2000 5.0 GL won’t start

RJ1970

Cadet
Joined
Jun 22, 2019
Messages
7
I have a 2000 Four Winns with a 5.0 Volvo Penta GL engine. I just bought this bought, it has less than 94 hours on the boat. The first time I took it out it ran great at both WOT and at low throttle. Stopped a couple of times to swim. When we started back to the boat landing it slowed and shot down. Got towed in. Got home began checking it out, disconnected due line from carb. It was pumping fuel, checked the coil and the primary side was reading 11Kohms. I read that it should be around 9Kohms. Went to the local parts store and bought a high performance coil. Took the boat back out and it ran fine again for a couple of hours. Did the same thing again. Got fuel at the carb. Any ideas?
 

Jprevat

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 25, 2016
Messages
321
Have you pulled the plugs yet after it cuts out to see if their is fuel present? Could indicate spark problem if wet.
 

RJ1970

Cadet
Joined
Jun 22, 2019
Messages
7
Went out today and disconnected the fuel line again today and pulled the coil wire to the distributor. I put in an inline spark tester and turned the engine over. I had just over 11.5 volts on the purple wire at the coil and had a good spark. The pump filled a 20 ounce water bottle about 1/4 full during this time. I reconnected the fuel line and tried it again for the heck of it. The engine fired up and ran great. I had 12.5 volts on the purple wire once it fired up. I think I’m going to pull the filter and check the pickup in the tank next. It’s got to be something starving it for fuel then clearing. By the way the engine type is listed below.

5.0 GL PWTR
4110193424
3868944
 

RJ1970

Cadet
Joined
Jun 22, 2019
Messages
7
ReWell I pulled the access panel to get to the fuel tank today. I pulled the pickup and the inlet screen looked good. I checked the vent hose to make sure it is clear. I checked the supply hose for cracks, none. I checked the anti siphon valve and the water separator. Emptied the separator and didn’t see any water. I’m going to remove the anti-siphon valve and try it without that in place. Other than taking a little longer to crank will this cause any issues?
 

jimmbo

Supreme Mariner
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
12,944
Why would it take longer to crank? The carb fuel bowl should remain full between starts.

Having good spark out of the coil is one thing, having good spark to all the plugs is another.
Being a GL, I believe it uses a Prestolite Distributor and no external Ignition Module. are the connections inside the distributor clean and tight? The Module inside the Distributor can sometimes also go wonky after a Heat Soak.
 

RJ1970

Cadet
Joined
Jun 22, 2019
Messages
7
You are correct in regards to the distributor. I will check those connections today. How do you check or test the module in the distributor. It looks like some type of Hall effect sensor. Thanks for the response!
 

Misterbulbous

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
47
Why would it take longer to crank? The carb fuel bowl should remain full between starts.

Having good spark out of the coil is one thing, having good spark to all the plugs is another.
Being a GL, I believe it uses a Prestolite Distributor and no external Ignition Module. are the connections inside the distributor clean and tight? The Module inside the Distributor can sometimes also go wonky after a Heat Soak.

jimmbo. Can you elaborate on the wonky distributor module and heat soak? I'm wondering if this may be my intermittent issue. I have the often-described problem where my engine will stall upon taking off - after I've been sitting in the lake for an hour or two. I've verified all the usual suspects as "ok"...(fuel pressure, filter, fuel quality, vent, checkvalve, etc). Running a 5.0 carbureted GL-B here....
 

jimmbo

Supreme Mariner
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
12,944
Simple, Heat can affect a lot of Electronics. A poor soldier joint, a tiny crack in a foil on a printed circuit can be problematic as temp changes

The stalling after a hot soak... is it, the Engine starts, you put it in gear and go, when you shove the throttle forward, it goes then dies? If so, I suspect vapour lock and/or percolation, two very opposite situations but the same result. Mine has done that since day one, likely due to the garbage called Alcohol in the gas. A bit of fast idle and fresh cooler gas in the carb and its fine
 

Misterbulbous

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
47
Simple, Heat can affect a lot of Electronics. A poor soldier joint, a tiny crack in a foil on a printed circuit can be problematic as temp changes

The stalling after a hot soak... is it, the Engine starts, you put it in gear and go, when you shove the throttle forward, it goes then dies? If so, I suspect vapour lock and/or percolation, two very opposite situations but the same result. Mine has done that since day one, likely due to the garbage called Alcohol in the gas. A bit of fast idle and fresh cooler gas in the carb and its fine

I'm probably hijacking the thread, but I agree with everything you're saying. Regarding the module, I thought you may have been referring to a personal experience where you had a similar problem as I described and then completely resolved it with the module change. I agree with you on gas-related issue. I may change the module, just for one more variable to reduce.
 

RJ1970

Cadet
Joined
Jun 22, 2019
Messages
7
Jimmbo that is exactly what I have been experiencing. I just purchased this boat a couple of months ago and I asked the guy if he had been using non ethanol gas. He said no. It was about 1/4 full when I got it and I filled it with non ethanol fuel. I hope this will quit once I get through this tank. In the meantime do you think insulating the fuel lines will help to keep the fuel cooler or just let it idle at a higher RPM for a bit longer prior WOT?
 

RJ1970

Cadet
Joined
Jun 22, 2019
Messages
7
Well I took the boat back out again today. We stayed out on the water for about 4 hours. We did as usual. Rode for awhile then swam for a while. I had no issues this outing. I think it was a combination of running the blower all the time when running and for a couple of minutes after shutting the engine down and applying coil tape to the fuel lines. I also removed the anti siphon valve, I didn’t see any difference in how the boat ran other than it ran like it was supposed to.
 

QBhoy

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 10, 2016
Messages
8,286
Hi

a well known issue with these is for the non return valve in the fuel supply line to get trapped slightly open by tiny bits of dirt. It allows the fuel to run back to tank after running. It then has a hard time getting fuel to the engine and occasionally can restrict the fuel at the same time.
 
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