Fuel trouble thoughts?

[cambo77]

Hi Guys,,,,so I went for my maiden full day fish in my 2014 Scout 177 Sport and 2015 Suzuki 115 with 16 hours on the clock.....The day started of sweet pulled up at the first spot caught a few fish bla bla bla took off too another location...cough, cough stop...motor shuts down sounds like its starving of fuel,,,went to check the priming bulb, squeezed it, still firm...hhhmmmm so tried to fired her up and she started after 5 - 10 seconds and off we went.....

Fish all day no dramas then we fish our last spot start the motor head off for a couple of minutes and she dies again! Same thing

When you pump the priming bulb you can really here it sucking the fuel in and and takes a good couple of seconds for the bulb to expand back to its original shape...I am thinking my the bulb is faulty or there a blockage in the tank...
Thoughts????

[Moonlighter]

Could be a blockage or faulty bulb, but first check that the tank breather is clear. Can cause same symptoms. See if you can find the breather outlet and ensure there is clear airflow to the tank. Also the bulb should be positioned vertical with the end leading to the engine uppermost, this is how they are designed to work.

Usually the bulb would be sucked flat if there is a restriction between tank and bulb. A blocked breather also will be evident if, when the engine stalls, you open the fuel tank cap and you hear air suck in.

Are you running a Racor style water separating fuel filter in the fuel line between the tank and the primer bulb? If not, it really is essential to run one of these as all to often these days, we hear of water in fuel or other contaminants.

If you are running one of them, and all else checks out, consider changing the element, as you could have picked up some bad fuel and the filter may be partially blocked.

Finally, using ethanol fuel can damage the inside of fuel lines and cause restrictions. This will not be visible from the outside but if you disconnect lines from some fittings, you may be able to see the inside lining breaking down. New ethanol resistant marine fuel lines would be the solution. If this is the issue and you didn't have a Racor then expect to need to have the engines entire fuel system including VST, rail, injectors etc cleaned out.

[cambo77]

Thanks mate...yeah'I checked the vent its clear...there is a racor water seperator /filter fitted and it did have a little bit of debris in it, which I changed....That's why its so odd the bulb hasn't sucked flat if there was issues with the pick up in the tank...I don't run ethanol, only premium fuel..

[Solarman]

Might have an issue with the anti siphon check-valve at top of tank?

Just a thought. Good luck.

[Moonlighter]

Might have an issue with the anti siphon check-valve at top of tank?

Just a thought. Good luck.

Yes, anti-siphon valve is a possible as well. I would remove it, should be easy to do and eliminates one possibility.

I would still check the inside of those fuel lines.

[cambo77]

Yes, anti-siphon valve is a possible as well. I would remove it, should be easy to do and eliminates one possibility.

I would still check the inside of those fuel lines.

oh yep...the anti siphon valve is the square looking fitting which the pick up tube is attached too??

[Moonlighter]

Yes, it's the outlet barb on the tank. Valve is inside.

You should be able to unscrew it (carefully!). Remove the fuel line, then unscrew the valve.

On my mates Striper, we took it to the workbench and used a punch to punch out the little ball, seat and spring inside it that makes up the valve. Then, reinstalled the empty fitting. Or just replace it with a suitable barb fitting.

[cambo77]

Okay thanks mate

[redlowrey]

In your first post when the engine stopped the bulb was hard, if there was a blockage in the tank you would think the bulb would be sucked in. If there is nothing wrong in the fuel system forward of the bulb, it must be the bulb, what you are describing with the bulb sounds like drawing the maximum amount of fuel it can suck, check the valve at the tank if it is ok, cut the bulb open and have a look.

[cambo77]

I pulled the bulb out today and it seemed okay....I pour some fuel into a container and it sucked in the fuel and expelled it. The bulb also held the fuel in the bulb so it wasn't running back out the non return valve

[artdf175]

Have been following your post and replies
not hearing the usual things from you with regards to fuel restriction which would lead me to a couple of other things to consider.
it is some what sounding like a air leak in the fuel line..
if the fuel bulb basically remains full of fuel and and the engine is shutting down as if starved for fuel .. it sounds like air maybe is getting in the system
you can check for leaks between the Racor filter and inline filter. When the engine is running, observe the inline filter for air bubbles. should be none.

question.. what was the condition of the inline fuel filter (right before the low pressure fuel pump)? dirty/clean? any debris?
my engine also has a filter between the low and high pressure pumps.
did you inspect the filter located with in the high pressure fuel pump?

another check would be the low pressure fuel pump.. is it really working like it should.. I found one way to check this is to take the hose on the out going side and face it into a container, pull the spark plug wires, and then have someone turn the engine over with ignition key. should get a lot of full pumping into your container.
those are some thought I had..
Art

[cambo77]

Have been following your post and replies
not hearing the usual things from you with regards to fuel restriction which would lead me to a couple of other things to consider.
it is some what sounding like a air leak in the fuel line..
if the fuel bulb basically remains full of fuel and and the engine is shutting down as if starved for fuel .. it sounds like air maybe is getting in the system
you can check for leaks between the Racor filter and inline filter. When the engine is running, observe the inline filter for air bubbles. should be none.

question.. what was the condition of the inline fuel filter (right before the low pressure fuel pump)? dirty/clean? any debris?
my engine also has a filter between the low and high pressure pumps.
did you inspect the filter located with in the high pressure fuel pump?

another check would be the low pressure fuel pump.. is it really working like it should.. I found one way to check this is to take the hose on the out going side and face it into a container, pull the spark plug wires, and then have someone turn the engine over with ignition key. should get a lot of full pumping into your container.
those are some thought I had..
Art

Thanks ART,,,,,its only just had it first (20hour) service....the filter on the motor looked okay but I didn't pull it out as the motor is under warranty. I didn't want the local dealer to have any grounds not to honor a warranty issue if that turned out to be the problem....The thing is because the boat was fitted out buy another dealer and not my local Suzuki dealer I want to try and eliminate the entire fuel system before the motor if I can so if I thought a warranty issue with the motor is the problem then I am covered...

the racor....now you mention it when I pulled the filter off and turned it on its side before removing it, there was a big air bubble which would have been sitting up in the housing of the filter......also the O'ring was really "stretched"...you might be on to something there mate.....

Today I removed the pick up out of the tank along with the anti siphon valve....the valve had a little bit of debris in there...I'll get a new fitting tomorrow along with a racor filter....hope fully the issue will be solved

[Moonlighter]

Tips for changing Racor elements.....

A little smear of marine grease around the rubber gasket at the top and o ring at the bottom.

Fit the clear bowl to the new element. Then fill the filter almost full with fuel from the top, and carefully, to avoid spilling fuel, screw it back onto the housing. Hand tighten only.

This eliminates the difficulty of pumping the primer bulb like crazy to prime the filter and suck fuel all the way from the tank thru the filter.

Also, that anti-siphon valve is simply not needed on an outboard powered boat. They are IMO just another potential source of problems. Delete!

[cambo77]

I h ave removed the anti siphon and replaced it with a standard barb fitting.....to it for a quick run today so far so good.....test will come next week when I take her out for a whole day trip again...I'll keep you posted