ENGINE DIES

J

JONEVANS1

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I HAVE A 94 CELEBRITY STATUS 240 IT HAS THE 5.7 MERCRUISER AND ALPAH OUTDRIVE.
4 BARREL WEBBER CARB. RUN BOAT IN DRIVEWAY THIS LAST WEEK AND ALL WAS FINE. ADDED SEAFOAM TO FUEL, FUEL WAS TREATED BEFORE WINTER AND BOAT WINTERIZED SAME WAY FOR THE LAST 6 YEARS. NEW INPELLER LAST YEAR, NEW OIL AND FILTERS AND FUEL FILTER THIS YEAR. ADDED 10 GAL OF FRESH FUEL AND WENT OUT ON LAKE. RUN 5 MILES AND PARKED FOR 1 HR AND HEADED OUT AND WHILE IN GEAR AND AT IDLE ENGINE DIES LIKE YOU SHUT KEY OFF. HARD TO START AFTER 3 ATTEMPTS IT CARAKS AND RUNS. THEN RUN 1/2 MILE AND PARK FOR 2 HOURS. WHEN WE WENT TO LEAVE WAS IDLEING OUT OF BAY AND DIED AGAIN. WOULD NOT RESTART AND I WAITED 10 MIN OR SO AND IT STARTED AGAIN. RUN 3 MILES OR SO BACK TO MARINA AND IT AT 3000 RPM IT DIED LIKE YOU TURNED THE KEY OFF, GAUGES STAY LIVE, CRANKS OVER GREAT, BATTERY CHARGED, ALTERNATOR CHARGING, STILL NOT START. AFTER 20 MINUTS NO START AND WAS TOWED BACK TO RANP. TRYED TO START TO PUT ON TRAILER AND STILL NO START. BROUGHT HOME AND IN DRIVEWAY 2 DAYS LATER STARTS AND RUNS AND WILL NOT ACT UP.
ANY IDEAS, IS THEIR ANY SHUTDOWNS ON A CELEBERITY BOAT OF THAT AGE LIKE FOR COOLANT TEMP? MAYBE IGNITION MODULE OR COIL?......
ANY HELP IS APPRICATED. JUST DON'T WANT TO GET CAUGHT ON THE LAKE BROKE DOWN AGAIN NOT ANY FUN.
 
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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welcome aboard

WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING?

no such thing as a mechanic in a can. not sure why you add seafoam

check your fuel for water
 
achris

achris

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So, I imported that into Word and changed the capitalization... (luckily, just before my brain exploded).. Here's what it looks like now.. (I'll add comments in red)

I have a 94 celebrity status 240 (don't care what boat it's in, the boat is irrelevant) it has the 5.7 Mercruiser and alpah outdrive.
4 barrel webber carb. (Got an engine serial number?) Run boat in driveway this last week and all was fine. Added seafoam to fuel, (Why?)fuel was treated before winter and boat winterized same way for the last 6 years. New inpeller last year, new oil and filters and fuel filter this year. Added 10 gal of fresh fuel and went out on lake. Run 5 miles and parked for 1 hr and headed out and while in gear and at idle engine dies like you shut key off. Hard to start after 3 attempts it caraks and runs. Then run 1/2 mile and park for 2 hours. When we went to leave was idleing out of bay and died again. Would not restart and i waited 10 min or so and it started again. Run 3 miles or so back to marina and it at 3000 rpm it died like you turned the key off, gauges stay live, cranks over great, battery charged, alternator charging, still not start. After 20 minuts no start and was towed back to ranp. Tryed to start to put on trailer and still no start. Brought home and in driveway 2 days later starts and runs and will not act up.
Any ideas, is their any shutdowns on a celeberity boat of that age like for coolant temp? (nothing to do with the boat)Maybe ignition module or coil?......(VERY unlikely the coil)
Any help is appricated. Just don't want to get caught on the lake broke down again not any fun.
What you need to do is have it die again and then determine if you have lost spark. Impossible to tell you what's wrong when nothing's wrong.

Chris.....
 
J

JONEVANS1

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Engine serial number 0F131984, and I agree it is hard to fix what is not broken. Have not been able to re create the problem.
 
achris

achris

More fish than mountain goat
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When it died, did the gauges all just drop dead, or did the gauges still alive?
 
J

JONEVANS1

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All of the gauges were live never lost power to dash, engine cranks over fine after it dies as well .
 
J

JONEVANS1

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So really my question is there any kind of shutdown system for the engine that is temp or oil press related?
 
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

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JONEVANS1 said:
So really my question is there any kind of shutdown system for the engine that is temp or oil press related?
Click to expand...
as stated, no shut down.

in addition to above (ignition switch / deadman switch), any of the following could cause issues:
plugged fuel vent
debris in fuel system
flaky anti-siphon valve
carb needing rebuild
bad/corroded electrical connections
bad distributor trigger assembly

my guess is a bad connection. start at the battery, work your way to the motor, then up to the helm and back cleaning every connection and sealing with marine electrical varnish.
 
1960 Starflite

1960 Starflite

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My come n go problem with shut down and no start was ignition glass fuse under dash, oxidation. Cleaned all fuses and holders. 😉
 
Longhorn-Boater

Longhorn-Boater

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Not looking to hijack OP's thread, but I'm chasing a similar issue on a Mercruiser 350 inboard motor. Starts up fine, idles smooth, runs at speed and under load (e.g. pulling a wakeboarder or skier), then if speed is reduced or brought back to idle speed, it will begin to run rough, sputter and die. Starter will crank, but engine will not restart. The first couple of times, if it sat for 20-30 minutes, then it would restart and run (during which time it would be driven straight back to dock). On the last outing, it would not restart, even after an hour. Based on the handful of occurrences, it seems to be getting worse; by worse I mean it starts fine but begins to run rough & then die sooner after launch. Also seems not to "recover" following a period of "rest" like it did previously.

Based upon the sputtering fashion in which the engine dies, my first thought was that it was starving for either fuel or air. But the fact that it starts up upon first launch and then starts again after cooling down made me think perhaps it was just fuel delivery, with the fuel pump changing it's operation once the engine heated up. After some research, I think it may be electrical - while still be affected by temperature.

Mercruiser Inboard Model: MIE 350 MAG MPI SKI
Serial: 0L393706
Motor is circa year 2000 and has ~900 hours.

Steps taken since the behavior first occurred:
  1. Replaced fuel filter (fuel/water separator)
  2. Compression check - good
  3. Replaced distributor cap, rotor, and spark plugs - one cracked plug was noticed when the old ones were pulled, but behavior was consistent after this set of maintenance replacement activities.
  4. Thoughts on possible root cause:
    1. Fuel tank filter sock - trapping sediment during extended operation, then clearing while the boat floats and sloshes back and forth?
    2. Bad ignition coil - operating differently once hot?
    3. Crankshaft position sensor - faulty? More finicky at temp?
The challenge has been performing any diagnosis when it happens, because it has happened 20-30 minutes after starting a day of watersports, so we're usually with a boatload of passengers in and/or behind the boat and the focus shifts to just getting back to the dock. Hopefully now that it happened sooner, it will mean I can go on a test run and bring some tools to check / diagnose a few details. I'm open to other hypotheses and/or troubleshooting suggestions. I'll also create a separate post in the event these behaviors aren't similar enough to warrant co-brainstorming.
 
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