njterrier

I hate when people do stupid things. I feel more concern for the dog than the idiot behind the wheel. Scott

Turned out to be a bad ignition switch. Tested it by disconnecting the brown "go" wire to the starter relay, turning the ignition key to "on", and then testing for voltage at the brown "go" wire at the starter relay. Test showed full voltage going to the relay. Bad switch, as power should only go there when key is turned to start. Changed the ignition switch, no problems now. THX Scott

Need help. Have not used the boat in 6 weeks, boat ran great all season. Today I went to start the engine (1998 Yamaha 115 2 stroke) on muffs, as I always do before launch. Motor started up “Cold Start” as expected from a 2 stroke. Noticed that the voltage was a bit low while cranking, but built back up to 14.4v after a few minutes. When the voltage did hit 14.4 I heard a clank, then a whirring sound come from the motor. I also noticed that the voltage dropped back down to 11.2v. Turned the motor off, and removed the cowl, and flywheel cover. Restarted the engine, fired right up, watched the voltage build up again, then at 14.4v – clank, and this time I saw that the pinion gear on the starter had popped up, and hit the bottom of the flywheel, starter was spinning- accounts for the whirring sound. Turned off the motor, and checked all the connections, fuses, and wires around the starter motor and everything looked in order. I then sprayed some WD-40 into the ignition/key hole as I figure there can be some moisture in the switch. I let the WD-40 drain from the weep-hole, and also sprayed can of air into the keyhole to dry off the WD-40. This worked for a little while, no random starter problems as I continued to test on muffs. Then tried to launch the boat, and had the same problem occur. I pulled the boat back on the trailer, and tried the WD-40 fix again. Problem occurred a few more times, but his time I wiggled the key a bit as the starter randomly engaged at idle; this caused the starter to disengage. I have a feeling that the ignition/key switch is going bad (11 y/o). Has anyone else ever have this happen? Should I also look at other possible problem sources? Relay? Wires? Starter itself? Any feedback would be appreciated. THX Scott

There was a magazine "Center Console Angler" which bit the dust last year I believe. I thought it was a really good magazine. Obviously it catered to the "smaller" fishing boat owner/enthusiast. The Barnes and Noble by me carries a few Australian fishing magazines which I look over in the store, seems that most of their reviews and fishing articles revolve around smaller aluminum boats. Those aussie mags are at least double the thickness of the SWS/Sportfishing mags here, and the quality of the photos are amazing as well as the articles. Internet/recession has definetly killed off many of the mags, but we still need reading material for the porcelan office. Scott

I actually did find a 1.5 barbed coupler at my local plumbing supply. Cost me $ 1.20 The only access I have to the tank is through the small deck plates located above the hose fittings. There will be alot of pushing and pulling.... Wish me luck... THX Scott

Great idea with the hose barb. I was going to tape string to the hose, with my luck the string will get chafed and break... THX Scott

Boat is 11 y/o now, and after years of ethanol in fuel, looks like the (fuel) hoses/lines are starting to get brittle. Boat is a Parker 18SE. The only access to the fuel filler/vent lines are through the deck plate covers (8" ?) and the top of the rigging tube under the gunnel near the fuel cap. I know it is going to be a b*tch to pull the old hoses and also pull the new stuff thru, even though it is not a great distance. Has anyone tackled this by themselves?, any tips or suggestions?, or should I leave this to the pros?. There is very limited access to the hoses, but I really do not want the deck cut open. Any advise would be appreciated. THX Scott

As for the fuel pick-up on the sending unit on the tank, check to see if there is an obstruction. Also I would recommend cutting the bottom of the pick-up tube at a 45 degree angle. This would help the unit pick up fuel even if there is a small obstruction swashing around in your tank. Definitely sounds like a fuel starvation issue. Two other questions. 1- What filter size (microns) is the sierra fuel/water filter? 2- What physical size is the actual canister?. Is it a short or long canister? Hope this helps Scott

How about the folks who decide to bring their small kids to the ramp to play at the waters edge as you are backing down the ramp. Then give you the dirty looks for disturbing their moment. I also hate when other boaters are done for the day, tie up at the ramp, then decide to break open the cooler, and have a picnic on the boat at the ramp. Next year, I get a slip. Scott

I know that it could be a wild goose chase trying to diagnose the problem. After I had the fuel/carb problem resolved, I ended up taking a "basic marine mechanic" course through a local adult education program offered in my township. Best $300 I ever spent. I am sure that they offer a course down by you. On a side note, I was able to work on a 1985 Mariner 40, which is a yamaha motor. I helped with rebuilding the carbs, not difficult at all, If I remember, the owner bought the kits for $40 each. Also we found so much debris in the small fuel filter, and we also found pieces of the same debris in the high speed circuits in the carbs. A good soaking in carb cleaner, blew air through all the circuits, new gaskets, and the motor ran like new. When I get a chance, I will scan some info and diagrams I have, and post it. Hope this helps. Scott

When you ran the boat on an aux tank, did you run WOT ?. If the boat has a built in fuel tank, could there be an obstruction partially blocking the fuel pick up? Were the carb(s) ever cleaned/rebuilt? I would also look into and clean the small fuel filter on the engine itself. I had a fuel issue last year, ended up having to have the carbs cleaned. Problem solved. I Have a yamaha 115 2s. Hope this helps Scott

What size "microns" is the racor? 10 mu should be fine. Check the fuel pump as well. It is a mechanical, pump essentially a flapper. The internal rubber membranes of the pump eventually dry out/crack from ethanol. Also the gasket behind the pump could be letting air in too. The fuel pumps are not very expensive, I would look at that. Scott

Is this fresh fuel? Could there be a restriction in the fuel line? Fuel pump?/primer bulb? Sounds like a fuel starvation issue.

I had a similar problem last year. I was getting water in my fuel tank via the fill "vent". Make sure that the vent is facing aft at a down-ward angle. Turned out that my vent some-how was facing forward and up. I was taking in some water when cutting into larger waves, and when it would rain. I also had to drain my 60 gallon tank, and kept changing my in-line 10-micron fuel filters. I have been trouble free since. Scott