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Honda BF 135 fuel problem.New member, need HELP HELP NOW!

F

fiddlebick

New member
In two days we have a lake vacation planned with my two adult children and the grandkids. A very rare and special time for me and years overdue. My pontoon with a Honda BF135 (2004) developed a fuel problem yesterday. Coughed and died a few minutes after powering up following a swim session on the lake. I pumped the primer bulb till it was tight with pressure and it started right up and ran fine till I shut it off again to swim some more. Same thing, 5 minutes or so after the restart it died again..pump the bulb and were off again, but its late in the day and we were heading for the trailer anyway. It starved for fuel, seemingly loosing prime. My quick and easy will be to replace the primer bulb and would appreciate any recommendations on the best product for that, along with any other advice. I am an industrial mechanic, so I'm familiar with the wrenches, but very much a novice with outboards, other than some sort of external, simple parts replacement, or simple owner maintenance.
 
Are you using portable fuel tanks, or do you have a built in tank. In either case, open up the filler cap the next time it happens - you may simply have a blocked breather vent.
 
I can't work on it today due to being out of town for medical appointments, but I will do the easy checks tomorrow, vent, pickup screen, and yes its a built in tank. Any thoughts on it being a collapsed or clogged fuel line from the tank? Just wonder how common of a problem that is.
 
Could be collapsing hoses, however, you said....once you squeezed the bulb the engine ran ok. Normally, a collapsed hose will cause trouble once you try to run the engine at higher speeds.

I have seen many times in a pontoon i f primer bulb arrow is facing down, the engine can lose its prime....possible due to the check balls inside the bulb allowing fuel to be "siphoned" back out of the engine (even though the tank is supposed to have an anti siphon valve. Sometimes, just changing the position of the bulb (if it is new) so that the arrow always points up, fixes the problem. If the bulb is old, it might be good to change the bulb.

It could also be a leaky fuel line connection.

One other possiblity, could be happening if you are raising the engine up while you are stopped. If you or your mechanic drained the vapor separator when the motor was stored last season and did not close the drain screw, the motor will start and run perfectly fine if the motor if vertical. If the motor gets tilted up, the fuel will leak out and drain the vapor separator, causing the motor to start up but stall very quickly if you try to take off right away. If you saw any fuel sheen on the water, that may be something to check.

Of course, I have never forgotten to tighten that screw.....LOL

As a side note, the bulb will pump much more efficiently if you squeeze it with the arrow pointing up.

Mike
 
Could be air getting into the fuel system via a leaky line connection or the primer could well be the wrong way round. The arrow should always point to the engine end.
check all of your connections and make sure that the whole fuel system is completely air tight.
 
Gee I've been slow getting back to the forum on this. I replaced the primer and fuel line from the tank and took the boat out for a test with no problem. Spent 4 great days on lake Barkley with my children and their families. Thanks for the quick help and I hope this info helps others as well.
 
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