My boat keeps on dying and nobody can figure out why

[maineprmaven]

Hi there,
I am new to this forum and I am not a technical person so I am going to do my best to describe my problem. I have a Maxum 1900 that my dad bought in 2000. He passed away 10 years ago. I am trying to manage the boat on my own now but the last two summers it has been dying every time I take it out so I have to get towed by a good samaritan passing by! Frustrating!

I have been taking it to Stetson and Pinkham in Waldoboro Maine, which is a highly reputable repair shop. They are baffled by my boat's problems. They thought it might be a bad fuel pump so they installed a used one from another boat that was working in the other boat. My boat started right up this weekend, but like every other time I've used it for the past two summers it would run for about 45 minutes then just conk out and die.

My mechanic is baffled. He has checked the electronics, the fuel line, the fuel pump, basically everything he could think of and nothing seems to fix the problem.

Has anyone had this same kind of problem with their Maxum, and what suggestions do you have?

[mrt214]

Welcome. Do you have fresh gas with no water in tank? Fuel line pickup in tank could be getting clogged. Inline fuel filters, does it start back up after it sits and cools down? We may need more info

[mmwjr]

Welcome aboard

Sounds like the fuel tank vent is clogged, insects build nests in them. Next time it stalls losses the gas fill cap, if you hear air rushing in and it now starts that's the problem. A potential electrical issue is the ignition coil heating up and loosing voltage.

What do you do to get it to eventually start again?

[shrew]

What is the year, make, model of the motor? OB or IO? Carb of Fuel Injected? What is the year of the boat?

[maineprmaven]

My mechanic has been taking it out of the water and into his shop to try to fix it but he is at a loss.

These responses have been helpful to me. As I am not at all mechanical, I am going to ask my mechanic to sit with me at the computer and tell me what he has done so i can share with you all on this forum then see if any of you have had the same problem. He is befuddled. And he is no rookie!

[maineprmaven]

The engine is an inboard Mercruiser but I cannot tell you more than that unfortunately. I am not mechanical at all.

I am going to try to have my mechanic give me the answers to all your questions so I can post what the engine is, and what he has done over the past two summers (it has broken down almost every time we have gone out in it for two summers!)

I am so discouraged because I do not want to chase good money after bad, if you know what I mean.

[mmwjr]

Ask your mechanic what engine is in the boat and if it's got a carburetor or fuel injection.

[maineprmaven]

Two weeks ago he took a fuel pump out of an abandoned boat and put that into my boat (so I assume that means it is fuel injection?) After he did that, the boat started right up, but it died again after running for about 45 minutes and it would not start again. It also would not plane out when we put the throttle all the way down.

[mmwjr]

A fuel pump is required wether it's a carburetor of fuel injection. Fuel injection uses a higher pressure electric pump.

How many cylinders?

3.0 4 cylinder
4.3 6 cylinder
5.0 and 5.7 8 cylinders.

If still there the engine should have a plastic cowl on top with the engine size labeled on it.

[JoDo]

Maybe a long shot - I had repeated trouble over a couple years with my boat dying after a short time in the water. It would run fine in the driveway with muffs but out with any type of load it would die. Last year I found there was a ball check valve at the fuel tank outlet that was gummed up with varnish. Replaced that and ran well the rest of the season. Winterized my fuel well with Stabil and have had no problems this season. Maybe worth a check

[jrsick]

You should check the fuel supply lines as a first step. Fuel goes from tank to fuel filter via a fuel line. Filter to fuel pump via a fuel line, then fuel pump to carburetor via a fuel line. Fuel pump also has an internal filter and there is a filter where fuel line goes into the carb (assuming your boat is carbureted).
Easy check is to look at the fuel lines going into and out of the fuel filter. They are rubber hoses that you can disconnect and look through. Make sure these lines are not kinked when installed.
If these lines are clean, replace the fuel filter and clean the filter in the fuel line at the carb.
If problem persists, they you need to take a look inside of the fuel tank. I bet there is gunk in there with problems like JoDo mentions.
Mike had good question in this thread, how do you get the boat re-started after it dies? Is it just a matter of time?

[oldno7]

Originally Posted by JoDo

Maybe a long shot - I had repeated trouble over a couple years with my boat dying after a short time in the water. It would run fine in the driveway with muffs but out with any type of load it would die. Last year I found there was a ball check valve at the fuel tank outlet that was gummed up with varnish. Replaced that and ran well the rest of the season. Winterized my fuel well with Stabil and have had no problems this season. Maybe worth a check

THIS!!!!

Results of ethanol.
Pretty sure the ball is steel.

[maineprmaven]

Hello All: Sorry for the long absence. The engine is a 4.3 Liter V6 Mercruiser. My late dad bought it in 2000.

My mechanic from Stetson & Pinkham in Waldoboro, Maine, took the boat out this past weekend. He is going to try to diagnose the problem in his shop. These are the things he has checked out and there are no problems with these things:
Ignition Module
Oil Pressure Switch
Coil
Installed a used fuel pump from another boat, it ran for 45 min or so then died like before
Checked for water in fuel line

Any other suggestions? If you have questions I should be asking him, let me know. He is a long-time professional mechanic and he is baffled by this problem.

Nancy

[shrew]

If I thought it was a fuel issue I would be hooking up an external tank. This removes the fuel, fuel tank, check valves, filters and hoses from the equation. He used an alternate fuel pump which exhibited the same behavior as before. However, he didn't isolate any of the variables upstream of the fuel pump itself.

Model Year 2000 sounds like a carb. I'd be looking downstream as well and considering whether there needs to be a carb rebuild.

[oldno7]

You really need to inspect and/or remove the steel ball in the check valve. imo

ethanol destroys these.

[oldno7]

literally a 5 minute job and that includes beer time.

[mrt214]

If you have a carb make sure fuel filter in carb is cleanI also had issues with engine stalling at 4000rm. I took fuel line pickup out of tank and cleaned it and check valve. I now can reach 4800rpm with no problem. If you have a carb make sure fuel filter in carb is clean. It should be at the end where fuel line screws into carb.

[mmwjr]

Again check the fuel tank vent to ensure its not clogged.

[JoDo]

It bums me out when people don't come back to report. I'll bet it was the check ball.