Randy Brunson
Contributing Member
Hello, everybody. I first want to thank those who contribute to this forum. It have scoured it for advice and found it very helpful.
I have a 2004 BF200 on a 20' Robalo center console. It has been a good engine overall but all but started running poorly at the end of last summer. While riding at cruising speed, 3400-3600 rpm, the boat will start to surge and lose power as if it's not getting fuel. It will pretty much always come back down and idle, but once it starts acting up, it will do it more and more frequently. Here are the things I've tried to fix this problem:
1. I noticed that there was a significant amount of water in the water separator cartridge. Fixing a loose leaning post, I cut an access hatch under the leaning post and discovered 3" of rain water sitting on top of the fuel tank. I thought water was getting in the tank and causing the problem. I figured out the reason for this and also determined that the foam around the tank was water-logged, so I replaced the fuel tank over the winter.
2. I replaced all fuel line coming back to the water separator, and put a new Honda OEM fuel bulb assembly between the separator and the engine.
3. I removed the bearing from the anti siphon valve just in case.
4. This past week I took it to a repair shop and had them replace the low and high pressure fuel filters and clean the VST. It ran well for about a day and a half, but acted up again shortly after picking up my wife and two young daughters.
I live in Savannah, GA. The guy who did my filters and VST seems like a sharp guy, but he is not Honda certified and can not pull error codes. I idled it back to him after dropping the family off yesterday but now I'm having second thoughts. I cannot find a good Honda certified mechanic in my area, I have had a bad experience with the only one in my city area.
Does anybody have any advice on what I should do or know a good mechanic in the area? I just the boat to be reliable so I can get my kids out on the water without having it break down.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
I have a 2004 BF200 on a 20' Robalo center console. It has been a good engine overall but all but started running poorly at the end of last summer. While riding at cruising speed, 3400-3600 rpm, the boat will start to surge and lose power as if it's not getting fuel. It will pretty much always come back down and idle, but once it starts acting up, it will do it more and more frequently. Here are the things I've tried to fix this problem:
1. I noticed that there was a significant amount of water in the water separator cartridge. Fixing a loose leaning post, I cut an access hatch under the leaning post and discovered 3" of rain water sitting on top of the fuel tank. I thought water was getting in the tank and causing the problem. I figured out the reason for this and also determined that the foam around the tank was water-logged, so I replaced the fuel tank over the winter.
2. I replaced all fuel line coming back to the water separator, and put a new Honda OEM fuel bulb assembly between the separator and the engine.
3. I removed the bearing from the anti siphon valve just in case.
4. This past week I took it to a repair shop and had them replace the low and high pressure fuel filters and clean the VST. It ran well for about a day and a half, but acted up again shortly after picking up my wife and two young daughters.
I live in Savannah, GA. The guy who did my filters and VST seems like a sharp guy, but he is not Honda certified and can not pull error codes. I idled it back to him after dropping the family off yesterday but now I'm having second thoughts. I cannot find a good Honda certified mechanic in my area, I have had a bad experience with the only one in my city area.
Does anybody have any advice on what I should do or know a good mechanic in the area? I just the boat to be reliable so I can get my kids out on the water without having it break down.
Thanks in advance for your advice.