No fuel to carb 1997 Mercruiser fuel injected V8

[imported_Vic]

Blown aground when my excellent (w./ 400 hrs) 1997 Bayliner, 256 horse Mercruiser fuel injected V8 stalled at idle. Noticed just before it happened on a 30 minute run, a couple of back fire and, two misses at 3000 rpm, but could not rev beyond 3800 rpm. Idled fine for a few minutes before it died. On the USCG rescue tow in from the rocks, determined no fuel to the carb, on 3/4 tank of gas and plenty of battery power. Checked all fuses, new fuel filter, checked the ball valve at the tank which is fine.

Any ideas or suggestions since I want to learn to trouble shoot it and buy extra parts for the weak links in the boat due to voyage plans in isolated areas out of Prince Rupert, way away from Bayliner dealers?

Regards,
Vic

 

[Don S]

Re: No fuel to carb 1997 Mercruiser fuel injected V8

Need to know what you actually have there Vic. A fuel injected engine does not have carb, On a throttle body injected engine (aka TBI) they have what looks like a carb but has 2 injectors in the top.
If it's actually a TBI engine, there is any number of reasons there is no fuel to the Throttle body. Spark could be one of them, no fuel, water in the fuel, air leaks, plugged fuel system or any number of problems.
Do you have a Serial Number for your engine? Do you have a manual? and I don't mean a Seloc or Clymers. If you actually have an EFI engine, then you need a Mercruiser manual for your particular engine. Without it, fuel pressure gauges, DVM, and a few other pieces of equiment, you can't even troubleshoot it.

 

[imported_Vic]

Re: No fuel to carb 1997 Mercruiser fuel injected V8

Thanks Don S.
It is a TBI as you describe. The best I have is a Solec manual.
The boat is in storage and I'll get the numbers in the morning.

On the tow in I took the fuel line at the base of the TBI unit off, cranked the engine and no fuel flowed from the line.. That's when I checked the ball value at the tank and replaced the fuel filter/water sperator spin off .

Using the Solec I thought my next move might be to buy the electronic analysis unit and read the trouble codes they mention.

I know I can take it the dealer here in Reno, who have a good reputation, but I want to become familiar with the weak links in the boat before I head north next summer, so I can fix a dead in the water situation if possible.

Vic
Reno, NV

 

[Don S]

Re: No fuel to carb 1997 Mercruiser fuel injected V8

On the tow in I took the fuel line at the base of the TBI unit off, cranked the engine and no fuel flowed from the line..

Did you take off the pressure line, or the return line?

That's when I checked the ball value at the tank and replaced the fuel filter/water sperator spin off .

Did you find any water?

Using the Solec I thought my next move might be to buy the electronic analysis unit and read the trouble codes they mention.

I know I can take it the dealer here in Reno, who have a good reputation, but I want to become familiar with the weak links in the boat before I head north next summer, so I can fix a dead in the water situation if possible.

If you happen to have a code reader of some sort, that would be great. But in my experience, the problems are seldom read by the computer.

Look at your problem, not pumping fuel. Of course, if you loose spark the ECM doesn't see a Reference High signal from the distributor and will not allow the fuel pump to operate.
So without the proper fuel pressure gauges to see if the pump is putting out any fuel pressure, or the proper diagnostic steps, finding out the problem is going to be next to impossible. Finding out while out on the water is going to be harder unless you have all that equipment with you.
When was the last time your engine had a full tuneup. Cap, rotor, plugs, etc?

 

[imported_Vic]

Re: No fuel to carb 1997 Mercruiser fuel injected V8

Thanks Don S.
I took off the 1/4 inch dia line at the aft base of the TBI unit. I didn't realize there was a return line.

When I checked the ball valve there was no water, in fact there was no fuel in the line as I recall, though the tank had plenty. When I changed the fuel filter it was full of gas and I didn't see any water..

I got the boat at 14 engine hours! four years ago and used it very little this past year. Have not had a tune up to 400 hrs. The boat was stored in a heated hanger from new in 1997 until 2002 when we bought it and under cover, but outside since then. Under the engine cover is still looks new with the exception of a small intermittant antifreeze leak at the thermostat.

Before the incident, the motor ran strong and smooth and basically started instantly, so I though a tune up was not needed.

I was going to replace the plugs in the spring, but a factory tune may be required?

Good to know about the lack of spark, deactivating the fuel. Will this happen is one plug wire or plug goes out?

Regards,
Vic

 

[Don S]

Re: No fuel to carb 1997 Mercruiser fuel injected V8

I guess I stated that wrong. No, loosing spark on one or all plugs will not cause the fuel pump to not run. But a signal from the ignition module that tells the ECM that the engine is actually cranking over will.
Without doing a diagnostic test and systimatic troubleshooting there is no way of knowing what your problem is. With EFI, throwing parts at it like an old points and carb system is out of the question. You could spend thousands and not find the problem.

 

[imported_Vic]

Re: No fuel to carb 1997 Mercruiser fuel injected V8

Thanks Don S.
I think I'll try to see if there is spark at least and see where that may lead.

One thing is for sure, I'm upgrading my kicker motor to a 8-15hp Honda or something similar. I hate to be out there in a massive black box though, because machines always break.

Thanks for your insights. I'll take it to the dealer with the stipulation they provide a detailed explanation of what they found and did. I'll also pick up a model specific manual and do some research on the weakest parts or typical problems on the boat and get some spares.

Thanks again and happy holidays up there.
Regards,
Vic
Reno, NV

 

[bomar76]

Re: No fuel to carb 1997 Mercruiser fuel injected V8

The weakest part of the system is 400 hours and no tune up....have you done ANY maintanence at all on this boat, or just run it till it died?