Fuel not feeding from right fuel tank?

[ingalp01]

Alrighty, I have been sorting various things out on my new boat, and so far, so good, except fuel will not feed from the right fuel tank.

The boat is a 1982 Chris Craft (Viking) Cabin Cruiser, and it has dual 50 gallon fuel tanks.

There is a switch on the dash, and when in the left position it reads the fuel level from the left tank. When in the right position it reads fuel level from the right tank. When in the middle it doesn't read anything from either tank (guage shows empty.)

Regardless of the switch position it always draws fuel from the left tank, and left tank only.

What is the process for sorting this issue. I know I'm going to drain all the fuel from the left tank, because I don't know how long it hasn't been working, nor do I know the age of the fuel in the tank. I will clean the tank, as best as I can. I'm not removing it if I can help it. But I need help diagnosing and fixing the problem.

Thanks...

 

[ingalp01]

Re: Fuel not feeding from right fuel tank?

OK, a buddy of mine says bad solenoid? He says there is a three way solenoid that moves a valve where the two lines come together and that determines which tank fuel is drawn off of.

This is a 1982 Mercruiser 260, so it's a mechanical fuel pump. I don't even know where to start looking.

Thanks...

 

[Lyle29464]

Re: Fuel not feeding from right fuel tank?

follow the gas line from the pump toward the tanks. you will see where both lines from the tank meet. You should see the setup your buddy was talking about. It will have some wires that power the transfer valves. Check to see if one wire is lose. check for 12 volts at the end of the wires. change switch position on dash and recheck. You need to see if you have power from the dash and if so see if the solenoid is bad. You might change wires long enough to get the old gas out so you can test it. Dont forget to change it back

 

[ingalp01]

Re: Fuel not feeding from right fuel tank?

I will check it out tomorrow when I get a chance and get back to the forums with any updates.

thanks...