05 211 TE Sputtered and DIED. I need help. PCM Excalibur 330

[JT211]

I've put 25 hours on her this year with no problems. Winterized at the dealer and tuned up about 50 hours ago. We ran the boat for 3-4 hours, surfing and wakeboarding loaded up with people and ballast. After a lunch break of about 2-3 hours we hooked up 2, 2 person tubes with 4 10 year old girls in them, no ballast and about 5 adults in the boat. I idled out from shore fine, about 300 yards off shore I gave enough throttle to try get up on plane. It only took a few seconds to feel the first sputter, then about 10-15 seconds later the engine died. Would only restart for a second or two then die. We paddled back to shore and started trouble shooting. We were beach camping so the boat was floating anchored the whole time.

Having never worked on the fuel system in my boat, we started from scratch.
Lots of gas in the tank, gauge read 1/3 tank.
Cut off switch seems to still work same as always.
Engine hours and guages still work on dash.
*When we removed the FCC it was empty, only about 1/4 inch of fluid in bottom, at the time I didn't know the filter is in the bottom of the FCC, so we didn't check it. Since the FCC was empty, I'm pretty sure the HP pump is working. The O ring that seels the FCC broke when I removed it. So I had to rig some electrical tape. Could a broken O ring have been the problem
We took apart the LP fuel pump, the C shaped screen filter did have some stuff built up. We cleaned it.
*We filled the FCC with fuel to prime the system. It started and ran perfect.
The next day we surfed and wakeboarded for 2 hours straight, stopping and starting the engine. Even a couple of beginner wakeboarders who couldn't get up after quite a few tries. So a lot of starting and stopping and pulling.
*We loaded the boat with camping gear and some friends to take them back to the dock, almost identical to the tubing issue. We idled about 300 yards off shore, as soon as I gave it some throttle and it sputtered a few times, and died again.

Any ideas?

[eseybold]

..........sometimes the fuel relays can go bad and act up intermittantly. You can get one at SKIDIM.com for 12 bucks.
.............Also, get a fuel pressure gauge at local auto parts store and hook it up to the shraeder valve on top of the FCC and measure the pressure while engine is at idle - should read 39+/-3 PSI.
...............also make sure that your gas tank is well vented. If it is not, you will be creating a lot of negative pressure in the tank as you consume fuel and eventually the negative pressure prevents the flow of fuel into the line despite the fuel pump's pulling. Next time it happens, open the gas cap and vent the tank and see if makes it better.

[nms1991]

The fuel pressure on the ex330 should be 52 to 54 psi at idle and 60 psi at wot for that year. You more than likely have a low pressure pump going bad.

[JT211]

The dealer (Pacific Nautiques) thinks it's the LP pump also. They are great guys to deal with FYI. I replaced the LP pump and the FCC filter today. It ran on the trailer fine for a while. I am too nervous to let it run with the fake-a-lake very long. Hopefully I'll get it on the water in a couple days. The other possibility the dealer suggested is fuel with over 10% ethanol so I got some Sta-Bil fuel addative. He said he had a few boats in the last 2 weeks with similar problems to mine. Maybe the oil companies are pulling some shady moves on us?

[216/2001]

Could you please post results as soon as you know if the LP pump takes care of the problem. My 04 suffers from the same problem. The dealer has ran the boat on a hose and ran it at the lake with the computer hooked up but has not thrown any codes. The fuel filter was replaced in hopes that would correct the issue, it did not. I have been dealing with this issue for 6 weeks. TKS

[eseybold]

I have had these very problems for 2 years but it never actually died. I t just ran rough when pulling a skier. I replaced both fuel pumps, filter, plugs, wires, cap, checked timing, knock sensor etc. etc etc. Turns out it was bad gas : even with STABIL in it. I ran it dry, bought 5 gallsons fresh gas and added some fuel injector cleaner fuel additivie stuff and it runs like a champ. I have heard that STABIL can sometimes mess up the filters in the FCC. From now on I will not fill my tank and let the gas sit. Gas can go bad now after 30 days and these high compression engines don't do well with bad gas. I will just add the fuel from a 5 or 10 gallon gas can as I go.

[JT211]

The only other factor that I have not considered is the air temp. I live in western washington where the hottest it gets is around 80 degrees. We camped in Eastern Wa, where the temp was around 95. Maybe hotter temp does something to the gas. I didn't have old gas in the boat, I have already burned at least 3 full tanks this summer. I try to keep my tank above the half full line, for the extra ballast. (1 gallon of gas weighs 6 lbs, 30 gallons is 180 lbs).

eseybold: How long have you been using your "fill as you use" method?

Something else to check is the ball valve in the fuel pickup line. It is inside the 90 degree fitting on top of the fuel tank. Mine has red electrical tape 3" down the hose. There is also a screen filter on the bottom of the fuel pickup line that may clog and restrict flow. I couldn't get mine out of the tank, so by removing the fuel gauge float I could get my finger in far enough to feel the screen filter while holding up the fuel pickup hose.

Basically this is a problem of one fuel pump not keeping up with the other, so somewhere along the line there must be some peanut butter in the dogs mouth....figuratively speaking