Water In Fuel Outboard Symptoms
Other sources might be harder to detect like a tank vent improperly placed by the boatbuilder.
Water in fuel outboard symptoms. With the separator shown in the top photo simply unscrew the canister and dump the water out. Because the water is tricking the sensors that pick up the air fuel mixture like the o2 maf and intake air temperature sensor the air fuel mixture will jump up and down and cause rough acceleration. If the contents of the jar appear to have a clear bubble at the bottom gas floats on water remember there is some water contamination. Let the fuel settle.
Occasionally the motor will quit altogether and will not re start. Water in outboard motors can have detrimental effects on injectors fuel pumps and can eventually destroy your pistons. Water in fuel can come from a variety of sources. Either the lift pump has failed the boat is out of fuel or there is an air leak or blockage somewhere in the fuel lines running fuel from the tank to the engine.
All fuel has some small amount of water in it that s caused by condensation settling in the fuel storage tanks that are part of the fuel distribution chain. Your outboard may be stalling running out of fuel due to three issues. Water in outboard motors can have detrimental effects on injectors fuel pumps and can eventually destroy your pistons. Sure signs that there is a fuel or fuel filter problem include a loss of pressure in the fuel pump that leads to loss of power or the inability to start the engine.
The motor may surge at high speeds or it may cut out or hesitate. If the starter seems to spin fast for a second then catches and spins fast again it could be the signs of hydrostatic lock. In this blog we speak to outboard me. Some of these might be obvious like a broken o ring on a deck fill cap.
There are several methods to troubleshooting a stalling outboard engine. Water that has entered the cylinders will not compress and stop the combustion cycle. Rough acceleration is a common sign when it comes to water in the gas tank. After a few minutes water will layer out and if the fuel is clean and water free the contents will be a pure amber color like the jar in the first photo.