Johnson 90 Four-stroke Stalls
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 11:43 pm
Greetings--I'm a relatively long-time (47 years) boat owner that just got my first Boston Whaler, which is a bucket list thing for any boater.
We also have a Wooldrige outboard jet sled for river fishing, and have owned a wide variety of power and sail boats over the years. I also mess around with vintage British and German sports cars and vintage race cars.
My Whaler has a 2003 Johnson-Suzuki four-stroke-power-cycle outboard. I've only had it out a few times. It sat in our barn for a couple months before I took it out this week. Unfortunately, the boat left my son and I dead in the water a mile or so from the launch ramp.
[The boat] had some sort of old gasoline in the fuel tanks. I stopped on the way to the lake and topped off both 12-gallon tanks. [The 90-HP Johnson engine] started up at the ramp. Fuel injection is a beautiful invention.
About three minutes from the ramp, the engine died. Fortunately, it was only because the tank-to-engine fuel line had come off the motor. Stuck it back in and off we go. Sadly, a couple minutes later, the RPM gradually wound down, and the engine died again, like I slowly brought back the power, not a sudden stop.
Tried to restart. Almost caught a couple times. but no run. Got a guy to tow us back to the ramp. Towed the boat home. Pulled the engine cowling--everything looks totally normal. Squeezed the fuel hose primer bulb and plenty of fuel there. I think an ignition or electrical problem would have had an immediate cut off, not a gradual loss of RPM. But what do I know, I play with ancient British cars.
Before I take it to a good local shop, naturally I would like to resolve this myself.
Sounds like a fuel problem to me. I'm not remotely an EFI-four-stroke-outboard mechanic. My plan is to replace the fuel filter and see what happens. Any other bright ideas before I submit her to the professional outboard gurus?
We also have a Wooldrige outboard jet sled for river fishing, and have owned a wide variety of power and sail boats over the years. I also mess around with vintage British and German sports cars and vintage race cars.
My Whaler has a 2003 Johnson-Suzuki four-stroke-power-cycle outboard. I've only had it out a few times. It sat in our barn for a couple months before I took it out this week. Unfortunately, the boat left my son and I dead in the water a mile or so from the launch ramp.
[The boat] had some sort of old gasoline in the fuel tanks. I stopped on the way to the lake and topped off both 12-gallon tanks. [The 90-HP Johnson engine] started up at the ramp. Fuel injection is a beautiful invention.
About three minutes from the ramp, the engine died. Fortunately, it was only because the tank-to-engine fuel line had come off the motor. Stuck it back in and off we go. Sadly, a couple minutes later, the RPM gradually wound down, and the engine died again, like I slowly brought back the power, not a sudden stop.
Tried to restart. Almost caught a couple times. but no run. Got a guy to tow us back to the ramp. Towed the boat home. Pulled the engine cowling--everything looks totally normal. Squeezed the fuel hose primer bulb and plenty of fuel there. I think an ignition or electrical problem would have had an immediate cut off, not a gradual loss of RPM. But what do I know, I play with ancient British cars.
Before I take it to a good local shop, naturally I would like to resolve this myself.
Sounds like a fuel problem to me. I'm not remotely an EFI-four-stroke-outboard mechanic. My plan is to replace the fuel filter and see what happens. Any other bright ideas before I submit her to the professional outboard gurus?