'99 Johnson 130 OceanPro starts but then dies

[trobinson017]

Hey all,

Last week when I took my boat out the engine started fine, but it stalled three times as I started pushing the throttle forward. After the third stall I got it running fine. I even cut the engine later to do some fishing and when it was time to go it fired right up, no stalling. Today, however, I can't get it to stay running. I had it warming up while was packing stuff for a boat ride and it sounded rough, not the normal smooth idling. I tried to give it a bit of gas but as soon as I moved the throttle forward it sputtered and died. Now I can't get it to run more than 10 seconds before it sputters and dies. I checked the fuel/water separator and the gas was clean. The fuel filter looks good too. The 63 gallon tank is about 3/4 full and I use Stabil with ethanol eliminator in the gas tank.

Any ideas on what might be wrong? What should I be looking for?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: '99 Johnson 130 OceanPro starts but then dies

start trouble shooting, compression and spark check, are you getting fuel. what do spark plugs look like.

 

[trobinson017]

Re: '99 Johnson 130 OceanPro starts but then dies

Y'know, as I was researching how to do a compression test I kept thinking "this is acting just like water in the fuel before I got the w/f separator". Even tho I already checked that I went out and did another check. This time I took the fuel line off the engine block and pumped the fuel into a clear glass container. Sure enough, cloudy fuel. I don't know why my first check of the w/f separator showed clear gas, as did the fuel filter. I then recalled what a retired boat mechanic told me: I have a poly gas tank and, in Florida, the heat causes it to expand and contract a bit which down here almost always causes leakage from the fittings installed on the tank (i.e. hose fitting, level sender fitting, etc.). I checked the top of the tank and, sure enough again, there was some water setting there from the 2 weeks of daily storms we've had lately. How it got there is another issue that I have to fix. Anyway, I soaked up the water on the tank, then pumped out about 1.5 gals of milky gas until I got crystal clear gas. After reconnecting the fuel line I started her up. More sputtering and dying but I knew there was still fouled gas in the engine block so I kept turning it over. It ran longer and stronger every time until eventually it ran just fine. I took it for a short trip up/down the canal and no problems!

So, I'm confident that's the issue. But in my compression test research I learned you should do such a test every so often anyway to detect any problems before they happen. I may just do that anyway. Also, with your advice, TashasDaddy, I checked all my plugs and they looked fine, but the gap was off on one. The engine runs a tad smoother now after regapping it. Good advice!

Thanks again for your excellent help. I can always count on you!