I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HELP!!!!!

[Musantemike]

I have a 93 Ski nautique and this year it has been running horrible. It will be running perfect then all the sudden it feels like a huge loss in power and makes like a studdering/ shuttering noise until i back off the throttle. I dont know much about engines but it feels as if the engine isnt getting enough fuel. So last weekend i was being lazy and i ran out of gas. So i went to use it this weekend..put a can in the tank and no start. The battery was reading about 11 volts so i assume its not the battery. Any suggestions on what the problem could be? Clogged fuel filter? Carbs? i really am not technically savy i just want to have an idea of what the problem is when i call the marina any help is appreciated and i will answer any questions to help figure out this problem.

Thanks in advance

mike

[Hollywood]

Re: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HELP!!!!!

I dont know much about engines

If you want to get back on the water anytime soon, take it to someone who does.

[WakeSlayer]

RE: Re: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HELP!!!

^Ha^

Put some fuel in it and get a new battery for starters.

[Musantemike]

RE: Re: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HELP!!!

would a shoddy battery cause the boat to surge and almost buck while under throttle?

[dip]

RE: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HELP!!!!!

Mike,
I have a 93 that has had problems in the past similar to your pre-running out of gas problem. In my case, it was carb issues related to the bowls deforming as they heated up. I understand that they can have a small air leak that throws everything off. Supposedly this is a common occurrence for our year boat. My boat would start fine, run fine for a little while, then lose power and be unable to run over 3000 rpm, bucking like crazy when I tried to push it. I could turn it off, let it sit about 10 minutes and it would run fine the rest of the day. Is your carb original? Has it been rebuilt? You should start with that for the original problem. After running out of gas, it is probably an issue with a clogged filter or line, or water in the fuel, something you picked up from the bottom of the tank by letting it run to low.

[WakeSlayer]

Re: RE: Re: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HEL

would a shoddy battery cause the boat to surge and almost buck while under throttle?

No. But at 11v, you have a problem. That is not enough. Either your alternator is not charging, your belt is extremely loose, or your battery is junk.

Agree with above on the carb suggestions. filter, screen, and then a rebuild if it won't get started.

If it has been running terribly all year, I would have addressed this sooner and you may not have seemingly worse problems than before. You gotta keep these boats running correctly and take care of issues as they come up. Otherwise, they snowball and take you out for a long stretch.

[Musantemike]

i charged my battery all night on a trickle charger and put it back in...the carbs have never been rebuilt. What kind of labor am i looking at for a carb rebuild and all that stuff?

[WakeSlayer]

$175-250 for the carb rebuild. If your battery only hit 11v after all night on the charger, you need a new one. Get one with 750-850 CCA.

[SquamInboards]

also check the connections on the battery itself. agreed that if the battery only reads 11 after a good charge, it's junk. But with the new one, make sure the connections are all clean and tight.

On the run issue, how long have you had the boat? Was it winterized properly? You at least probably need a basic tune-up, in any case...

[81nautique]

Re: RE: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HELP!!!

Mike,
In my case, it was carb issues related to the bowls deforming as they heated up. .

Are you refering to the floats? If so they don't come in a rebuild kit, Might be time to just replace the carb as opposed to a rebuild.

[dip]

RE: Re: RE: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HEL

[quote="81nautique"]

Mike,
In my case, it was carb issues related to the bowls deforming as they heated up. .

Are you refering to the floats? If so they donActually, no, but I'm not saying I don't agree with you that a new carb is a better option than a rebuild. That is actually on my off-season to do list. In my case, I was told that the issue had to do with the expansion and contraction of my carb, and a likely vacuum leak. I'm not enough a technician to know whether this is reasonable or not, but in my case a carb rebuild and fuel system tune up and cleaning did not solve the problem. In fact, this problem occasionally still happens and can ALWAYS be solved by shutting down for ten minutes. After that I'm good to go for the rest of the day, or at least 'til it cools down again. By the way, this did not happen with my '80, '83 or '89 Nautiques, only the '93, and all of the other boats had many more hours on them.

[81nautique]

RE: Re: RE: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HEL

Dip, I've never heard of bowls deforming due to anything other than over tightening them. Think about the amount of heat that would be required for that to happen.

I don't doubt that you could have had a vacuum leak at the base gasket or the adapter plate though.

93...do you have the protech ignition? I was going to guess a bad coil but if you've got the protech thats where I'd start looking.

[Musantemike]

RE: Re: RE: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HEL

Im about to call the marina..what do i tell them i think is wrong with the boat. I just dont want to get ripped off. i feel like if i give them a broad range of problems they woudl charge me out the butt .

[steve-o]

RE: Re: RE: I ran out of Gas and now boat wont start!! HEL

It doesn't matter. They are going to try run it to diagnose it anyway. Whatever info you give them they will just listen and use it as a starting base.

[SquamInboards]

just describe the symptoms and the circumstances that cause them as best you can, without trying to guess what's wrong with it... you don't go to the doctor with a pain in your leg and say "I think I have a tumor" you say, "it hurts when I do _____." Like steve-o said, they'll have to run it and reproduce the condition to diagnose it anyway, so if you can point them toward reproducing the problem, that's probably the quickest route to a solution.