2010 Bryant 210 4.3L MPI A1 G2 With CoolFuel2 - Runs fine for maybe 40 minutes then just dies.

groovy_moon

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
31
Engine has ~318 hrs. I have vesselview installed.
1st time out this season about 2 months ago the boat started and ran fine. I was on last years fuel, it was ethanol free and stabilized. I then went and filled up (not at my normal station, but it was a relatively newly built station) with supposedly ethanol free "rec gas".

The next time out it ran fine for about 45 minutes of towing the kids. We stopped for lunch for about an hour. When I went to start the fuel pump sounded like it was pumping gravel (someone said it may have been cavitating) and no way would the engine start. It was not a hot day and I have never had an issue with vapor lock with this boat. I had a friend tow me off the lake and I tow the boat home.

The next day, in the driveway, the boat started right up. I let it run at idle. It idled normally at 650 RPM. Fuel pressure was normal (I have a gauge). I turned it off and removed the gauge. It started back up and idled normally. At about 20 minutes I gave it some throttle to about 2k for a few seconds and then brought it back to idle. After another 5-10 minutes I started noticing that the idle RPM were starting to decrease. At about 40 total minutes it was idling at ~575 RPM and not sounding real healthy. I goosed it again and it stalled. It would not start. The fuel pump sounded a little raspy again. It would not start if I advanced the throttle in neutral (so not IAC).

Myself and a few mechanics were convinced it was the fuel pump. That clearances were opening up when it got hot and it was not pumping fuel. 3 weeks and $1800 later there is a new OEM fuel pump / CF2 rebuild kit installed. They had to pull the engine to do it

I take the boat out last Saturday July 10th. It seams to run ok. I am towing the kids around for about 45 minutes. It runs at 2500-3000 rpm without any dogging.. I do notice that later in the run when I go to idle that its idling at ~600 instead of 650..
We stop for lunch and some swimming. Again it is not a hot day.. mid 70's. I go to leave. The boat starts... it runs for about 60 seconds and then sputters out and will not re-start... So I get towed off the lake AGAIN.....(by the same friend)

I am thinking dirt or crap in the tank in the tank is plugging up the pickup and that eventually the pump suction (remember MPI so hi pressure pump) collapses the fuel line and once collapsed it take a long time for the vacuum to release. If the boat is towed down the road maybe the bumps in the road knock the crap off the screen or out of the tube.

Also.. Since the fuel tank is in the bow... it is V-shaped.... this would tend to concentrate any crap into a nice little pile right about where the pickup tube is.

The boat is in a shop right now... but I may take it back and screw around myself.

Thanks
 

groovy_moon

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
31
Update. Tech just called. Said the scanner shows the ECM as dead... He said that a bad fuel pump will take down an ECM..... HUH? It had the same ECM both times it failed to start and the time it did start.
 

QBhoy

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 10, 2016
Messages
8,348
Hi. I have an mpi. Although this particular thing has t happened to me. I do know that if just one of the many sensors has a tantrum or an electrical issue…it can start or show a chain of random fault events. If it’s effecting the other sensors not getting their 5v supply. So even a loose battery terminal or a bad earth will cause havoc and lead you down a trail the wrong way. Very common to mess things up if you have anything less than a perfect (and I mean perfect) battery. So even though a battery can turn the engine over well…if it’s not close to perfectly healthy…it will crap itself under high load. The ecu and all the sensors and ignition system just won’t have it at all. Another thing I had was the shift interupt system being activated by the throttle mechanism being a tiny bit loose. Took a while to figure that one out.
be interesting to watch the voltage produced at the very moment it starts doing this.
But it’s probably most likely that it’s a fuel issue. Either the check valve being restricted or the pick up in tank sucking up a restriction under high demand for fuel. I’d run it off a separate tank. Ignore the notion of the ecu being to blame for now. Could also be off fuel or water in fuel. Mpi will often disguise this issue and not show the usual symptoms a carb would. With back firing lean issues. The mpi will have a go at advancing it’s timing if it thinks it’s running lean, I’m sure. Playing havoc with everything else at the same time. The idle rpm can vary on these depending on its temperature. Or depending on what it thinks it’s temperature is. So if it thinks it’s cold…it will run rich until it thinks it’s warmed up. My idle rpm is about 620-650 and a little less in gear. Check the diz isn’t loose and able to affect things. And that it’s between the two lines used to set it in position. Check the cap while you’re there
 

groovy_moon

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
31
Thanks. Lots of stuff to look at... The failure is so consistently the same... I am thinking computer related... Fuel would be more random I think. It's going in the shop Monday and we shall see. I think there is blockage at the tank, this causes the pump to demand a lot of current in order to maintain pressure (which it seems to, I have a gauge). Eventually the output coils in the ECM overheat and shut down. Problem is... they are now marginal and as soon as they get warm they shut down. If it's not pouring rain tomorrow I am going to:
1) Run it off a separate tank and see how that does. If it shuts down but there still is pressure in the fuel rail.... Well it's ECM or sensor. Vesselview does not show everything..
2) Pull my anti siphon valve, my pickup tube and my gas line and see what I can see.

3) Maybe do the brake upgrade to my '19 Suburban
4) Clean my garage
5) Clean my basement
6) Go for a bike ride
7) Change the oil in my wife's car
8) and the beat goes on and on and on
 
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