boat won't start when hot.

[George]

My 1982 Ski Nautique 2001 with PCM 351 Ford engine runs great. it doesn't overheat but if I drive for 15 to 30 minutes and then stop the engine, it will not start again until cool (maybe 2 hours). any ideas?

[jbg]

I had an old 1999 malibu sportster that did the same thing, ended up being the fuel pump???

[patoloco]

Vapor lock maybe? Is it happening on really hot days? Maybe open the engine hatch to get some air moving. I've heard sprinkling some water on the fuel lines to cool them down.

[mf01]

On my 94 Sport, I had the same issue. The fuel pressure was low when it was hot. I changed out the fuel pump and everything was fine.

[srock]

This has been discussed a lot recently. Do a quick search.

[Wakeskatenw]

The hot start issue can be one of or a combination of many numerous issues. Look down inside the carb for leaking fuel after shut off, compare voltage readings of ignition components hot vs cold, check for weak spark when hot, sometimes coils, starters, and cables don’t perform as well when they get hot.

[hal2814]

Are you still running points ignition or has it been swapped over to electronic? If it’s been converted, it may be wired improperly. Usually the coil requires a ballast resistor. Electronic ignitions usually don’t. It’ll work alright for a while if it’s wired wrong but eventually it’ll cause hot start issues or kill the coil.

[MrJake]

I had this very same issue with my ‘79 Ski for years. 351W Commander, with points. I used to carry a spare coil. When my engine got hot after running a bit, and we shut down, it wouldn’t start up. I would quickly change out the coil and off we went. I finally got thinking about my timing, threw the timing light on the motor and low and behold, the engine was so far out of timing, I couldn’t believe it was running at all. Reset the timing with a new repair kit and never looked back. Been great ever since.


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