Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Zerbel04 · Aug 20, 2012

Hey all,

New to these forums and new to boating. Just took our new (used) boat our for it's second run tonight and got to break in our oars. Seeing as my wife and I just ran a marathon yesterday and can barely walk, the mile paddle to the launch in 30 degree heat was almost worth a chuckle.

Anyway to the problem........please help if you can guys. 2008 Glastron with 4.3L Volvo Penta carbeurated engine. Engine has only 42 hours on it and when I purchased it a week ago it had not been in the water since last summer........to the symptoms.

Ran the boat on it's maiden voyage a few days ago with no issues. Tonight we took it out and ran it for about 30 minutes. As I slowed down to stop and let the kids swim the boat stalled on its own AND WOULD NOT START AGAIN. So my wife and I proceeded to padded for about an hour to the launch. Filled the tank with fresh fuel (about 50 Litres).....Still won't fire. I checked the carb and it was getting fuel when pumped full throttle. Tried the cold start method by pushing the button on the gear shift and going full throttle and tried to start.........sputtered but still won't fire. Unhooked the to wires going to carb and bypassed the carb.......connected the two wires together and it actually fired up (WOOHOO the kids might still get to tube). Boat will not run in idle and still finicky. Finally get boat to idle so I took it to test it........boat will go about 20 seconds then stalls. Connected two wires back to carbeurator to remove the bypass I had done and TADA!!! Started and ran like a champ. Spent the next 4 hours tubing and kneeboarding and the boat runs better than ever.

SO WHAT THE HECK??? My best guess it that the fuel was old and possibly not stabilized.....maybe water in the tank and gummed up carb??? Runs perfect now that 2/3 of the tank is fresh fuel.

I don't know...........any smart people out there who have any guesses for me? And please don't answer take it to a mechanic. I will be doing that soon enough for winterization and would rather not take it in early (Summer is too short to waste boat days in the shop)

Sorry for the long post but I look forward to the responses.

Bondo · Aug 21, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Zerbel04 said:
Hey all,

New to these forums and new to boating. Just took our new (used) boat our for it's second run tonight and got to break in our oars. Seeing as my wife and I just ran a marathon yesterday and can barely walk, the mile paddle to the launch in 30 degree heat was almost worth a chuckle.

Anyway to the problem........please help if you can guys. 2008 Glastron with 4.3L Volvo Penta carbeurated engine. Engine has only 42 hours on it and when I purchased it a week ago it had not been in the water since last summer........to the symptoms.

Ran the boat on it's maiden voyage a few days ago with no issues. Tonight we took it out and ran it for about 30 minutes. As I slowed down to stop and let the kids swim the boat stalled on its own AND WOULD NOT START AGAIN. So my wife and I proceeded to padded for about an hour to the launch. Filled the tank with fresh fuel (about 50 Litres).....Still won't fire. I checked the carb and it was getting fuel when pumped full throttle. Tried the cold start method by pushing the button on the gear shift and going full throttle and tried to start.........sputtered but still won't fire. Unhooked the to wires going to carb and bypassed the carb.......connected the two wires together and it actually fired up (WOOHOO the kids might still get to tube). Boat will not run in idle and still finicky. Finally get boat to idle so I took it to test it........boat will go about 20 seconds then stalls. Connected two wires back to carbeurator to remove the bypass I had done and TADA!!! Started and ran like a champ. Spent the next 4 hours tubing and kneeboarding and the boat runs better than ever.

SO WHAT THE HECK??? My best guess it that the fuel was old and possibly not stabilized.....maybe water in the tank and gummed up carb??? Runs perfect now that 2/3 of the tank is fresh fuel.

I don't know...........any smart people out there who have any guesses for me? And please don't answer take it to a mechanic. I will be doing that soon enough for winterization and would rather not take it in early (Summer is too short to waste boat days in the shop)

Sorry for the long post but I look forward to the responses.

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,.... Inspect the contents of the fuel filter for water, 'n crud, then replace it...

Technologic80 · Aug 21, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Are you bypassing the fuel pump relay to make the electric fuel pump run non stop?

I would change the fuel filter "today" as suggested. If that doesnt solve the problem it sounds like the fuel pump is on its way out.

Zerbel04 · Aug 21, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

The bypass is apparently a shift interupter switch. Not sure what that does but that's what the boat mechanic I was talking to called it.

I may try one more outing with the boat now that it is running perfectly again. When I take it in for winterization in a couple weeks they will go through it with a fine tooth comb and change the oil and fuel filters, and hopefully if there is still an issue I guess they will detect it then.

Valuable lesson learned yesterday.............when you are the only boat on the water, don't go too far from safety.

Still hoping it is just as simple as ****ty gas in the tank that is burning its way outta the system.

skydiveD30571 · Aug 21, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Zerbel, Volvo doesn't use shift interrupt switches. That's a Mercruiser thing because of the shifting setup they use. You might want to inform your mechanic of that.

PiratePast40 · Aug 21, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

We all have different comfort levels. I would personally be more comfortable in my boat if I knew for sure about the fuel. It'll take 15 minutes, at the most, to pull the fuel filter and dump it into a glass jar to inspect the gas. Even if you don't find any sediment or water, at least you'll know.

Zerbel04 · Aug 21, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Skydive any idea what those two wires connected to the black box beside the carb are then? I honestly have no idea what they do.....just followed mechanices advice to connect them together and it worked.

And yes Pirate I may just do that this week to see what I find.........so if there is water in the gas from fuel filter then it should sink to the bottom of a glass correct? Only thing is about 2/3 of the tank now has new fuel in it so maybe to late to see if that was the problem?

skydiveD30571 · Aug 21, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

You don't happen to have a picture of the black box do you? Mine is a 2007 5.0 model so not wildly different than yours, and I can't seem to remember a box around my carb anywhere. Also, what is the full model number of your engine? The character after "4.3GL".

If the fuel filter collected some water and some escaped and got into the carb causing your running problem, even after it cleared in the carb and is now running better there will still be some trapped water in the filter/separator. Yes it will settle to the bottom of your clear container along with any solid particles.

Zerbel04 · Aug 21, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

I'll try and post a pic of the mysterious black box later tonight. I will also dump the fuel filter and let you guys know what I find. Thanks for all the help so far.

skydiveD30571 · Aug 24, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Not trying to sound like a jerk or anything, but I spent the evening in my engine compartment and the only "black box" on the engine is the fuse box to the left of the carb next to the manifold. That's not your black box is it? The only 2 wires actually running to the carb are for the choke and are hooked to the choke housing. How did the fuel filter test come out?

Zerbel04 · Aug 25, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Haha Skydive nope not being a jerk. I actually took a picture of the black box and the fuel from my filter and meant to post them. Problem is the pic of the black box (which was crystal clear and a perfect pic to post) has gone missing. Obviously I f'd something up cause it's not on my iphone or computer anymore. Anyway there didn't appear to be any water in the filter and just a tiny bit of crud. I suspect the new fuel has already worked it's way through so no residual in the filter. As for the black box............it was more of a black round attachment to the carb with two wires attached to it. I woudln't call it a box. Still have no idea what it is so I'd love to hear your opinion.

Zerbel04 · Aug 25, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

So maybe those wires are choke related then?

skydiveD30571 · Aug 26, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Yes the choke housing is on the side of the carb, black and circular shaped. It has 2 wires attached to it, one of them being a purple wire that is hot when the engine is running. Inside the black case is a metallic coil that is sort of spring loaded. It closes the choke for an engine that is not up to operating temperature. The current thru the wires heats the coil and relaxes it, allowing the vacuum port for the choke to pull the choke plate open. Connecting these wires together would basically just make the choke not open properly. I don't believe there is anything electrical down the stream with the choke wiring but I will look at a diagram.

When you connected the wires together, you were preventing the choke from opening properly once the engine warmed up. That probably explains why it would not idle or run correctly at that time. I don't see how it would stop the engine from starting. If i've learned anything about boats, its that weird things can happen so coincidentally that figuring out what really happened can be REAL tough.

Zerbel04 · Aug 26, 2012

Re: Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

Thanks skydive. That makes perfect sense then why the boat would not idle or run properly with the wires bypassing the choke.

I'm sure learning a lot awfully quickly and it's been fun.

Really appreciate everyones input and help

Bad gas?? Rough day on the water

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