2000 Islandia fires up but dies after about 10 seconds need help!

[Mighty Max]

Hi All, long time reader first time poster…

I have a 2000 Islandia with its original 1999 Mercury M2 jet, 240 EFI. Here’s the situation… I bought it this past winter. It fired up and ran when shown. When I went to clean it up and fire it up for the first time this spring, it will crank, turn over, fire and run for about 10 seconds then it die out. It seemed like it’s getting starved for fuel but I’ve gone through the entire low side and high side systems and the only area where I seem to have issues is low fuel pressure.

I’ve followed the service manual for high and low pressure troubleshooting. So far I’ve checked and have unrestricted/good fuel flow from the tank to the first filter to the primer pump to the pulse pump (just rebuilt) through the water separating filter (also replaced), to the VPS. I’ve cleaned and inspected everything in the VPS. Replaced the high pressure fuel pump and final filter. Reassembled and retested. Same result. I’ve tested the voltage to the high pressure fuel pump during initial “key on” prime and everything checked out. During the “key on” stage I only get about 30lbs pressure, but I’m not sure if the regulator is bad or if my pressure gauge just sucks. I don’t have the ability to bench test the vps and regulator. But none of the work I’ve done seems to get it to run longer but it stops wanting to start the more I try it, again, like it’s starving for fire even though it’s making it through the entire system. I’ve checked spark and compression too and they both check out fine.

Are there any sensors or electrical that would cause this? I’m debating on if I should burn $300+ on a fuel pressure regulator without knowing if that’s the issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Max

 

[Tim75]

Hi All, long time reader first time poster…

I have a 2000 Islandia with its original 1999 Mercury M2 jet, 240 EFI. Here’s the situation… I bought it this past winter. It fired up and ran when shown. When I went to clean it up and fire it up for the first time this spring, it will crank, turn over, fire and run for about 10 seconds then it die out. It seemed like it’s getting starved for fuel but I’ve gone through the entire low side and high side systems and the only area where I seem to have issues is low fuel pressure.

I’ve followed the service manual for high and low pressure troubleshooting. So far I’ve checked and have unrestricted/good fuel flow from the tank to the first filter to the primer pump to the pulse pump (just rebuilt) through the water separating filter (also replaced), to the VPS. I’ve cleaned and inspected everything in the VPS. Replaced the high pressure fuel pump and final filter. Reassembled and retested. Same result. I’ve tested the voltage to the high pressure fuel pump during initial “key on” prime and everything checked out. During the “key on” stage I only get about 30lbs pressure, but I’m not sure if the regulator is bad or if my pressure gauge just sucks. I don’t have the ability to bench test the vps and regulator. But none of the work I’ve done seems to get it to run longer but it stops wanting to start the more I try it, again, like it’s starving for fire even though it’s making it through the entire system. I’ve checked spark and compression too and they both check out fine.

Are there any sensors or electrical that would cause this? I’m debating on if I should burn $300+ on a fuel pressure regulator without knowing if that’s the issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Max

I would say your fuel pressure is not stable. It should be 35psi steady. Common problem there is the fuel inlet needle and seat in the top of the VST. The aluminum needle corrodes in the brass seat and locks in position. Usually closed. Check for this by placing a catch can under the VST. Carefully open the drain screw on the lowest outside of the VST. Turn key to RUN. Fuel should run for a minute or two. The lift pump is on a timer in the ECU. Do not overtighten that screw- it is brass and will break.

Injectors- The injector cable is starboard, down low, round connector, about 5/8 diameter. 4 wires. Pull it apart. Looking for green corroded connection. Clean as required. Connector is keyed for assembly. Have your injectors ever been serviced?

VST pump- will run if wires are reversed, but will not build pressure.

Regulator- mine was stuck closed and I had 90psi in the system. I found a racing fuel pressure regulator on ebay for $35. Included a gauge.

Spark plugs- are they wet or dry or mixed? Any plug that is not wet may not be getting fuel. If cylinders are not getting gas, they are not getting oil either.

Bleed system hoses- the small black hoses that run all over the front part of the engine. A leak in any of the these hoses will cause lean conditions and problems. The hose can be replaced with Tygon.

Is your battery fully charged? Low voltage can cause issues, too.

Have you checked the TPS? It can cause flooding at low speed.

 

[ripcuda]

Sounds like a fueling issue. The service manual has good checks for the fuel system... one of which Tim mentions above.

I'll second the idea of having the injectors serviced (~$25 per injector). This fixed my hot-restart (flooding) issue and my engine has never run better. But I would think you should be able to get your engine to start and run longer than 10 seconds even with poor injectors.

Also... you can unbolt the fuel pressure regulator and take it apart. There is a screen filter inside that can clog up with gunk. Mine was clogged and causing my fuel pressure to slowly climb upwards of 50 psi. (which doesn't sound like your issue)... cleaning the screen fixed my issue... 34psi steady now.

Cheers!

 

[Mighty Max]

I would say your fuel pressure is not stable. It should be 35psi steady. Common problem there is the fuel inlet needle and seat in the top of the VST. The aluminum needle corrodes in the brass seat and locks in position. Usually closed. Check for this by placing a catch can under the VST. Carefully open the drain screw on the lowest outside of the VST. Turn key to RUN. Fuel should run for a minute or two. The lift pump is on a timer in the ECU. Do not overtighten that screw- it is brass and will break.

Injectors- The injector cable is starboard, down low, round connector, about 5/8 diameter. 4 wires. Pull it apart. Looking for green corroded connection. Clean as required. Connector is keyed for assembly. Have your injectors ever been serviced?

VST pump- will run if wires are reversed, but will not build pressure.

Regulator- mine was stuck closed and I had 90psi in the system. I found a racing fuel pressure regulator on ebay for $35. Included a gauge.

Spark plugs- are they wet or dry or mixed? Any plug that is not wet may not be getting fuel. If cylinders are not getting gas, they are not getting oil either.

Bleed system hoses- the small black hoses that run all over the front part of the engine. A leak in any of the these hoses will cause lean conditions and problems. The hose can be replaced with Tygon.

Is your battery fully charged? Low voltage can cause issues, too.

Have you checked the TPS? It can cause flooding at low speed.

Hi Tim! Sorry to take so long to get back, work has been crazy...
I've checked the needle, looked almost new; I'll check the injector cable this weekend. As for the VST pump, I'll double check the wires, but since they have different size terminal posts and wire connectors, I think I got them back on the right way. Spark plugs look good (all wet and clean). Battery is fully charged and stays on a charger.
- I haven't checked the TSP but it dies even when the throttle is increased and engine revs higher.
- I'll check the Bleed system, do you have a good way to do this?
- As for a regulator, how did you attach an aftermarket regulator? Right now, I think my fuel pressure regulator might be clogged (only ~30psi). Not sure how I can take that our of system and add an after market.

Thanks for the suggestions! - Max

 

[Mighty Max]

Sounds like a fueling issue. The service manual has good checks for the fuel system... one of which Tim mentions above.

I'll second the idea of having the injectors serviced (~$25 per injector). This fixed my hot-restart (flooding) issue and my engine has never run better. But I would think you should be able to get your engine to start and run longer than 10 seconds even with poor injectors.

Also... you can unbolt the fuel pressure regulator and take it apart. There is a screen filter inside that can clog up with gunk. Mine was clogged and causing my fuel pressure to slowly climb upwards of 50 psi. (which doesn't sound like your issue)... cleaning the screen fixed my issue... 34psi steady now.

Cheers!

Hey there, I did take apart the regulator and cleaned the screen. It was dirty, but didn't help the issue. I think some gunk might have gotten through to the regulator and has it stuck closed keeping the pressure low. If I can't get this figured this weekend, I'll be taking it to a shop, so will ask if they can service the injectors while there. Thanks for the tips - Max

 

[Tim75]

Hey there, I did take apart the regulator and cleaned the screen. It was dirty, but didn't help the issue. I think some gunk might have gotten through to the regulator and has it stuck closed keeping the pressure low. If I can't get this figured this weekend, I'll be taking it to a shop, so will ask if they can service the injectors while there. Thanks for the tips - Max

Good luck finding a shop.

Hve you checked the fuel pressure with key to RUN? Then turn key OFF. Fuel pressure should drop slowly. If pressure drops instantly, you probably have one or more leaking injectors. That can flood the engine. It can also make it hard for the VST to build pressure. Injectors are usually serviced by a specialty shop.

If you have a spark tester (or 6) install them all and test the engine. Just to make sure your ignition system is not dropping out.

Check the bleed system hoses visually and by gently moving them.

 

[Mighty Max]

Good luck finding a shop.

Hve you checked the fuel pressure with key to RUN? Then turn key OFF. Fuel pressure should drop slowly. If pressure drops instantly, you probably have one or more leaking injectors. That can flood the engine. It can also make it hard for the VST to build pressure. Injectors are usually serviced by a specialty shop.

If you have a spark tester (or 6) install them all and test the engine. Just to make sure your ignition system is not dropping out.

Check the bleed system hoses visually and by gently moving them.

Hey Tim,
I’ve checked the pressure that way and it takes a min to drop about 10psi and another 5 mins to drop below 5psi. I’ve checked spark on all plugs and seems strong. Haven’t done it all at once. Thanks for the bleed system tip. I’ll try to get to all of the this weekend. Greatly appreciate it. -Max

 

[Tim75]

Hey Tim,
I’ve checked the pressure that way and it takes a min to drop about 10psi and another 5 mins to drop below 5psi. I’ve checked spark on all plugs and seems strong. Haven’t done it all at once. Thanks for the bleed system tip. I’ll try to get to all of the this weekend. Greatly appreciate it. -Max

Check all your ground wires. There are several, including one under each black box on top of the engine. At the ECU, the coil plate, starter. There may be more.
No green connections allowed. Clean & shiny.

 

[Mighty Max]

Hey All, so I’m still having the same issue….

I’ve replaced the high pressure fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, water separating filter, and checked full low and high side check flowchart from the manual. Still no luck. I’ve checked all available connectors and grounds, no corrosion or visible issues… checked all houses, no cracks, or collapses. All fuel seems to flow just fine. My gauge still says I have low fuel pressure but I’m thinking it might not be reading properly. I’ve got spark and it runs well at low-mid rpm until it dies off at about the 10 second mark. All plugs looked good, but seemed a bit wet, not sure if that’s from when it dies off or just the way 2 cycle plugs should be.

Does anyone know of any electrical circuits that could cause this? The low battery battery and low fuel light come on for a second or two then turn off once started. The fuel tank is full and fuel is good and has stabilizer in it. Oil tank is mostly full and I’m getting good mix in VPS.

I read somewhere that there is an electrical controller behind the dash but not sure how that works or if it would cause this. I’m out of ideas and could use some help. Going to reread the manual tonight and see if anything pops out at me.

Any help is greatly appreciated! - Max

 

[Mighty Max]

Hey All, so I’m still having the same issue….

I’ve replaced the high pressure fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, water separating filter, and checked full low and high side check flowchart from the manual. Still no luck. I’ve checked all available connectors and grounds, no corrosion or visible issues… checked all houses, no cracks, or collapses. All fuel seems to flow just fine. My gauge still says I have low fuel pressure but I’m thinking it might not be reading properly. I’ve got spark and it runs well at low-mid rpm until it dies off at about the 10 second mark. All plugs looked good, but seemed a bit wet, not sure if that’s from when it dies off or just the way 2 cycle plugs should be.

Does anyone know of any electrical circuits that could cause this? The low battery battery and low fuel light come on for a second or two then turn off once started. The fuel tank is full and fuel is good and has stabilizer in it. Oil tank is mostly full and I’m getting good mix in VPS.

I read somewhere that there is an electrical controller behind the dash but not sure how that works or if it would cause this. I’m out of ideas and could use some help. Going to reread the manual tonight and see if anything pops out at me.

Any help is greatly appreciated! - Max

After more historical thread reading… I’m wondering if my injectors are leaking, the spark plugs are wet when I check them. And that’s the only other area that I can think would be bleeding pressure from the system. Thoughts?? Still not sure why that would cause the engine to stop. Cause even at higher rpm ( low/mid throttle) the engine just stops like it ran out of fuel or spark turned off. Anything would help!

 

[Tim75]

After more historical thread reading… I’m wondering if my injectors are leaking, the spark plugs are wet when I check them. And that’s the only other area that I can think would be bleeding pressure from the system. Thoughts?? Still not sure why that would cause the engine to stop. Cause even at higher rpm ( low/mid throttle) the engine just stops like it ran out of fuel or spark turned off. Anything would help!

Another test. Your lift pump normally stops after the engine starts. Kind of implies the pulse pump is bad. Rig a temporary wire to make the lift pump run continuously. It should be able to push fuel thru the pulse pump (like it normally does). Start the engine again. Does it keep running?

 

[Mighty Max]

Another test. Your lift pump normally stops after the engine starts. Kind of implies the pulse pump is bad. Rig a temporary wire to make the lift pump run continuously. It should be able to push fuel thru the pulse pump (like it normally does). Start the engine again. Does it keep running?

I’ll give it a shot, but I did just rebuild the pulse pump. It didn’t look like it was in bad shape when I rebuilt it, so maybe it’s not getting the pulses from the crankcase. We’ll see what happens! Thanks

 

[Mighty Max]

Hey @Tim75, wanted to update you (and anyone else who may even have this problem)… turns out that it was an issue with the Throttle Guardian… I cut the black and yellow wire and now the boat runs like a champ! Thanks for all the help and suggestions! -Max

 

[Tim75]

Hey @Tim75, wanted to update you (and anyone else who may even have this problem)… turns out that it was an issue with the Throttle Guardian… I cut the black and yellow wire and now the boat runs like a champ! Thanks for all the help and suggestions! -Max

Glad you were able to find the issue. Just another problem throttle guardian. Don't know why we have them. Even stranger- not all boats got them