Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

[jgregory01]

I have a 1999 Johnson 50 - J50pleea. After about 10 minutes of driving regular the engine goes into SLOW mode I think. I replaced the fuel water filter.

I have noticed that when I pump the primer bulb there is a slurping sound and it never realy gets hard. After getting the engine started and running it for a while the bulb is never hard.

I am thinking that there may be a hole in the line somewhere, or something to that effect. Would lack of fuel make the motor go into SLOW mode? The motor is not hot when checked by hand. I have stopped the engine in the water when it starts to act up and felt it all over...not heat buildup.

I just wonder if engine is not getting enough fuel/oil will this occur. Thanks.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

over heating makes the motor go into slow mode. any alarms? point the arrow on the fuel bulb to the sky, if it does not get hard now, you probably have a float needle not sealing, or bad bulb. after the motor starts the bulb is not going to be hard, because the fuel pump is drawing fuel thru it.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

J/E Alarms

low oil alarm is a beep every 30 seconds. beep......................beep...................

no oil alarm is a beep every 1/2 second or so.beep,beep,beep

overheat and fuel restriction alarm is a constant beep.beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

 

[jgregory01]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

No alarms going off. I get one quick beep when I first put the key in for start up.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

is vent open on fuel tank?

 

[jgregory01]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

I dont know if the vent is open or not. Where would it be? The tank is under the floor.

 

[bktheking]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

Built in fuel tanks general are self ventilating and don't have a valve to open. If it's not overheating then no slow mode. If you had a hole in your line you'd smell fuel and see it. So if it starts fine, runs for 10 minutes (if it were overheating it would be going into slow mode much quicker than 10 minutes, try a minute or 2) When it does it, check spark. If you are wondering if it's pump related, pump the primer bulb when it does it, if it suddenly speeds up then perhaps the pump if failing after heating up. You need to narrow it down to fuel or electrical or you'll be chasing your tail for days.

 

[jgregory01]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

Sounds good. Thanks. I also spoke to some friends. The guy that I bought it from said the boat had not been run in a month or so. We hooked it up to the hose and ran it for about 20 minutes and it was fine. It only had half a tank then I have not filled it(bought the boat a week ago).

My friends are wondering if water may be in the fuel, or if the ethanol has seperated from the fuel, causing problems. They suggested I change the fuel/water filter (i did that the last time I ran it and still had the problem) and they said to pump out all of the fuel, and drain the fuel from the carbs. Then put in new fuel, marine grade preferably, and some conditioner, and change plugs. They think this may help.

I will give that a try.

 

[patrick4266]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

Just last week i tried to start a motor that had not been started in a few years. I used some gas that had been sitting around for a couple to a few months. Would not start, went and got some fresh gas and it started right up.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

drain the tank, get new fuel, and a fuel water separator. borrow a 3 or 6 gallon tank for testing, the drain the tank. yes ethanol and do all kinds of things. do some reading here:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=299680 some of this refers to older motors, but good to know.

 

[Knightgang]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

Then put in new fuel, marine grade preferably,

I think someone is selling you a line here. Never heard of Marine Grade Fuel... Maybe I am wrong, but that is my opinion...

However, If the motor has not been run in a while, I would suggest carb rebuilds, fresh plugs, fresh fuel and fuel/water seperator... Should run like a champ then...

 

[jgregory01]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

I think he meant fuel from a dock or a marina...without ethanol. How much does it usually cost for a carb rebuild usually?

 

[jgregory01]

Re: Could it be the fuel line/pump ?

Got it fixed. I had to replace the power pack. It runs like a champ. Thanks for the help.