main eng. starting prob. after using kicker

[Islandgirl]

After running on my kicker for several hours my main engine is hard to start.. seems flooded. I have a Rayco filter and two outlets, one for each engine..

First thing in the am the main fires up just fine..

Any ideas???

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

what do you have for a main?

Fill the dam tub!

 

[Islandgirl]

I have a honda 75 and a yammi 8 h.t. the problem only occurs after running the kicker for a couple hours

 

[marula]

Even though you say it seems flooded, its possible that the kicker has drawn the fuel from your main engine and it takes a while to get fuel primed back to into it. A worn primer bulb could back flow fuel from the main engine. You could test this with a shut off valve or simply crimping the fuel line closed to the main engine, then run the kicker and see if it still is difficult to start.

 

[Charlie]

That could be a problem with having the kicker fuel line tied into the fuel pump of the main?

Crimp the kicker fuel line and pump up the bulb and see if the main starts alright?

Do you have a shut off valve between the two?

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

You really need to distinguish between weather its flooded or has a lack of fuel before you can go any further.

Fill the dam tub!

 

[Islandgirl]

Lots of good advice.. if I crimp the fuel line to the main.. then I would know pretty quickly if it is a worn bulb.

Any suggestions on what to use to crimp the main engine fuel line while running the kicker so it will not do damage to the line
thanks

 

[Charlie]

The last kicker I had, I ran separate fuel pickups from both of the engines, directly from the fuel tank, which elevated any possible problem from one engine drawing fuel out of the other. And, I have had that problem in the past.

I am assuming you do not have a shut off valve to sperate the two? That would be the easiest, as you could just turn off the valve.

If you have a portable tank? You can hook the "kicker" fuel line directly to the portable tank, and plug where it went into the filter. At least that would tell you if the kicker is sucking the fuel from the main? If you have one fuel pump strong enough, that can happen.

Have you determined if it is "flooding" or "lack of fuel" problem? I think it is the later, but if not... you have a completely different issue?

 

[Hoochiebob]

quote:Originally posted by Islandgirl

Lots of good advice.. if I crimp the fuel line to the main.. then I would know pretty quickly if it is a worn bulb.

Any suggestions on what to use to crimp the main engine fuel line while running the kicker so it will not do damage to the line
thanks

Vice grips- dont leave the dock without them!

Hooch

 

[profisher]

If your kicker is drawing fuel from the main a simple way to test is to sqeeeze the primer bulb until hard after running the kicker..to re-prime the mains fuel line. If it starts normally after doing this you know whats up.

 

[alley cat]

Have had the same issues in the past as both the motors are plumbed out of the water separator and the kicker tends to suck the main line dry , I just prime the main line every hour or so and never have a problem.


AL

 

[speydog]

The older racor heads will fail. May have to replace. Have same setup two motors double lines off separator. Replacement head on order, took off old one and blew out seems to be ok, but will replace. Also check for cracks in fuel lines. Filter elements will plug as well, seems to be early season dillemas, could try some gas conditioner. Takes care of the gas goo. Hope this helps.

 

[speydog]

The older racor heads will fail. May have to replace. Have same setup two motors double lines off separator. Replacement head on order, took off old one and blew out seems to be ok, but will replace. Also check for cracks in fuel lines. Filter elements will plug as well, seems to be early season dillemas, could try some gas conditioner. Takes care of the gas goo. Hope this helps.

 

[Islandgirl]

Thanks for the input.. It is definately lack of fuel to the main. My Racor water separator is only about 3 years old ..dual outlets.

So would it be wise to replace the bulb that I pump up the main with?Could that be the issue...

Or have a fuel shut off valve to the main so it cannot suck fuel out?

Or like Alleycat said..just pump up the bulb every hour or so..
thanks for the tips.

 

[speydog]

Replaced head, put on new filter element, replaced cracked lines, and bulb. Still not starting. Have been turning on key to pressurize system, then pump bulb, if I repeat this procedure about 3 times motor starts. Off to mechanic to find out wtf is going on.

 

[Charlie]

Here is my scenario and my resolve for my 7.5L engine!

Step one: Installed Yamaha 9.9 HT Kicker
Step two: Plumped fuel line to Racor separator
Resulting problem: Main engine starts to run rough after few minutes, losing power and missing. Main was sucking the fuel, then air through the kicker fuel line!</u>
Step three: Installed "shut off" value.
Resulting problem: Could not run both engines at once making it Very uncomfortable fishing close to rocks near the surf. Not being able to run the main engine with the kicker is not a good thing.

Final Resolve: Installed separate pickup line and fuel line to kicker. If left about 1" off bottom of fuel tank it will eliminate any water problems. The fuel tank has plugs for this and it is quite easy to install. Plus, the kicker already has a fuel filter.

 

[Karma-Kazi]

I have the same problem in the opposite dirrection, my main sucks fuel from my kicker line. somtimes it is hard to strat the kicker after.

-steve

 

[speydog]

Have been running same setup for 11 yrs. 2 motors off same racor water separator. Never been a problem, until P.O.S. 225 Suzuki cacked 2 months after warranty expired. Installed new short block, planed heads, new gaskets etc. Now this fuel prob. Started yesterday easily without pumping bulb, 2 days ago would not start without pumping bulb. Has to be something simple but just can't nail it down. Loses pressure then doesn't lose pressure. New head,new lines,new element, new bulb.

 

[TheRock]

Allot of these problems can be caused from a partialy stuck/stiff anti siphon valve at the top of the feeder pipe at the top of your main fuel tank. We had a fuel restriction in our boat, our main 225 HP out board was fuel restricted and caused us all sorts of problems.. we went nuts to figure out what the problem was, we even brought the boat in to a local marine/boat service center and the pros there couldn't even figure it out.. we ended up having to cut our floor boards out our selves to get access to our gas tank. We ended up changing our gas tank it needed changing any ways. Long story short the problem was the anti siphon valve, inside there is a ball and a spring.. your motors has to suck fuel against the resistance of that ball and spring !! this causes a fuel restriction or pressure in the line.. this pressure is why gas is sucked from the kicker or main motor or vise versa.
Also in the gas tank feeder pipe just before the anti siphon valve, in the line we had a in line mesh filter that was almost totally clogged with small debris.. (old technology). we had no idea that was there .. we completely removed that filter not needed anymore cause we are using a Racor fuel/water filter separator.. The anti siphon valve we took out put in a vise and smashed the ball and spring right out of the value.... so now we have a wide open fuel pipe from the tank to our Racor filter.... Our main motor has never run so good even sounds different. Our hole shots are almost instant out of the water.. have not notice any fuel drawing from our kicker or vise versa since we fixed our fuel feeder line into the gas tank.. The anti siphon value is only needed when your gas tank is higher than your motor or filter. We had no idea our boat even had an anti siphon value or an inline mesh filter in our fuel tank feeder house.. we had to cut open our floor boards to find out what the problem was...

Hope this helps some one who may be experiencing the same problem we went through..

 

[Sea Morgan]

I had this prob a few years ago, I was advised to change the fuel line connector at the kicker, I have never had the problem again.