Engine died on first run after winterize

[cj11302000]

Hey guys,

I took my 2005 Outback DD today that has the carbureted engine. I have never ever had a problem with it and have always had it in for all scheduled services. I ran the boat for a couple of hours today and everything was fine. I was just coming up on a plane towards the end of the day and starting to power up when the engine just died. It would turn over, but it would not start. We checked and had fuel...but no spark. After about ten minutes...it finally started and ran fine until we trailered it. What could be causing this? Was it water in the gas or something else? Interested in other persons opinions.
Thanks!

[WadsworthSunsport22V]

Hey guys,

I took my 2005 Outback DD today that has the carbureted engine. I have never ever had a problem with it and have always had it in for all scheduled services. I ran the boat for a couple of hours today and everything was fine. I was just coming up on a plane towards the end of the day and starting to power up when the engine just died. It would turn over, but it would not start. We checked and had fuel...but no spark. After about ten minutes...it finally started and ran fine until we trailered it. What could be causing this? Was it water in the gas or something else? Interested in other persons opinions.
Thanks!

There are a couple of things that can cause this.
1. Water in the fuel line.
2. Flooded engine because the carbs float bowls have gunk in them or have deteriorated from GAS left in the carbs over a long period of storage. (Figure a complete carb rebuild if this the case.)
3. Loose cable, battery, alternative something electrical.

[cj11302000]

Thanks...I guess I'm really feeling like this is a fuel issue and I mean bad fuel or water from sitting all winter. When the boat died, we took the carb cover off and we could see fuel squirting into the carb...the engine was turning over fine...my buddy said he didn't see any spark while I tried to turn it over when he took a boot off a plug and grounded it...that part bothers me. We didn't see any corroded connections and felt maybe the coil went bad...but I don't think that would kill the engine while running? We kept trying to start it and tapped on the coil...after about ten minutes...it started up and ran great...just like it did for about two hours prior to the problem. I discovered when I took my boat out of winterization that I left the gas tank about 2/3 full...so I wonder how much water got into the fuel?

Any other thoughts or experiences from anyone? I plan on calling the dealer on Monday...but I don't think we'll be able to duplicate the problem.

[mmandley]

Check the distributor for water or condensation. I had my Camero so this to me a lot. Pop off the cap and look for water spots. Also check the connections and look for water damage or rust. Mine was running great and after the engine got hot for a while when it would begine to cool it created condensation and would lose power to the effect of a crank no start no spark condition.

[zabooda]

Ethanol gas over the winter is not a good thing. I'm surprised more people aren't having problems.

[98outback]

I used my boat for the first time over the weekend and it has been sitting up since november. I had no problems with it this year. I put the blue stabil in it when i put it up with a full tank of gas and ran it on the hose for a few minutes. This year before I went out I put a new fuel filter on and off I went. No problems.

[cj11302000]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I talked with several mechanics and Larry at Indmar. Most think that we couldn't see the spark when checking it and the culprit was vapor lock. I'm heading to Eastern Washington today where the forecast is in the 80's for the next six days that we will be there...so I can test it by running it on the lake. If it happens again, I plan on checking the spark and letting it cool off. If it starts again and has spark...then vapor lock it is. If I indeed lose spark next time...I have been told to check for a faulty tether cut off switch, a bad coil, or a bad ignition module. I'll post again after the vacation to give an update...thanks again!

Just a sidenote...if you have to deal with Indmar...those guys are great!