy for my issue.

I am curious if this is just an issue with the Monsoon engine. Has anyone been experiencing this problem with the HH or some other motor combination?

My boat was the subject of this issue in the earlier thread. The part is only ~$25 so changing it out as a means of testing the current sensor is not too bad an option. If you want to know for sure you will need to have the dealer hook up his tester (gonna cost you more than $25) or do the analysis the Electric John refers to in his post.

If your symptoms are exactly as I described, I would bet a small amount of money on the sensor being the cause.

Edited by Baddog
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Last weekend I was at Berryessa and I was having a problem with my Bu :( . I was having trouble starting it after it was warm. I dont have any issues with starting it cold or while right after shutting it down. While after an afternoon of towing I was just hanging out in a cove for about an hour it took me almost 20 min to get it started. I did a search and came up with Hard start due to a bad temp sensor and Vapor lock. Are these issue still prevalent with my '06 VLX with a 340 Monsoon Dontknow.gif ? If anyone has dealt with this issue could you please help a fellow Bu owner out. I would take it to the dealer, but I dont want to wait a few weeks for them to figure out what the problem is, but if I need to I guess I will.

I have had exactly the same problem on several ocassions. Each time it has been the lanyard safety switch. The first time it was frustrating and I thought it was vapor lock as well. Then I pushed in on the lanyard switch and it started immediately. Every time I have had problems starting it has been this same problem, so now if it turns over and doesn't fire in the first 5 - 10 seconds, I push in on the lanyard safety switch. Good luck.

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Last weekend I was at Berryessa and I was having a problem with my Bu :( . I was having trouble starting it after it was warm. I dont have any issues with starting it cold or while right after shutting it down. While after an afternoon of towing I was just hanging out in a cove for about an hour it took me almost 20 min to get it started. I did a search and came up with Hard start due to a bad temp sensor and Vapor lock. Are these issue still prevalent with my '06 VLX with a 340 Monsoon Dontknow.gif ? If anyone has dealt with this issue could you please help a fellow Bu owner out. I would take it to the dealer, but I dont want to wait a few weeks for them to figure out what the problem is, but if I need to I guess I will.

Check out a possible solution I had with my 340, sent to Kuhndog(Reduced speed/Loss of power thread)Good Luck!

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Last weekend I was at Berryessa and I was having a problem with my Bu :( . I was having trouble starting it after it was warm. I dont have any issues with starting it cold or while right after shutting it down. While after an afternoon of towing I was just hanging out in a cove for about an hour it took me almost 20 min to get it started. I did a search and came up with Hard start due to a bad temp sensor and Vapor lock. Are these issue still prevalent with my '06 VLX with a 340 Monsoon Dontknow.gif ? If anyone has dealt with this issue could you please help a fellow Bu owner out. I would take it to the dealer, but I dont want to wait a few weeks for them to figure out what the problem is, but if I need to I guess I will.

I have had exactly the same problem on several occasions. Each time it has been the lanyard safety switch. The first time it was frustrating and I thought it was vapor lock as well. Then I pushed in on the lanyard switch and it started immediately. Every time I have had problems starting it has been this same problem, so now if it turns over and doesn't fire in the first 5 - 10 seconds, I push in on the lanyard safety switch. Good luck.

I guess next time I could check that laynard out. Funny thing about that laynard Biggrin.gif , I have only touched once since I bought it; when I pulled my prop JIC Whistling.gif .

Edited by VLXRonnie
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IIRC, my gauges won't even come to life if the safety switch is open. I will check tommorro, weather permitting.

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IIRC, my gauges won't even come to life if the safety switch is open. I will check tommorro, weather permitting.

Thats a good point I will also check to see if the gauges power up with the lanyard is removed. I do have a couple of question about the temperature sensor. Mainly pictures or description of where and what it looks like. This way if I choose to change it, I know what I am looking for.

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Last weekend I was at Berryessa and I was having a problem with my Bu :( . I was having trouble starting it after it was warm. I dont have any issues with starting it cold or while right after shutting it down. While after an afternoon of towing I was just hanging out in a cove for about an hour it took me almost 20 min to get it started. I did a search and came up with Hard start due to a bad temp sensor and Vapor lock. Are these issue still prevalent with my '06 VLX with a 340 Monsoon Dontknow.gif ? If anyone has dealt with this issue could you please help a fellow Bu owner out. I would take it to the dealer, but I dont want to wait a few weeks for them to figure out what the problem is, but if I need to I guess I will.

I have had exactly the same problem on several occasions. Each time it has been the lanyard safety switch. The first time it was frustrating and I thought it was vapor lock as well. Then I pushed in on the lanyard switch and it started immediately. Every time I have had problems starting it has been this same problem, so now if it turns over and doesn't fire in the first 5 - 10 seconds, I push in on the lanyard safety switch. Good luck.

I guess next time I could check that laynard out. Funny thing about that laynard Biggrin.gif , I have only touched once since I bought it; when I pulled my prop JIC Whistling.gif .

this is a really silly question. but is there even a safty lanyard on the 07 boats. i have not seen one on my VLX.

Edited by Mike d Wakeboarder
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What do you guys think about a fuel pressure issue? I know that fuel injection has to be maintained at higher pressures or the injectors will just drip (and simulate a flooded engine). Perhaps that's why mine sort of smells like a rich start and puffs a bit after it finally starts. Does anybody know if a gauge can be mounted on the motor to monitor the fuel pressure when the symptom starts?

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What do you guys think about a fuel pressure issue? I know that fuel injection has to be maintained at higher pressures or the injectors will just drip (and simulate a flooded engine). Perhaps that's why mine sort of smells like a rich start and puffs a bit after it finally starts. Does anybody know if a gauge can be mounted on the motor to monitor the fuel pressure when the symptom starts?

Yes, they make a gauge, but not for permanent installation though. It has a bleed off valve and bleed off hose(tubing) so you don't spill any fuel on the hot engine. Looks like a compression tester. It attaches to a shraider valve on the fuel rail. As for a permanent installation, I don't know. But I would not tamper with a system that is designed to contain gasoline under 40 pounds of pressure.

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I would think they are required.

ya i would think they should be, but i do not have one.

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