Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Honda BF200 fuel injected sputters at 3500RPM Help

L

Lmaio

New member
BF200, 2013, fuel injected, changed low pressure, high pressure fuel filters, water external separator. Runs great for 10 to 30 minutes at 3,000 to 4,000 RPMs then sputters. Primer fuel bulb goes limp (soft). After squeezing bulb 4-6 times motor runs fine again. When it's sputters, first light on left of switch light panel turns red, after priming with bulb everything is fine and green light stays on. At under 2,500 RPMs engine never sputters. What could this mean?
 
Hi,
I don't work on the "big boys" but the engine sputtering and soft primer is a classic symptom of a closed or plugged up fuel tank vent.

Just a guess about the warning light coming on but since it's obviously going lean during the event it might be skewing the O2 data enough to confuse the ECM. Or, it might be triggering the knock sensor. Ok, that's two guesses.

At any rate, if you solve the first symptom the light coming on likely will become moot.

Have you tried retrieving fault codes?
 
If you can get your hands on a portable fuel tank, hook it up to your engine, likely/possibly at the inline fuel filter. If the engine runs fine with the portable tank then your issue is from where you hooked the portable tank upstream. If the engine still acts up with the portable fuel tank your issue is from the place where you hooked up the portable tank downstream. Check all fuel line for kinks, loose clamps anything and everything that might look fishy. Check the vent line, did some insect build a nest inside the vent line? Run the engine with the gas cap loose. Is the water separator bowl on tight? Basically go over your entire fuel system with a fine tooth comb from tank pickup to where the fuel enters the VST. Once you check the easy stuff and still have issues then you may have to go deeper. I’d would then check the fuel pressure and see what you have vs Honda specifications. Your issue could be in the VST, full disclosure, I have never been “inside” a VST so I can’t get into too much detail but I would expect a float inside the VST that keeps the fuel at a constant level, maybe the float is out of adjustment causing your fuel starvation issue? There should be a filter/strainer inside the VST, perhaps it’s plugged with dirt? A fuel pump not quite pumping at 100%? A fuel pressure check should give you an indication of the condition of the VST and internal components. If you have to get into the VST then I would recommend you get yourself a genuine Honda service manual, going to be many small parts. Hopefully you’ll find your issue without getting into the VST.
 
First of all, if your primer bulb is partially collapsed when the engine is acting up, that is a dead give away that either the vent to the fuel tank is clogged or the pick-up tube inside the fuel tank is clogged, or the check valve in the primer bulb has collapsed.

Drain the VST and test again.

If problem is still there, hook up a portable tank with new fuel as suggested by William01 above and see if the problem persists. If so, then there is a possibility that your low-pressure fuel pump is failing. Pull it, inspect it and test it. But first check the bowl seals on the onboard fuel/water separator and the low-pressure fuel filter.

If none of that works, hook up a fuel pressure gauge to the pressure relief bolt that sits on top of the high-pressure fuel filter cover. (You will need a 6 mm adaptor.) Pull the vacuum hose off of the fuel pressure regulator and clamp/seal it. Start the engine and let it warm up. At idle (600 RPM +/-) you should read between 42 and 49 PSI. If pressure is too high, then pull the fuel pressure regulator and clean/replace it. If still too high, then you will need to pull the fuel pump and clean the fuel screen on the bottom of the plastic casing that the fuel pump sits in. That's a real PITA! If you do this, have a replacement plastic cradle for the fuel pump on hand, because there is at least a 50-50 chance you will break the old one getting it out. Don's ask why I know that.

If none of that works, come back at us.
 
Back
Top