Both engines idle rough and then die

[Scuba_ref]

So it still quits AFTER keeping the throttle up a little bit ??

Yes it still quits.

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

that screams water in the fuel to me. I just dealt with motor that the gas I got had water in it. They wont run smooth at all then catch a little run nice for a second then die or run rough... that is all smptoms of water int he fuel.

 

[jawsf16]

I had this happen last year at the Broken Bow gathering. Both engines sounded like rocks in a paint shaker. I changed plugs, no change. I took out a battery and drove it to an auto place, tested good (got a huge chip in my windshield driving there - constant reminder)!! Turns out it was a loose connection on the batteries. Check all of your connections...

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Just for shits and giggles, pop your clean out plugs and see if you have wound up a rope on your shafts. It's a stretch but possible.

Your looking at fuel problem

Or

Spark plug problem

 

[thcole]

Sounds like a fuel sender issue to me. What was the screen you cleaned out in the bildge.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I missed your fueled up last year comment.

Load her back on the trailer and get that fuel removed.

 

[Scuba_ref]

So I have been playing with the throttles and giving it some gas and if I baby it I can get them running at abut 3000 rpms and they start to sound normal. When I throttle back they go rough again and shut off.

 

[Scuba_ref]

Sounds like a fuel sender issue to me. What was the screen you cleaned out in the bildge.

The bilge pump screen.

 

[Scuba_ref]

@Murf'n'surf will do. How do you remove the old fuel? Now they won't start and stay on at all. Fire up and promptly die.

 

[biglar155]

I'm not the kind of guy that adds a lot of stuff to his gas but there are three things I'll swear by: Heat (or Dry-Gas, or whatever) for water in the fuel, Sta-Bil for stabilizing prior to storage and Sea-Foam for pretty much every other fuel problem under the sun. My concoction is Sta-Bil in the tank on the last run before storage (to make sure it gets to the engine). Then in the spring I dump in a can of Heat (which just might solve your problem) and a can of Sea Foam.

If I were you, I'd dump a can of Heat in there and then a can of Sea-Foam and top off the tank with fresh gas. If the problem persists, you can almost rule out fuel at that point - unless it's REALLY bad gas.

(As aside note, Sea-Foam solved a MAJOR problem I was having with the outboard on my previous boat.)

 

[Murf'n'surf]

How old is the gas?

Is it still from the previous owner?

 

[Scottintexas]

it could be a clogged fuel filters, but again it would be strange BOTH filter get clogged at the same time,

 

[Scottintexas]

 

[Scuba_ref]

How old is the gas?

Is it still from the previous owner?

Nope not that old. We bought the boat at the beginning of the season last year. Probably topped the tank off in early October before it went into storage. I did run sta-bil through it before putting it away.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Hmmmm.... Try spark plugs first. Start easy stuff first!

 

[gthh]

Wow a 3 min. response time! Great Job Guys! I feel just a little more confident being out on the waters with you guys having my back.
Sorry I was late for the response-still working on my phone email setup.

I hope you can salvage the boat outing Stephan. Good luck and let us know if it was bad gas. I have 50 gallons of last years gas in the belly of my beast and may hook up the hoses tomorrow and run them for 10 min or so to check the quality of the gas.

 

[Scuba_ref]

So, I'm back home with the boat. I have put in some heat and some sea foam. I also topped off the tank with fresh gas. When I say topped off, I was surprised that it took 35 gallons. I don't think my gas gauge showed it only being 1/3 full. I'll have to look into that also. How long do I let the additives do their thing before trying to start it again? This stuff is very much out of my league, I've never been the mechanic type...so I really do appreciate you all jumping away from your grills to help me out! Much thanks indeed for this forum!

Stefan

 

[biglar155]

So, I'm back home with the boat. I have put in some heat and some sea foam. I also topped off the tank with fresh gas. When I say topped off, I was surprised that it took 35 gallons. I don't think my gas gauge showed it only being 1/3 full. I'll have to look into that also. How long do I let the additives do their thing before trying to start it again? This stuff is very much out of my league, I've never been the mechanic type...so I really do appreciate you all jumping away from your grills to help me out! Much thanks indeed for this forum!

Stefan

Not much time is needed. You've driven home so it's all mixed in. I'd try it again.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

It may take a few minutes for newly treated gas to get into your engine.

give it a go!

 

[Scuba_ref]

Okay so both engines are now starting and running. The port engine sounds quite a bit better than the sbd engine. Also, there is a lot more water coming out of what a assume to be the exhaust on the stb engine versus the port. This exhaust port is to the right of each jet nozzle and is aimed at the nozzle.