Mercury 5.7 won't restart after running then died on lake!

BodunkPHilroe1

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I have a 2001 Chaparral with the Mercury 5.7 litre 260 horse engine. It starts and then I go out on the lake and stop to float. Then it won't start. Just cranks and won't hit. It has the throttle body injection. I can hear the fuel pump pressurize and it seems to be getting gas based on my observation of the throttle body injectors over the carb. I got a tow out and the next morning I put it back in the water. It hit on the first try. We ran for a day and half with no problem. Then the next time out we ran for an hour and and a half. We then begin idleing into the marina and it just stops. It cranks and seems to want to hit but won't keep going.

We once again got a tow out. I bring it home. It tries to start. I put a little gas in the top of carb and it hits and takes off. When I shot some ether into the carb at the marina it tried to hit but did not keep it up.

I was thinking bad gas before but now think maybe the fuel pump is going bad. I am planning on changing out the fuel filter/water separator but think that it just guess work on my part. I am burning the same tank of gas that was in over the winter. It is the same tank of gas that was in when I got my first tow! I have had a boat for 10 years or so and always fill it up at the end of the season and run stabilizer through the fuel system. I just would think that if the gas is bad it would be bad overall not just a couple of instances. I did put STP gas treatment in to remove water.

In starting it I noticed that the gas coming out of the injectors was not as fine a mist as it appears to be once the motor is running.

I hate to replace a fuel pump if in fact it is not the problem. At home in the driveway with ears on it runs nicely!

Thoughts?
 

BodunkPHilroe1

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Re: Mercury 5.7 won't restart after running then died on lake!

I pulled the distributor cap and there was a little moisture in there. Not a great amount but a little on the bottom. I wanted to pull the rotor cap and inspect the ignition sensor. The little screws on top appeared to have a little corosion on them.

Two things.
1) How do I pop off the rotor cap? I have had several cars and they normally just pop off. Not this one!

2) Could the ignition sensor be the issue related to my posting?
 
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