AaronWhitt82
06-01-2010, 02:53 AM
As if I didn't have enough problems on Sunday with hitting a rocky peninsula and doing damage to my prop and tracking fin I believe I was having vapor lock issues.
I've been out 4 times so far this year and I've had these problems 3 of the times.
I ended up having to be towed in just after dark after not being able to get the boat started for over a half hour.
Boat ran fine all day until I was headed back to the launch from where I hit the peninsula. I was a good hour away going about 30mph.
Boat would plane out fine and after running maybe 5 minutes it would bog, backfire and die. Go to crank and it would spit and sputter.
After I would let it sit a bit she would start right back up and then do the same thing all over again.
It also had a weird smell to it like she was running hot or lean. Temp gauge was right in the middle though.
I thought maybe it was a fuel issue so I disconnected the fuel line where it connects to the dual Holley lines.
I put the end of the line into a 20oz bottle and cranked the motor and no fuel. After cranking a few more times the fuel started coming out.
Hooked the fuel line back up and cranked the motor a few times and she would start right back up.
It then died again a short time later and that is when it would not start back up.
Floating in the middle of the river at dark isn't such a good thing considering there is alot of barge traffic.
I was still a good half hour away from the launch and there was a barge coming a few miles down the river.
Thankfully a passing boater stopped to help and ended up towing me through a back water of the river into a lake where there was a launch. Luckily the water was high enough to get into the lake.
As he was towing me I went to try and start the boat and what do ya know it started right up. I wasn't taking any more chances and told him to keep towing me to the launch.
I had a friend come and pick me up at the launch and drive me to get the truck and trailer which was a good 20 minute drive.
I was finally able to get the boat out and got home right around Midnight.
Such an exciting day !!!!!
I was wondering if anyone else has been having issues with vapor locking so far this year? I would imagine that the Summer blend of fuels is at all the gas stations by now.
I replaced the fuel filter on Saturday and also added a bottle of Seafoam and some Heet.
Yesterday I went to check the cap and rotor and the rotor seemed to be a bit burnt and the cap was a bit corroded on the inside. I went ahead and replaced them to be safe and used dielectric grease on everything.
Now what I'm trying to figure out is if this is a vapor lock issue, fuel issue, or an electrical issue.
I read over on Iboats of people having this type of problem and that it could be a bad coil so I went ahead and ordered one from SkiDim. The original one was still on the boat.
I also checked all electrical connections and nothing was lose or disconnected. Also checked the fuel pump/oil pressure safety switch connections.
Checked all the plugs and they were grayish/white (running lean?)
Floats on carb adjusted at correct level
I also went ahead and bought some of this tape and I'm going to wrap the fuel lines, fuel filter and fuel pump with it and hope it will help if it is a vapor lock issue.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/THE-14002/
Also bought be a new fuel line for the carb that has a pressure gauge built into it
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FUEL-INLET-LINE-HOLLEY-DOUBLE-PUMPER-4150-CARBURETOR-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5188e6cc3bQQitemZ35018 9177915QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries
Sorry for the long post, but I'm just getting really frustrated with it.....
I've been out 4 times so far this year and I've had these problems 3 of the times.
I ended up having to be towed in just after dark after not being able to get the boat started for over a half hour.
Boat ran fine all day until I was headed back to the launch from where I hit the peninsula. I was a good hour away going about 30mph.
Boat would plane out fine and after running maybe 5 minutes it would bog, backfire and die. Go to crank and it would spit and sputter.
After I would let it sit a bit she would start right back up and then do the same thing all over again.
It also had a weird smell to it like she was running hot or lean. Temp gauge was right in the middle though.
I thought maybe it was a fuel issue so I disconnected the fuel line where it connects to the dual Holley lines.
I put the end of the line into a 20oz bottle and cranked the motor and no fuel. After cranking a few more times the fuel started coming out.
Hooked the fuel line back up and cranked the motor a few times and she would start right back up.
It then died again a short time later and that is when it would not start back up.
Floating in the middle of the river at dark isn't such a good thing considering there is alot of barge traffic.
I was still a good half hour away from the launch and there was a barge coming a few miles down the river.
Thankfully a passing boater stopped to help and ended up towing me through a back water of the river into a lake where there was a launch. Luckily the water was high enough to get into the lake.
As he was towing me I went to try and start the boat and what do ya know it started right up. I wasn't taking any more chances and told him to keep towing me to the launch.
I had a friend come and pick me up at the launch and drive me to get the truck and trailer which was a good 20 minute drive.
I was finally able to get the boat out and got home right around Midnight.
Such an exciting day !!!!!
I was wondering if anyone else has been having issues with vapor locking so far this year? I would imagine that the Summer blend of fuels is at all the gas stations by now.
I replaced the fuel filter on Saturday and also added a bottle of Seafoam and some Heet.
Yesterday I went to check the cap and rotor and the rotor seemed to be a bit burnt and the cap was a bit corroded on the inside. I went ahead and replaced them to be safe and used dielectric grease on everything.
Now what I'm trying to figure out is if this is a vapor lock issue, fuel issue, or an electrical issue.
I read over on Iboats of people having this type of problem and that it could be a bad coil so I went ahead and ordered one from SkiDim. The original one was still on the boat.
I also checked all electrical connections and nothing was lose or disconnected. Also checked the fuel pump/oil pressure safety switch connections.
Checked all the plugs and they were grayish/white (running lean?)
Floats on carb adjusted at correct level
I also went ahead and bought some of this tape and I'm going to wrap the fuel lines, fuel filter and fuel pump with it and hope it will help if it is a vapor lock issue.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/THE-14002/
Also bought be a new fuel line for the carb that has a pressure gauge built into it
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FUEL-INLET-LINE-HOLLEY-DOUBLE-PUMPER-4150-CARBURETOR-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5188e6cc3bQQitemZ35018 9177915QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccesso ries
Sorry for the long post, but I'm just getting really frustrated with it.....