I posted this on THT, but I thought I would try here as well …
About 2 weeks ago, I had the opportunity to run my boat every day while on vacation. The boat ran great the entire time. On the way home, I stopped and filled up with non-ethanol fuel. The boat then sat for about 2 week before being run again. For a couple of days, it sat uncovered and sat through some heavy rain. A week ago, my business partner borrowed the boat. It fired up without a problem. He idled away from the dock for a few minutes. As he accelerated, the engine shutdown and it has not restarted since. At first, he thought it was a fuel pressure issue because he noticed that the primer bulb was not tight. When he pumped the bulb, gas sprayed out of one end. He fixed that, but the boat still would not start (I have never even had to use the primer bulb prior to this episode.
I finally was able to start diagnosing last night. When I first started the motor, she fired up and ran for about 1-2 seconds before shutting off. The motor alarm was sounding. Since then, the motor will turn over, but it will not catch. When I turn the key to ‘on’, I hear the fuel pump. I then turn to start, and the engine turns over strong. When I move back to ‘on’, the engine alarm is on. After a minute or 2 on ‘off’, I turn it back ‘on’ and the alarm is gone until I try to start it again.
The fuel water separator (Racor) does not have any water in it. The fuel filter on the motor is full of fuel. Their is plenty of oil. The alarm can’t be an overheat issue since the motor is cold.
If the fuel water sensor is stuck, can it prevent the motor from starting? What else should I be looking for?
Spot on Chris! Thanks for saving me a trip to the mechanic. I went ahead and drained the fuel from the fuel filter (again) and check the Racor one more time. I could see some very small amounts of water in the bottom of the container that I drained the gas into, but it was really insignificant. Still, the motor would not start. After seeing that Chris had updated the thread, I decided to give the kill switch a try. I tugged on the kill switch, and viola, it fired right up.
One of the things the previous owner did was use a zip tie to keep the kill switch in the operating position. I was able to replicate the problem by pressing on the switch when I finally got the motor running again. The kill switch did not fully depress due to the zip tie, but it killed the motor. I tried to start it up and it turned over, but it would not fire, and the same alarm came on. I pulled the switch out, and it fired up again.
I have been meaning to replace, but I kept forgetting to buy a lanyard when I was at the store. I will be heading there in a few minutes.
I’ve spent a lot of time around boats, and that was the most boneheaded move I have ever made. Stopped to get gas at a marina. Was talking to the dockhand and not paying attention. Lifted the gas cap then promptly placed the fuel nozzle in the rod holder. 50 gallons later, I realized what was going on. Shut off all of the electricity to the boat and told my wife that she may want to call our son for a ride home. The dockmaster suggested that we call marsh marine. They came out and cleaned up my mess. That was a costly mistake.
I can blame the kill switch on my business partner. He was borrowing the boat when this happened.
You are not the only one to put fuel in the bilge so don’t feel too bad about that.
A friend of mine went into a convenience store to pay for the gas while his brother-in-law pumped. Like you, I think around 50 gallons was the agreed upon amount. The boat sat on the trailer with a slight forward angle, so the fuel went straight to the keel. Only after they left the store and was going down the road did they realize what had happened. The bilge pump started pumping the gas out the side of the boat!!![:0]
Could have ended very badly but didn’t.