Verado Fuel Help

I'm running an '06 1800 Pro-V with an '06 150 Verado on it. Sunday I was making a run to another fishing spot with the gas guage reading slightly below 1/4 of a tank. Without a warning beep the motor starts to sputter and dies. I try to refire it with nothing. Start the 9.9 and motor my way down to the next harbor thinking I just ran out of gas and maybe the kicker motor fuel pickup was farther back in the tank. Kicker motor runs us in another 1.5 mi without dying.

Put in 12 gallons and turn the key, hear the beep, and let the fuel system pressurize. The motor turns over, starts, sputters, and dies. I try this same thing several more times and never get it running.

Tonight I went out and checkever over all the fittings, pulled apart the fuel/water seperator filter under the cowel, and tried again with no sucess. I also popped of the outlet hose from the filter and tried to see if I was getting fuel through there which I was not.

There is not a primer bulb on these Verados and to me it's acting like it's not getting fuel. Anybody have this issue before and know what to do?

Thanks

[toolboy]

I don't know if it is the same problem, but ours just had an issue with a fuel canister filling up after use. Talk to a Mercury tech and they can walk you through what to get to to relieve the pressure. There is a green lever on top of this part that can be turned to relieve the pressure and then everything is supposed to work. If it happens again, there is a module that needs to be replaced. Mercury told us that ethanol gas and this original module don't seem to work well together. Good luck.

More then likely it's the failing fuel float issue - not a recall, but a well known failure. $15 part, 1hour shop time.............a string of production models have a known failure, the fix is under warranty - the loss is getting your motor back to the dealer and getting in line

[WARRIOR]

I would highly reccomend trying The verado owners club website. They have been very helpful also diagnozing problems.

[T Mac]

I would highly reccomend taking it in to a dealer.
It is under warranty

Thanks for the responses!

The problem is not in the motor. I took to a local Merc dealer and they traced it to the boat. We got fuel to the motor and ran for 15-20 minutes in the shop. Took it out on the river Saturday and same thing. Ran for about 30 minutes and died. Would not restart. Kicker still functions fine.

When I got home I was checking things over real well and noticed that the fuel vent on the side of the boat was cracked/separated. Have a new one coming, but could this allow too much air into the tank and not allow the Verado to pull fuel up? If this is the case, why would the kicker still work? I do prime the kicker with the bulb each time before I start it.

Tmac, I'm trying to get into the Lund dealer but only have 1 located reasonably close and he can't look at it for another couple of weeks. In the mean time I'd like to check as many things as I can hoping to find the problem because the boat gets used every weekend.

[Burr]

If the vent is causing the problem, it would be not allowing air into the tank as you pull gas out of it. Next time it dies, loosen your gas cap and see if the tank is under negative pressure.

The kicker would probably work cuz it uses just a tish more than a tad of gas. The Verado drinks the stuff fast.

[staylor]

....which many boats run in the fuel line roughly in the first foot or so of fuel line coming out of the tank. If loosening the fuel cap doesn't work, then check for the presence of this valve. It's usually a metal fitting about 2 inches long stuck in the fuel line. Its purpose is to prevent a fuel line leak near the tank from siphoning gas into the boat. Try either removing the valve completely or taking it apart and removing the valve poppet and spring. If this fixes the problem, then re-route your fuel line supporting it on clamps or straps every 6 inches or so such that no part of the line is installed below the top of the fuel tank. This is a common problem on many boats running the larger engines. Coast Guard regs state that no anti-siphon valve is needed if no part of the fuel line is installed below the top of the tank.

if this doesn't fix it, then pull the fuel line right out of the tank and check from chips or crud in the tank that are getting sucked into the in-tank fuel filter screen mounted on the end of the fuel line inside the tank. I've seen tanks with metal chips left inside them that will have the chips slowly build up on the filter screen while running until its blocked. Once you shut the motor off the chips fall back into the fuel and the problems goes away for a while. Put a siphon hose down into the tank to the very bottom and draw out a gallon or so of fuel into a container where you can look for chips.

Good Luck- fuel system issues on built in tanks can be a real PIA.
Doug