97' bf30a wont start

Out on water, 1 engine started running rough then dies. Restarted but running rough. Ran for about 10 more minutes then died again. Tried to restart, just cranks and cranks, no start even with choke up. Overhauled about a year ago, top shape but had new baby and boat sat for 6 months. Ran a few times at home about 20 minutes each with no problem. Fuel is mixed with stabil. Disconnected fuel hose on fuel pump on the carburetor side and cranked engine. Fuel fills bottle so there's fuel flow out from pump to carbs. Could carbs need cleaning again or is there other things I can check? With choke up and crank, fuel does not overflow so this tells me float and needle are still clear and not gummed up, right? Need some help....PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!! Running twins, they both have separate 12 gallon tanks. Other motor is fine??

Drain you carburetors into a glass jar....you may just have water in the one tank.

If you did not run the motor out of fuel and drain the carburetors, there may be a blockage.

If there is water in the fuel, get fresh fuel and flush the fuel system by opening each carb drain one at a time and flush each one until clear fuel comes out.

Mike

Thank you mike for the reply, I will try that and see where to go. Will let you know. Again, thanks for the info...Terence

hondadude said:

Drain you carburetors into a glass jar....you may just have water in the one tank.

If you did not run the motor out of fuel and drain the carburetors, there may be a blockage.

If there is water in the fuel, get fresh fuel and flush the fuel system by opening each carb drain one at a time and flush each one until clear fuel comes out.

Mike

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thank you mike for the quick reply. I will definitely try that and see where to go. Is running the engine dry after wash down a good thing for the carbs and leaving it empty until the next run??? With the carbs empty of fuel, will there still be a chance for build-up? Sorry just looking at a bigger picture....thanks again mike, have a good day, will let you know how it comes out.....

Running the engine until it quits will NOT adequately drain the carbs. You MUST drain each one individually to ensure that they are"dry".

And, yes, letting them set dry isTHE best way to avoid trouble. That is, along with using CLEAN, FRESH fuel at all times.

Good luck.

i take it you mean you rebuilt the carbs, ...not the engine? if so, quick solution: drain carbs and see what comes out, make a mental note. verify no water in your fuel supply, replace fuel filter and run on fresh premium fuel. still a problem...you have to do the carbs again.
best practice: always check fuel tank for water, use premium fuel with stabilizer and run engine a few minutes before storage, at least in any way avoid ethanol which may not be advertised in the fuel. not sure where you are located, so not sure what your gas stations are providing. and replace fuel filter if any doubt.

Willdo said:

i take it you mean you rebuilt the carbs, ...not the engine? if so, quick solution: drain carbs and see what comes out, make a mental note. verify no water in your fuel supply, replace fuel filter and run on fresh premium fuel. still a problem...you have to do the carbs again.
best practice: always check fuel tank for water, use premium fuel with stabilizer and run engine a few minutes before storage, at least in any way avoid ethanol which may not be advertised in the fuel. not sure where you are located, so not sure what your gas stations are providing. and replace fuel filter if any doubt.

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Yes, all carbs was rebuilt. Will try that too. Not sure if sitting for six months would've gummed up the carbs but the gas is ethanol blend with stabil in it. I'll keep you posted. Thank you for the reply.

hondadude said:

Drain you carburetors into a glass jar....you may just have water in the one tank.

If you did not run the motor out of fuel and drain the carburetors, there may be a blockage.

If there is water in the fuel, get fresh fuel and flush the fuel system by opening each carb drain one at a time and flush each one until clear fuel comes out.

Mike

Click to expand...

Well, drained fuel bowls and found no water. Took out water separators and fuel filters and found no water. Not sure what to think. Was out on the water for about 4 hours and suddenly ran rough then died. Tried to restart but couldn't. There was no warning buzzers of temp or oil. Could have the carbs got stuck as the engine was running that long? So confusing!

Sorry you're having trouble.

You don't say what you tried to get the engine started so it's hard for me to "lean" in any one direction as to what may have gone wrong.

I mean, did you try pumping the primer bulb to see if it was still hard? Did you take off your fuel cap to make sure it wasn't a fuel tank "suction lock" from a closed or plugged tank vent?.....That sort of stuff.

As far as letting ethanol fuel stand....it is MY opinion that 6 months is much too long a period. My experience is that today's fuel blends need to be consumed IMMEDIATELY...with or without fuel "stabilizers". I don't trust gas pump fuel any longer than about a month or so, even when treated, because it seems to "sour" so quickly these days.

I know you will hear from folks that have used MARINE STA-BIL that have had good results and that's fine....but for MY money....the ONLY fuel I let stand for any length of time is VP racing fuel. But it is too expensive to just fill up a 15 gallon tank and leave it sit.

With a boat, I recommend transferring what you have from the boat and burning it in your auto each time you are left with gas in the tank and are not going to use the vessel for a time. It's really the only sure fire method for not having fuel go bad while sitting.

jgmo said:

Sorry you're having trouble.

You don't say what you tried to get the engine started so it's hard for me to "lean" in any one direction as to what may have gone wrong.

I mean, did you try pumping the primer bulb to see if it was still hard? Did you take off your fuel cap to make sure it wasn't a fuel tank "suction lock" from a closed or plugged tank vent?.....That sort of stuff.

As far as letting ethanol fuel stand....it is MY opinion that 6 months is much too long a period. My experience is that today's fuel blends need to be consumed IMMEDIATELY...with or without fuel "stabilizers". I don't trust gas pump fuel any longer than about a month or so, even when treated, because it seems to "sour" so quickly these days.

I know you will hear from folks that have used MARINE STA-BIL that have had good results and that's fine....but for MY money....the ONLY fuel I let stand for any length of time is VP racing fuel. But it is too expensive to just fill up a 15 gallon tank and leave it sit.

With a boat, I recommend transferring what you have from the boat and burning it in your auto each time you are left with gas in the tank and are not going to use the vessel for a time. It's really the only sure fire method for not having fuel go bad while sitting.

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Aloha, when out on the water, trying to start it back up, tried to choke it and it tries to start but dies. It would try for about three times then would just crank. Tried pumping the bulb but bulb is full and NOT collapsed. I am kind of thinking the carbs are bad again. If it is, would it be a better idea to clean both motors again? Thank you again for the reply.

jgmo said:

Sorry you're having trouble.

You don't say what you tried to get the engine started so it's hard for me to "lean" in any one direction as to what may have gone wrong.

I mean, did you try pumping the primer bulb to see if it was still hard? Did you take off your fuel cap to make sure it wasn't a fuel tank "suction lock" from a closed or plugged tank vent?.....That sort of stuff.

As far as letting ethanol fuel stand....it is MY opinion that 6 months is much too long a period. My experience is that today's fuel blends need to be consumed IMMEDIATELY...with or without fuel "stabilizers". I don't trust gas pump fuel any longer than about a month or so, even when treated, because it seems to "sour" so quickly these days.

I know you will hear from folks that have used MARINE STA-BIL that have had good results and that's fine....but for MY money....the ONLY fuel I let stand for any length of time is VP racing fuel. But it is too expensive to just fill up a 15 gallon tank and leave it sit.

With a boat, I recommend transferring what you have from the boat and burning it in your auto each time you are left with gas in the tank and are not going to use the vessel for a time. It's really the only sure fire method for not having fuel go bad while sitting.

Click to expand...

Aloha, when out on the water, trying to start it back up, tried to choke it and it tries to start but dies. It would try for about three times then would just crank. Tried pumping the bulb but bulb is full and NOT collapsed. I am kind of thinking the carbs are bad again. If it is, would it be a better idea to clean both motors again? Thank you again for the reply. Also, when flushing motor until it runs out of gas, then draining left over fuel in the carb by opening drain screw, will anything get stuck? Is this the best way for the carbs to stay clean?

It's hard to say what the problem might be. It sure sounds like carb issue but it could EASILY be something else......fouled plugs....weak spark......jumped time.....even low compression. Not knowing your engines and not being able to do some tests, I simply CAN'T tell you "yeah, take the carbs apart again".

If I were there helping you, I would probably try to start the engine using propane for "artificial enrichment". I have a tank with regulator and different hose configurations to prove, without a doubt, that it is a fuel starvation issue. Propane, having very similar volatility to gasoline and being introduced into the intake already in vapor form, makes an excellent test method to remove any question about whether or not the engine will run if it's getting fuel.

I can confirm that running the engine until it stops then draining the float chambers on the carb is the best method for keeping deposits out of your carbs. But then feeding them 6 month old fuel on start up might not be the best way to go.

Although, since your other outboard seems to be doing ok, it could just be that something got missed on the last teardown or a bit of sludge was hiding out in that one engine's fuel lines and picked now to break loose and futz up the works.

Ditto to what Jimmy said.

Just in case it is something other than carbs. Check the compression and spark...if you can. The spark will probably be very light, so it might be hard to see.

Also, make sure that the timing mark on the cam pulley aligns with the mark on the head at the same time that the mark on the flywheel aligns with the mark on the block. Could have jumped time

Mike

hondadude said:

Ditto to what Jimmy said.

Just in case it is something other than carbs. Check the compression and spark...if you can. The spark will probably be very light, so it might be hard to see.

Also, make sure that the timing mark on the cam pulley aligns with the mark on the head at the same time that the mark on the flywheel aligns with the mark on the block. Could have jumped time

Mike

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okay, will definitely check those areas. What is a good range for the compression test? Could have the timing belt jumped notches?? Timing belt is kinda tight..but will surely check it, though. Thanks again for the reply, at least I have some info of what to check!!! Thanks for your guys information....will let you know what I find!!!

Compression should be somewhere around 213 plus/minus 14 with throttle wide open at 500 rpm.

It probably will not crank that fast, so compression may be a little lower.

All cylinders should be within 10% of one another.

Yes, the timing belt could have jumped time. Not very likely, but is a basic thing to check before jumping into the carburetors.

Compression, spark and timing are the basics....like when you go to the doctor...they, at least, check your weight, blood pressure , pulse and other vitals....before they determine to operate.

Mike