Suzuki DT140 dies periodically

[mike65072]

I have a '99 Suzuki DT140 on a 22' pontoon. The engine starts easily and runs great...except every once and a while it will die for no apparent reason. The last 2 times it happened I had been running at 2500-3000 rpm for about 30 minutes. Once was at night with the lights on, the other was during the day in very rough water. In both cases, I immediately tried to restart the engine and nothing at all happened. After a short period of time (less than 5 min...in which, by the way, total panic was setting in...for me and my many passengers) I restarted the engine and continued home without any further incident. Any ideas...my family won't get on the boat until something is "fixed"

 

[jim dozier]

Re: Suzuki DT140 dies periodically

Sounds like a bad connection in the electrical system. I would start with the battery cables and work towards the engine. I know that just about every time I remove my battery cables during maintenance the boat won't crank up the first time because I never get the cables tight enough the first time. Check to see that both ends (battery and engine) of the main cables are tight and check the ground connection on the engine block. Sometimes its a good idea to replace the cables if they are corroded.

 

[Steamboat]

Re: Suzuki DT140 dies periodically

Also check the ignition kill switch for proper operation, could be that it has a little play in the contacts and got bumped or shook just right during the trips (it's one of the few things that I can think of that would instantly kill the engine and then after resetting or some slight movement, allow it to restart). Basic operation of the switch is simple, start engine and pull kill switch loose and engine should stop - reinstall kill switch and engine should start - with engine running, play with switch but don't full disengage the pull tab, just move it around and see if the engine dies.