200 hp honda bogging down

I have a 200 hp Honda purchased new in 2010.....either last yr or the first yr I bought it I was going full throttle and it suddenly bogged down...I looked back and the motor was not running correctly ...I throttled down...left it in neutral for a few moments and it never did it again....I have a water separator...no bells or horns went off.....this never occurred asingain until yesterday when I had been out several hours fishing and was going 2/3 full throttle and it bogs down again and died....I restarted it and tried to take off fast just to see if it would bog down again and it did....and died a second time....I restarted it and then just went 5mph for a while, then 10...then opened it up and it ran normal....I checked the water separator and think it is not water filled....just wondering what this may be...I called calumet marine and the owner said if there was water in the gas a horn or signal would have gone off...which it didn't.....since it is now running normal, I think if I bring it in they wont be able to tell anything...I put a thread on walleye central which somebody gave me this site as a good one to ask...thanks...steve heckler

Steve, welcome to the forum. There are a bunch of very helpful folks on this site.

If there is a significant amount of water in your fuel/water seperator, you will get a series of rapid beeps on your buzzer. Regardless, your on-board fuel/water seperator should be drained every 100 hours.

What you described sounds like a fuel-feed problem. There are a bunch of things that can cause what you described, so it is a case of elmination.

When that happens again, and while engine is still running poorly, grab your pump-up bulb. If it is partially collapsed, you have a clog in your fuel tank breather tube, or in your fuel tank pick up tube. If not collapsed, try sqeezing the bulb several times. If engine starts running better, you may have a failing low pressure fuel pump. You indicated that you have an extenal fuel/water seperator. Drain it completely and see what you have - let the drained fuel sit in a clear jar and see if water or gunk settles out. That element should be changed out every 200 hours or every season, whichever comes first. When is the last time you changed the low pressure fuel filter? That should be drained and checked every 100 hours. The element should be changed every 400 hours.

Drain the VST. On the back of your engine, to the right, you will see a long plastic tube that sits in a clip and is open on one end. If you follow that tube to it's base, you will see a small slotted set screw. Get a clear 1 qt. jar, put the end of the tube in it, and use a 10" flat blade screwdriver to turn the screw counterclockwise. - no more than three turns. Fuel, and any junk that has accumulated in the VST will come out into the jar. If nothing comes out, re-set the screw and try again a few more times. If nothing still comes out, you will need to blow some compressed air back through the tube to open it up. If nothing still comes out, then it will need to be removed and cleaned. Let the contents in the jar sit for awhile and see if water seperates out. Also look for dirt and junk to settle out. If it turns out to be pure fuel, no water, and no junk, then we will need to look somewhere else.

If you plan to do most of your own maintenance and repair on this engine, invest the $115 or so on the official Helm Shop Manual.

thanks chawk...that gives me a lot of leads....steve

Let us know what you find.