I am working on a 5 HP Briggs outboard. The problem I am having is that it will start and run for two or three minutes, then it will sputter and die. I can pump up the bulb again and it will fire right back up again. I figured it was the fuel pump so I went ahead and put a new pump in. I tried it again. No change. I unhooked the gas line from the carburetor of the engine, and found that when I squeeze the bulb, gas comes out, so the lines aren't clogged. I took the pulse line off the fuel pump and it is clear. The only thing that has seemed to fix the problem was unhooking the original gas tank and bulb and just sticking the gas line into my gas can. Then it seems to run indefinitely. The original tank's vent is open so it is not that. This thing has me stumped. I work on lawnmowers and snow blowers and such. This is the first boat motor I have ever worked on so it's all a little new although the Briggs engine is identical to it's lawn mower counterpart with the exception of an added fuel pump.
Any advice would be appreciated, even if it seems simple; I am not famliar with boat motors.
Any advice would be appreciated, even if it seems simple; I am not famliar with boat motors.