2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

[rpalk]

2001 Bayliner 17.5, (Eng Model OM256972 Alpha 1) ran fine for 2 years. Now having problem with engine but not until I turn off ignition to fish or swin. Boat will not start again. If I wait about 30 minutes, sometimes it will start and run rough for about a minute and die again. Not enough time to make it to the dock. Changed fuel filter, spark plugs, cleaned spark arrestor and still have same problem. Only seems to happen once boat engine is hot. The funny thing is that once I get home and hook up the flush kit, it starts and runs with no problem even at idle. Suspect either a bad ignition system, vapor lock or maybe water in fuel. No water was noticed when I changed fuel filter. Boat was stored with 1/4 tank of gas and a stabilizer for winter. Could this be a coil problem? Any suggestions with this problem would definitely be appreciated. Nearest marine repair shop is 60 miles away so the kids and I hope for a quick fix. Definitely no fun being towed in but thankful for the people who helped me out.

 

[Trent]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

You need to check for spark when it does it. Pop a sparkplug wire off and stick a screwdriver down in the wire boot. Hold the metal shank of the screwdriver close to unpainted metal and have someone turn over the engine and see if it sparks.<br /><br />Another thing to check is to remove the spark arrestor and see if fuel is running down the throat of the carb after shut down. Also the choke plate should be wide open after shut down.

 

[rpalk]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

Everything on the carb checks OK. When you said to check the spark next time, I can do that when it happens again. If for some reason there is no spark, what component would you suspect is bad?

 

[denniz]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

pull the flame arrestor and see if its flooding after you turn off the key.fuel stabilzer is great stuff but only if you run the engine and allow it to get into the carb. Just putting it in the tank wont protect the carb.

 

[denniz]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

Sorry Trent didnt mean to repeat you. You have no points to stick.your ign. is electronic. Ill bet its carb flooding or shift switch sticking. More than likely its the carb

 

[rpalk]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

Thanks for all the help. Besides rebuilting the carb, I guess I have no other options. Could you please tell me way everything runs fine here in the driveway but on the lake it doesn't want to start after being shutoff off. Just looking for future knowledge.

 

[pmgrape]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

I have an earlier version of this engine in my 1988 Renken. My engine doesn't have electric ignition, it used points,condensor,rotor. <br />I had a very similar problem last spring. The engine would start fine when cold, but when trying restart after fishing for a little while, the engine was hard to start or just wouldn't start at all. Also, as the engine warmed up I couldn't get above 1500 RPM.<br />I rebuilt carb.(NAPA carries rebuild kits MUCH cheaper that marine dealers), replaced, plugs, points,condensor,rotor, and still had the warm/hot starting problem.<br />Finally I took it back to the Dealer I had purchased it from just a couple of months prior, and they did a compression check. This showed a major drop in one of the cylinders(I cannot remember which cylinder)compression.<br />They pulled the head and sent it to a machine shop for reworking and the machine shop discovered a crack in the head. This was not a repairable item so after a long search the owner of the dealer found a good used head, after finding 2 other heads that were cracked as well.<br />The theory was that the crack was small and sealed itself when the engine was cold, and as the engine heated up this caused the crack to enlarge resulting in loss of compression and hard starts when warm/hot. <br />I truely hope this isn't the case with your engine, but it may be something to keep in the back of your mind as this engine has a history, or so I hear, of cracking heads.<br />Also,have you checked your fuel filter(s) and fuel tank pick-up tube?<br />Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[pmgrape]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

Oh, I forgot to mention the coil question you had. I would check the spark as indicated in a previous post to this thread. If you have spark, I wouldn't worry too much about the coil as they very rarely go bad.<br />If it would help, call around to local auto parts stores and ask if they can test ignition coils. It's a very simple test consisting of testing resistance, but is made even simpler when you have a comparable coil to confirm the resistance readings to. <br />I had mine checked about 2 weeks ago and the auto parts store(autozone) had a comparable one on the shelf and mine checked out fine.<br />My ignition problem turned out to be my points, but that's already been posted here and wouldn't help your problem.<br />Anyway, best of luck to you and hope you and yours can get out on the water soon.

 

[rpalk]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

OK, here's the latest. Took the boat out today and added 2 cans of heet in case of water. Boat died twice but was able to restart within 10 minutes. I did check for a spark when the engine died and found no spark at all. Checked carb and fuel was normal, sprayed some WD40 into carb. After the boat started, it ran fine until I hit a wave then died again. Finally, in disgust started tracing wires and switches. Found the kill switch plunger on the motor wedged between a V shape attachment. Once the engine was running again I pushed the plunger in and sure enough the engine quit. Got the WD40 and sprayed the plunger. Boat started right up and ran for 2 hours with no more problems from idle to full throttle and back several times. Hopefully either the plunger was sticking or the heet finally got rid of the water. I'm not sure but I believe the motor kill switch interupts the ignition source which may be why I wasn't getting a spark. Time will tell if it's fixed. If you have any comments, please let me know. Thank You to all that replied.

 

[denniz]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

That v shaped attatchment thingy is part of your shift system. It made need a new lower shift cablr, very common problem.D

 

[rpalk]

Re: 2001 Mercruiser 3.0L Engine or Fuel Problem

Thanks Rod knocking. Does this part normally cause the engine to stall and quit if it is not functioning as specified? It seems funny that after hitting the wave about 20mph it quit. Seems to be a little play in it? Besides that what could interupt your ignition spark then work again in about 10 minutes. I felt the coil after it quit and it was really hot. I poured some water on the outer casing of the coil to cool it down and sure enough 10 minutes later it started.